A familiar name is one of two newcomers in this week's USA Lacrosse Public High School Boys’ National Top 25.
Darien (Conn.) earned a win over a strong Staples (Conn.) squad to vault into the rankings at No. 12. It’s the Blue Wave's fourth win in a row since they dropped three straight games while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. Staples moves back to No. 13.
The other newcomer is No. 22 Billerica (Mass.). Timmy Murphy picked off a pass and Kameron Tremblay scored with 16 seconds left for an 8-7 win over Boston College High (Mass.). It was Billerica’s 16th straight win since losing its season opener. State tournament brackets come out next week.
No. 1 Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) is seeded first in the Section XI playoffs and will open play Thursday against eighth-seeded Ward Melville (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals. Semifinals are set for Tuesday.
No. 2 Severna Park (Md.) handled Towson (Md.) 11-4 Wednesday to finish off its season with the Class 3A state championship. The Falcons were impressive this year with a lopsided 312-70 score advantage through 20 games, losing only to private power Landon (Md.).
For the second time this season, No. 5 Kent Island (Md.) defeated Stephen Decatur (Md.) by a goal. This time it was for the Class 2A state championship to cap an unbeaten season. The Buccaneers outscored teams, 263-102, in their perfect year. The losses were the only two for Stephen Decatur.
No. 6 New Canaan (Conn.) flexed its muscles with a 15-9 win over No. 11 Ridgefield (Conn.), followed by a one-goal win over New Jersey private school Don Bosco (N.J.). New Canaan’s only loss came against Staples.
Jack Frers scored a hat trick, Eli Pounds made eight saves and Will LoSauro had three assists as No. 10 Ridgewood (N.J.) defeated No. 19 Summit (N.J.) 7-6. It’s the Maroons’ fifth one-goal win of the season.
No. 17 Cape Henlopen (Del.) opened its state tournament with a 20-2 win over Sanford (Del.). The Vikings were coming off their fourth straight Henlopen Conference Championship.
No. 23 Cherry Creek (Colo.) got a hat trick from Wyatt Branish and even a goalie goal from High Point commit Owen Corsi in an 11-8 comeback win over Valor Christian (Colo.) for the 5A state championship title, its first since 2019.
In the regional rankings, there were two newcomers to the South: Middlecreek (N.C.) at No. 6 and Lake Norman (N.C.) at No. 10. The West had a top-three change with Torrey Pines (Calif.) claiming a section title to move to No. 2 and Arapahoe (Colo.) losing to Valor Christian to move to No. 3.
State tournaments will continue to match up good programs. Two of the best Mid-Atlantic teams will face off when No. 9 Urbana (Md.) plays No. 25 Broadneck (Md.) for the Class 4A state title Thursday.
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.), 16-0 (21)
2. Severna Park (Md.), 19-1 (2)
3. Radnor (Pa.), 16-3 (3)
4. Springfield-Delco (Pa.), 18-1 (4)
5. Kent Island (Md.), 17-0 (5)
6. New Canaan (Conn.), 15-1 (6)
7. Northport (N.Y.), 14-2 (7)
8. Garden City (N.Y.), 14-2 (8)
9. Urbana (Md.), 16-2 (12)
10. Westfield (N.J.), 12-6 (10)
11. Ridgefield (Conn.), 13-3 (13)
12. Darien (Conn.), 10-6 (NR)
13. Staples (Conn.), 12-4 (9)
14. Highland Park (Texas), 19-3 (15)
15. Ridgewood (N.J.), 11-5 (22)
16. Rye (N.Y.), 13-3 (17)
17. Cape Henlopen (Del.) 15-2 (18)
18. Moorestown (N.J.), 14-4 (14)
19. Summit (N.J.), 12-4 (11)
20. West Genesee (N.Y.), 16-0 (23)
21. Lake Mary (Fla.), 19-1 (19)
22. Billerica (Mass.), 16-1 (NR)
23. Cherry Creek (Colo.), 19-0 (21)
24. Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), 17-2 (24)
25. Broadneck (Md.), 15-3 (25)
Also considered (alphabetical order): Arapahoe (Colo.), Canandaigua (N.Y.), Chatham (N.J.), Downingtown West (Pa.), Easton Area (Pa.), Garnet Valley (Pa.), Huntingtown (Md.), Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), Kings Park (N.Y.), Kingsway (N.J.), Lambert (Ga.), Madison (Va.), Manhasset (N.Y.), Manasquan (N.J.), Marple Newtown (Pa.), 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.)
