It took 33 years for the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys Lacrosse team to hoist a championship banner in Greenhalgh Gymnasium.
It took 365 days to raise another.
A year after winning the Western New England Secondary School Lacrosse Association Division II title for the first time since 1989, Coach Mike MacDonald and the Titans repeated as champions.
The seniors lost just one league game in three seasons. The Class of 2023 has players who will attend University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Luke Robinson), J.J. Fox (Sacred Heart University), UMass-Lowell (Carter O’Brien), Pace University (Cole Stevens), St. Anselm College (Jake Klepacki and Evan Spillane) and Roger Williams University (Cole Hambley).
Quotes from Coach MacDonald
On the senior class: “I am so proud of the senior group. Their leadership, hard work and dedication was key in winning back-to-back league titles. This was a team this year that never quit. They played hard and left everything on the field. They are the true definition of champions.”
On the team’s strength: “Our team's biggest strength was the leadership of the senior group. They all lead by example. The close-knit dynamic of this team kept everyone accountable and their desire to work hard in practice was like no other team I've been a part of.”
Quotes from players
Luke on the team repeating at champions: “We came out this season with one goal in mind and that was repeating as champions. We worked toward that every day, every practice and every opportunity. Obviously it feels good for the seniors going out, but also leaving the underclassmen something to work toward for next year.”
Evan on the team winning the league title: “It feels great to win the championship. That was the major goal for the season. It feels great to come out on top as a senior.”
Jake on the strength of the team: “We were a tight team. The brotherhood we built for 8-10 weeks started in Syracuse (with a team trip). When we were there, when we had time off we all were in each other’s hotel rooms and that carried out with the pasta dinners on Friday nights before Saturday games; and really any free time opportunity we had we took advantage of that togetherness because we love being around each other.”
J.J. on Coach MacDonald’s influence on the team: “Coach Mac supported us every day at practice and games, even during the bad times in the games and the tight losses. He always had a scout, and came prepared and helped us win all of our games.”