CAPTAINS CLUB: Former Princeton High standouts Casey Rahn of the University of Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team, left, and Princeton University’s Tyler Moni battle as the teams met in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA tournament. Senior longstick midfielder Rahn was recently named as a tri-captain for UMass, months after close friend Moni was named to the same position for the PU squad. (Photo by Stephen Goldsmith)
Two players from PHS’s 2007 varsity lacrosse team, Tyler Moni and Casey Rahn, are currently serving as captains of their respective college lacrosse teams, Princeton University and the University of Massachusetts. Both programs were rated in the Pre-Season Top 20 by Inside Lacrosse magazine. By having two captains among the 69 captains of this Top 20 list of colleges, PHS is one of only 9 schools in the United States (8 schools) and Canada (1 school) to have multiple captains.
And it is a prestigious list of high school programs indeed. To illustrate how exclusive a list it is consider this. The only 3 programs to have produced more 2011 IL Top 20 captains are Boy’s Latin (5 captains), the perrennial Baltimore powerhouse, Delbarton (5 captains), usually considered the strongest program in New Jersey, and Georgetown Prep (3 captains), the D.C. area’s top program. Since Laxpower started compiling high school computer ratings 12 full seasons ago, Boy’s Latin has been rated in the National Top 25 for 9 of those years, boasting a #1 ranking in 2006. Delbarton has been the top ranked New Jersey program for 8 years during that period, ranked in the National Top 25 for 9 years, and cracked the National Top 5 in 2007, the year most of these captains graduated from high school. 2010 is the only year since Laxpower ratings have been kept that PHS (17th in NJ, 210th nationally) ranked higher than Delbarton (20th in NJ, 225th nationally). Georgetown Prep is currently ranked 4th in the country, tied Boy’s Latin for the nation’s highest ranking in 2006, and has made Laxpower’s National Top 25 for 10 years, more than any other program in the country. The list of schools sharing PHS’s honor of having two captains on the list is equally impressive. West Islip was the #1 ranked program in 2010, has been in the National Top 5 each of the past 5 years, and produced the most exciting college freshman this year, UNC’s Nicky Galasso. Haverford is currently ranked #2 in the country and finished last year at #5. Smithtown West produced 2011 Cornell Captain Rob Pannell who is probably the best college lacrosse player in the country.
Besides putting PHS in a rarefied group of high school lacrosse programs, being selected to captain their respective teams has put Rahn and Moni on an esteemed list of players as well. Of the 69 players on the list, 25 are on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award is given each year to the nation’s top college lacrosse player, making it the lacrosse equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy. While Moni’s Princeton University team has been severely hurt by injuries to many of its top players, including Moni who missed last week’s Brown game with a wrist injury, the team can still make the NCAA tournament if it can qualify for and win the Ivy League tournament or if it can pull off some late season upsets against teams like Syracuse, its next opponent. Rahn’s UMass team is currently ranked #16 in the USLIA Coaches’ Poll and faces a tough four remaining games on its regular season schedule including #8-ranked Hofstra, #17-ranked Delaware, as well as tough Towson and Drexel teams. Besides being in the mix for an at large bid to the NCAA tournament, UMass could qualify by winning the CAA championship tournament to which the conference’s top 4 teams are invited. (Click here for link to Town Topics Story on Casey Rahn).
