CT, NJ, NY, PA Teams Jockey for Position in Public High School Boys' Lacrosse Rankings

Three new teams entered the latest USA Lacrosse Public High School Boys’ National Top 25. State tournament results played an enormous role in altering the rankings.

Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.) is the highest-ranked newcomer, coming in at No. 16. The Red Rams advanced to their third straight New York State Class C championship game with a 23-4 win over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (N.Y.). Lucas Patchen had seven goals, including five in the first quarter as Jamesville-DeWitt bolted out to an 8-1 lead. J-D faces No. 13 Somers (N.Y.) in the final Saturday.

Shawnee (N.J.) debuts at No. 24. The Renegades avenged one of their earlier losses to rival Moorestown (N.J.) with a 10-9 win in the South Jersey Group 3 final. Brett Lundberg scored four goals and had an assist and Tyler Rotkowitz scored a hat trick and dished out three assists. Shawnee will face No. 14 Summit (N.J.), the North 3 winner, in the Group 3 state final Saturday.

Canandaigua (N.Y.) earns the final spot in the rankings. The Braves followed up a 16-5 quarterfinal win over Lake Shore (N.Y.) with a 17-11 semifinal win over Christian Brothers. They face No. 5 Garden City (N.Y.) in the Class B state championship looking for their first title since 2009. Garden City will try for a 10th state title.

Elsewhere, state tournament results played a big hand in shifting rankings, most notably in Connecticut’s Class LL final four. No. 13 Staples (Conn.) scored five goals in the final five minutes, including Tristan Schaefer’s tally with 2.4 seconds left in a 10-9 win over second-seeded Ridgefield (Conn.), which was ranked No. 7.

The other semifinal went to fourth-seeded Darien (Conn.) which knocked off top-seeded New Canaan (Conn.) 8-5 after losing to them twice in the regular season. Darien is now No. 12.

It’s hard to get a better matchup for a state championship than a pair of unbeatens. No. 1 Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) faces No. 7 West Genesee (N.Y.) in the Class A state championship Saturday. Neither has lost this year. Half Hollow Hills defeated Corning-Painted Post (N.Y.) 18-8 in one semifinal while West Genesee dispatched of Penfield (N.Y.) 16-6.

If there’s a matchup that might rival the New York showdown, it’s No. 3 Springfield-Delco (Pa.) vs. No. 4 Radnor (Pa.) again. Their third meeting this season is for the 3A state championship Saturday at Penn State. Radnor won the first meeting of the season, and Springfield won the rematch for the District 1 championship. Now, the state title is on the line after Springfield took down La Salle (Pa.) 9-5 and Radnor stopped Shady Side Academy (Pa.) 13-8.

Garrett Ferguson’s second goal gave No. 9 Westfield (N.J.) an 8-7 win over Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.) in the North Jersey Group 4 final. Westfield will face unbeaten upstart No. 22 Kingsway (N.J.), a 7-6 winner over Southern (N.J.) in the South Jersey 4 final, in the Group 4 state championship Saturday. Westfield, Kingsway and Summit were some of the New Jersey favorites to win a sectional title. 

Scroll below for this week's USA Lacrosse Public High School Boys' National Top 25 and Regional Top 10 lists, with each team's previous ranking denoted in parenthesis.

Compiled by USA Lacrosse writers with input from coaches around the country, these rankings (also found here in our hub) will be updated weekly on Thursdays.

National Top 25

1. Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.), 22-0 (1)
2. Severna Park (Md.), 19-1 (2) 
3. Springfield-Delco (Pa.), 24-1 (3) 
4. Radnor (Pa.), 21-4 (4) 
5. Garden City (N.Y.), 20-2 (5) 
6. Kent Island (Md.), 17-0 (6) 
7. West Genesee (N.Y.), 21-0 (11) 
8. Urbana (Md.), 17-2 (9) 
9. Westfield (N.J.), 17-6 (10) 
10. Darien (Conn.), 14-7 (12) 
11. Staples (Conn.), 16-5 (13) 
12. Highland Park (Texas), 19-3 (14) 
13. Somers (N.Y.), 18-3 (17) 
14. Summit (N.J.), 17-4 (18) 
15. Cape Henlopen (Del.) 16-3 (19) 
16. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), 17-3 (NR) 
17. Lake Mary (Fla.), 19-1 (20) 
18. Billerica (Mass.), 21-1 (21) 
19. Ridgefield (Conn.), 17-4 (7) 
20. New Canaan (Conn.), 18-3 (8)
21. Broadneck (Md.), 15-4 (24) 
22. Kingsway (N.J, 20-0 (25) 
23. Cherry Creek (Colo.), 19-0 (23) 
24. Shawnee (N.J.), 17-3 (NR) 
25. Canandaigua (N.Y.), 19-2 (NR) 

