Four local boys lacrosse players were named high school All-Americans by US Lacrosse this week.
Tommy O'Neill, Steve Pontrello and Mike Sutton of St. Augustine Prep were selected. Mainland Regional's Chris Kaczmarski was also honored.
"It's definitely a huge honor to be recognized," said recent Prep graduate O'Neill, a Shamong Township resident. "(St. Augustine coach JC) Valore helped me get to the point I am today, along with my teammates. It was a huge team effort."
O'Neill, a second-team Press All-Star, is headed to Penn State University in the fall. Sutton, a rising senior, was a first-teamer and the Hermits' leading scorer this season (55 goals). He will join O'Neill at Penn State the following year.
University of North Carolina-bound Pontrello, The Press Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year, scored 50 goals and had 37 assists and will play for the US Lacrosse U-19 team in Finland later this month.
Meanwhile, Kaczmarski will attend NCAA Division III Salisbury University and hopes to join the nationally-ranked lacrosse team as a walk-on. The Mainland grad and Somers Point native was a Press All-Star and scored more than 100 career goals.
"It means a ton to me, my family and my community," Kaczmarski said. "It's really a dream come true. It shows hard work does pay off."
O'Neill will get to play a few more games as a high school lacrosse player. He was named to the Spirit roster for the US Lacrosse All-American Showcase at ESPN's High School Games later this month.
O'Neill is among 94 of the nation's top boys lacrosse players selected for the four-team round robin tournament July 22-27 at ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The championship game is 1 p.m. July 27 and will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7 p.m. the same day.
"I'm extremely excited. I get to go down to Disney and play with a bunch of players from all across the country," O'Neill said. "Just to get to play with that type of competition down there will definitely be a great experience for me."
Contact Brittany Grugan:
609-272-7210
