5 minute read
Titans Victorious
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Karsten Nyarady ’21 shines in All-American lacrosse championships
What Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Karsten Nyarady ’21 missed for lacrosse in the spring of 2020 he more than made up for in the summer.
After the coronavirus cancelled spring sports throughout the country, Karsten spent part of his summer competing with and against a select group of high school lacrosse players. He was selected to the Midwest Under Armour All-American Lacrosse Games and helped his team win the West Super Regional, recording 12 goals and seven assists in five games.
Notes: • Two-way midfielder from Westfield, Massachusetts • Tournament was held in August in Indiana • West Super Regional consisted of teams from the Midwest, Southwest and West • Midwest team went 3–1 in bracket play before winning the regional championship • Had three goals and two assists in three national championship round games (all team losses) at Virginia Beach, Virginia, in October • National tournament started with 12 teams
Karsten on his team winning its Super Regional: “It was pretty awesome. On the first day we lost to the Southwest team. They have a lot of Division I commits, including the fifthranked goalie in the country. He stopped a lot of our shots. We played them again in the championship, and we beat them by a good amount. It was a phenomenal experience, and I’m glad I’ll get to play with them again.”
WMA Boys’ Lacrosse Coach Mike MacDonald on Karsten’s summer: “Karsten played a key role in the Under Armour All-American Games this summer. His team won the championship, and Karsten was a key contributor to the team’s success. We are proud of the way he represented our school and lacrosse program. Karsten has a bright future and we will see him play at Colorado College.”
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Luke Robinson ’23 showcases his lacrosse talents
A starter since Grade 8, anyone associated with the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys’ Lacrosse team over the last few years knows how strong of a player Luke Robinson ’23 is as a defenseman.
After his performance at a showcase that drew lacrosse players from throughout the country, a lot more people know just how talented Luke is, too.
Luke was selected for the all-star game and named the top defenseman in his class at the 11th annual Nike Boys Philly Showcase, which attracted more than 600 players and nearly 200 college coaches to Downingtown, Pennsylvania, in November. Luke on why he wanted to attend the event: “This event is known as ‘North America’s Premier Recruiting Event,’ which makes it possible for me as a player to showcase what I can do in front of all different levels of college coaches. My goal was to be selected for the ‘Fab 40’ All-Star Team. I knew this was probably a long shot because I’m a Western Mass. kid and I would be playing against players from New York, Florida, Texas and California.”
Luke on how he thinks he performed: “I was happy with how I played at this showcase and enjoyed seeing a different level of play. The big highlight was when I found out later that I was selected as The Class of 2023 Defensive Manney’s Men, which is the top performing defenseman in my age group.”
Luke on being named the top defenseman in his class: “I was very excited and also pretty surprised to be chosen considering it was a national event with some really good players that are already nationally ranked.”
WMA Coach Mike MacDonald on Luke’s ability as a lacrosse player: “Luke’s hard work and dedication to becoming a better athlete have propelled him to a new level. His lacrosse IQ and stick skills have improved, and every year he continues to improve his game. We are looking forward to Luke being a top defenseman in our league this upcoming season. It’s always nice as a coach knowing that your best defensive player is still going to be around for three more years. I am looking forward to watching him grow as a player, leader and member of the WMA community.”
Add another award to Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s 2020 resume.
A month after being named the Top Private School in the region (by MassLive.com), WMA earned a Safe Sports School Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in September.
Among the areas, the honor takes into account a school’s athletic care, how it develops injury prevention strategies and provides psychosocial consultation to its athletes. Quotes from Erika Whipple, Head Athletic Trainer at WMA on the Academy winning a Safe Sports award: “It’s a great honor to be in the league with other private schools as well as public schools to be considered a safe sports school.”
On how WMA keeps its students safe athletically: “I feel like we do a really good job keeping kids safe. Maintenance keeps our fields going, we make sure our students have good nutrition, we work really hard at rehab, our coaches know how to train our kids with stretching, we do a good job at preventative care and we educate our students every year with a presentation about concussions.”
Winter Sports 2021
While COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of all spring sports in 2020 and limited fall sports to practices only, competitions against other schools returned for some sports during the winter 2021 season. The Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams and Skiing teams were able to compete in a limited schedule of head-to-head action, while the Riflery and Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming teams engaged in virtual competition.
• Katarina “Kiki” Brook ’26 • Nagomu Yoshitake ’23
• WMA players, from left (in blue): Kyle Filipowski ’22, Khalil Kamara ’21 and Jaakko Juusela ’21.
• Ryan Cordeiro ’21
• Nick Morin ’21 • WMA players, from left (in red): Hallie O’Toole ’22, Autumn Perry ’23, Caterina Ravosa ’26, Meagan Schuermann ’23 and Rhaymi Porter ’21.
