Crushing the competition

Crush reigns successful against Mounds View

winds. We came out a little flustered, but after that we got it back together. We took a timeout and resolved it.”

Hagen said even though the team played a solid game, for future games they need to dial into working on their offensive lines during practice.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

My experience committing to play Lacrosse

My now future college coach began heavily recruiting me in the fall of my junior year. He also happens to be my current club coach, which really proved to me that Saint Benedict would be the right place for me. Coach Crandall had expressed his desire for me to play on his college team to my mom first. After games at some fall tournaments he would talk to me, like I would with any other college coach. After some convincing I decided to tour the school, and loved the campus as well as all the school had to offer.

A couple of months later, and after a lot of deliberation, I had decided college lacrosse at St. Bens was going to be my future home. I told Coach Crandall that I would love to claim a spot on the team he was offering me, which was the most exciting decision I have made up to this point in my life. The most exhilarating part for me was announcing to my friends and family. When I was able to share the news, the decision felt more real, and I was more excited for the four years after high school than I ever had been before.

The entire commitment experience has been surreal. I never pictured myself with the opportunities I have today. I can confidently say being a student athlete at Park has affected me for the better. I am extremely grateful for the experience and knowledge I have gained from all my coaches and teammates, due in part to those at Park. I have grown the most as a player following the transition between my freshman and sophomore year, and gained some amazing new coaches. Our current high school coaches have instilled a level of confidence and love for the sport that I had lost after some tough experiences, and I truly wouldn’t be in this position without them. I am excited to be a part of a group of athletes from Park that move on to play their sport at the next level.

Aidan Shafton DESIGN BY

Following their first game of the season, boys’ ultimate took home a triumphant win. Crush went up against Mounds View on April 13, and ended with a final score of 15-5. Head coach Spencer Hagen said he was proud of how the team managed to bring it back after a rough start to the game.

“They started off slow, but they did a good job bouncing back,” Hagen said. “They refocused and handled it well.”

Senior captain Micah Davis said the communication between team members on and off the field helped to ensure their victory.

“We had really good communication from the sidelines today,” Davis said. “Being able to talk to our players and give them advice that will help them on the field is important.”

According to senior captain Eli Schmelzer, he was anxious at the beginning about the turnout of the game due to the turbulent weather.

“Going into the game I was a little worried,”

“Overall we played a really solid game but there’s always little things to improve on,” Hagen said. “We need to clean up some of our offensive movement, make that a little bit more fluid. Defensively I liked our pressure throughout the whole night.”

Due to the cold and wet weather, Crush had been practicing indoors. Davis said he was enthusiastic about getting out on the turf again to power through.

“I felt happy and excited to be playing outside again and back with the whole team,” Davis said. “At the first part of the game, it was rough because Mounds View came out super strong, but eventually we brought it back together.”

Schmelzer said he was impressed with the effort the team put into the game despite the rocky start.

“The team flipped into the right mindset,” Schmelzer said. “I was impressed with everyone’s ability to get into the mindset of playing after so many months of not playing.”

Crush plays 6 p.m. April 20 against Wayzata at