After going undefeated in conference play, the Chapel Hill High School men’s lacrosse team lost to Green Level High School on May 5 in the first round of the state playoffs, finishing the season with an overall record of 11-6.
The season started with a 7-6 loss on against Page High School on March 1, but the Tigers quickly gained traction by winning the next four games, with victories over Vance Charter, Riverside-Durham, Leesville Road and Southern Alamance high schools.
The string of victories continued in conference play, with the Tigers winning all six of its games to capture the DAC-VII championship.
Senior captain and defender Carter Grubbs, who finished the season with 78 ground balls, finished his fourth and final season on the team, though he said he is not quite ready to recognize the end of his time on the team.
“I have yet to really accept the fact that it is my final year, but I’ve made sure to enjoy every moment of it,” he said. “It’s an honor to represent and play a major role on an incredible team.”
Grubbs is hopeful the team will extend its success into future years and that the younger players can build upon this year’s season.
“When I was a freshman, the upperclassmen set a culture of success, so I hope the team continues that culture going forward,” he said.
Head coach Jacob Manning said the team’s transition to 4A competition was a major factor determining how the team approached its season.
“The difference between 3A and 4A for men’s lacrosse is really steep, so our goals in the past have been to get to the state championship game,” Manning said. “We were better off setting intermediate goals this year, so from that standpoint we did exactly that.”
Some of those goals, Manning said, included winning the conference, beating East Chapel Hill High School—which the Tigers did twice—and playing competitively well against some of the larger schools in the division, all of which the team accomplished.
Like Grubbs, Manning said he is excited for the team’s future, naming a few returning students as important pieces of the team.
“Nathan Grotegut was kind of a leader for us,” Manning said. “We only graduated six seniors this year, so all of these guys are returning.”
Grotegut, a junior attacker who led the team in goals and assists, said that the team’s exit in the first round of the playoffs will motivate next year’s players.
“Our season definitely did not end how we wanted it to with a first-round playoff exit,” the junior said. “However, I feel like we achieved a lot in our first year in 4A, and I feel our program can only build off of it. Next year, as a senior on the team, I feel like the goal is to win our conference again, and then make some sort of playoff run.”
Senior midfielder Julius George began and ended his high school lacrosse career this year, but it didn’t stop him from bonding with the established team of players.
“It was so fun to play a new sport and become a family with a bunch of ballers,” George said. “I can’t wait to keep playing the sport in the future and it’s sad to leave this team in my past.”