Also considered (alphabetical order): Arapahoe (Colo.), Chatham (N.J.), Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.), Downingtown East (Pa.), Dublin Jerome (Ohio), Easton Area (Pa.), Garnet Valley (Pa.), Horace Greeley (N.Y.), Huntingtown (Md.), Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), Kings Park (N.Y.), Lambert (Ga.), Langley (Va.), Manhasset (N.Y.), Manasquan (N.J.), Marple Newtown (Pa.), Massapequa (N.Y.), Niskayuna (N.Y.), Reading Memorial (Mass.), Ridley (Pa.), Shawnee (N.J.), Somers (N.Y.), South Side (N.Y.), South River (Md.), Stephen Decatur (Md.), Torrey Pines (Calif.), Towson (Md.), Upper Arlington (Ohio), Wantagh (N.Y.), Wilson (Pa.)

Northeast Top 10

1. Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.), 22-0 (1) 
2. Garden City (N.Y.), 20-2 (2) 
3. West Genesee (N.Y.), 21-0 (5) 
4. Darien (Conn.), 14-7 (6) 
5. Staples (Conn.), 16-5 (7)  
6. Somers (N.Y.), 18-3 (8) 
7. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), 17-3 (NR) 
8. Billerica (Mass.), 21-1 (9) 
9. Ridgefield (Conn.), 17-4 (3) 
10. New Canaan (Conn.), 18-3 (4) 

Mid-Atlantic Top 10

1. Severna Park (Md.), 19-1 (1)
2. Springfield-Delco (Pa.), 24-1 (2) 
3. Radnor (Pa.), 21-4 (3) 
4. Kent Island (Md.), 17-0 (4) 
5. Urbana (Md.), 17-2 (5) 
6. Westfield (N.J.), 17-6 (6) 
7. Summit (N.J.), 17-4 (9) 
8. Cape Henlopen (Del.), 16-3 (10) 
9. Broadneck (Md.), 15-4 (NR) 
10. Kingsway (N.J.), 22-0 (NR) 

South Top 10

1. Highland Park (Texas), 19-3 (1)
2. Lake Mary (Fla.), 19-1 (2)
3. Lambert (Ga.), 22-0 (3)
4. Lucy Beckham (S.C.), 17-3 (4) 
5. The Woodlands (Texas), 12-5 (5) 
6. Middle Creek (N.C.), 21-4 (6)
7. Westlake (Texas), 12-4 (7) 
8. Ponte Vedra (Fla.), 19-4 (8)
9. Plant (Fla.), 20-3 (9)
10. Lake Norman (N.C.), 20-5 (10)

Midwest Top 10

1. Lake Forest (Ill.), 24-2 (7)
2. Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio), 19-4 (4)  
3. Upper Arlington (Ohio), 14-8 (5) 
4. Edina (Minn.), 17-1 (6) 
5. Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.), 16-5 (9) 
6. East Grand Rapids (Mich.), 20-3 (NR) 
7. Dublin Jerome (Ohio), 16-7 (1) 
8. Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), 19-3 (2)
9. Mason (Ohio), 17-4 (3) 
10. Rockford (Mich.), 16-3 (8)

West Top 10

1. Cherry Creek (Colo.), 19-0 (1)
2. Torrey Pines (Calif.), 15-5 (2) 
3. Arapahoe (Colo.), 15-3 (3)
4. La Costa Canyon (Calif.), 12-7 (4) 
5. Monte Vista (Calif.), 19-3 (5)  
6. Mountain Vista (Calif.), 12-5 (6) 
7. Eastlake (Wash.), 16-4 (7) 
8. Mount Si (Wash.), 22-2 (8) 
9. Bellevue (Wash.), 13-7 (9) 
10. Mercer Island (Wash.), 16-5 (10)