Boys lacrosse
Player of the Year Joe Bonanni St. Mary's
Bonanni, a four-year starter, did it all for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference quarterfinalist. "He played wings on faceoffs, played close defense, played a pole if we needed, too," St. Mary's coach Matt Hogan said. "He did all those things for us this year without questions."
The Ohio State-bound defender also scooped 58 ground balls while covering the best offensive player from the opposing team every game. He was selected to the Under-Armour All-America team and is a two-time first-team All-Metro selection.
Coach of the Year Zack Burke Archbishop Spalding
This was Burke's first year as Archbishop Spalding's head coach, but it didn't take long for him to leave his stamp on the program. He led the Cavaliers to their first playoff appearance since joining the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference in 2003 and to five conference wins after just one a year ago.
More importantly, he laid the foundation for a program that aims to get better each year. "Everyone's going to push each other to be better now that we know we can win," Burke said. "We're getting a lot more recruits and have a lot of guys that want to play for us now."
The team
Name School CL P
Matt Burke Arch. Spalding Jr. A
Sam Jones Severna Park Jr. A
Stevie Kirkup Severn Jr. A
Matt Lamon St. Mary's Sr. A
David Balinsky South River Jr. M
Kevin Cooper Arch. Spalding Jr. M
Rich May Arch. Spalding Sr. M
Sean Price Severna Park Jr. M
Joe Bonanni St. Mary's Sr. D
Tim Shaeffer Annapolis Sr. D
Mark Staines Severn Sr. D
Evan Danahy Arundel Sr. G
Note: Team selected by Stefen Lovelace after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.
Girls lacrosse
Player of the Year Julie Gardner Severna Park
At the center of everything for a Falcons team that road a 40-game win streak to its second straight Class 4A-3A state championship, Gardner took on a more defensive role this season and never skipped a beat. She usually marked the opposition's top midfielder and she still ranked among the Falcons' top scorers, with 52 goals and 23 assists.
A key to the transition game, Gardner also came up big on draw controls and with ground balls. Her great work ethic helped her improve an already strong game and earn Player of the Year honors for a second straight time.
