As he finishes his fourth year in an SHS lacrosse jersey, senior Lai Thang struggles to pick a single favorite memory. The memories have made this lacrosse team and the other players on it unforgettable.

“I don’t really have a best memory of lacrosse,” Thang said. “I love every moment with these guys and seeing progress we’ve made since middle school.”
SHS lacrosse first played in the spring of 2009, in which they only played four games. Twelve years later, the 2021 lacrosse team has made their way up to playing 11 games this spring.
This year, the Cards have only lost one game the whole season and finished with a 10-1 record, giving them the best record in SHS lacrosse history. The team’s record this season shows great strides in their abilities, since in the 2019 season, the last spring season they were able to play, the Cards lost seven games.
The team’s newfound success was led by the development of the Cards’ 11 seniors, one being a foreign exchange student.
Senior Blake Kottlowski has been on the team for all four years of high school. Kottlowski has contributed to the team by helping on defense when needed and having five assists and 12 goals during the season. Kottlowski has made great memories in his lacrosse career and hopes to carry these memories with him through his life.
“I will always remember playing lacrosse,” Kottlowski said. “I will miss all of the friends and family that I made while playing lacrosse here.”
Another senior, Griffin Thomas, verbally committed to Adams State University via Twitter on Feb. 4, and he is very excited to continue his lacrosse career there.
Thomas believes SHS has prepared him well on and off the field. For Thomas, taking AP and DC classes in high school will greatly help him at Adams State. And on the field, Thomas says he has been given the help he needs to prepare well for the sport at the collegiate level.
“On the field, it has helped me prepare for what is going to come,” Thomas said. “Playing the tougher schools will help me when it comes to the college level.”
Outside of the seniors, many underclassmen have also helped the team find success this season, even though it is their first season of high school lacrosse.

After the 2020 spring season was canceled for all sports because of COVID-19, sophomore Mark Beatty missed out on his freshman year of lacrosse. Despite this, Beatty has contributed to the team’s wins, playing in every game and making five goals in total.
“It was good to be back after the year getting canceled last year,” Beatty said. “I’ve played well this season considering I didn’t get to play at all my first year.”
Because of the seniors, the team will need new leaders to step up as they move forward into next season.
Junior Andrew Forrester is going to be an important player on the team next year. After helping the team with one assist on the season, Forrester and other current juniors will play much bigger roles soon.
“I’m looking forward to seeing everybody again,” Forrester said. “I’m also pretty excited to be one of the main leaders for the team.”
Head lacrosse coach Thomas Wright is happy with how the team performed this year despite various challenges. The Cards also didn’t know if they were going to get a season. But they were really happy that they got the season in, and they were proud of the results in those games.
“It was a good season,” Wright said. “Actually, it was a great season. It was our best win-loss record percentage-wise.”