2024 James C. Metzger Leadership Awards For Nassau Lacrosse Players

The annual James C. Metzger Leadership Award for Nassau County high school boys’ lacrosse was presented to one player on each of the eight teams that competed in the finals of the 2024 Section VIII Nassau County high school boys’ lacrosse championships.

Each award recipient reflected the tenacity, honesty, commitment and positive attitude required in Nassau lacrosse. Each player also possessed the ability to inspire others on and off the field.

Award Recipients

• Senior attack/midfielder Patrick Arnold of Manhasset High School
• Senior goalie James Caputo of Farmingdale High School
• Senior midfielder Brett Drakos of Cold Spring Harbor High School
• Senior defense Campbell Florence of Friends Academy in Locust Valley
• Senior defense Nick Hinck of Massapequa High School
• Senior midfielder Jake Martini of Wantagh High School
• Senior midfielder Kian McCoy of Island Trees High School in Levittown
• Senior faceoff specialist Michael Melkonian of South Side High School in Rockville Centre

Game Results

The Nassau County lacrosse championships were held on Thursday-Friday, May 23-24, at Hofstra University.

Class A championship game: Farmingdale High School defeated Massapequa High School 7-5.

Class B championship game: South Side High School of Rockville Centre defeated Manhasset High School 12-10.

Class C championship game: Wantagh High School defeated Island Trees High School of Levittown 13-4.

Class D championship game: Cold Spring Harbor High School defeated Friends Academy of Locust Valley 15-8.

The awards were presented by 1970s Long Island lacrosse stars James C. Metzger, Vincent J. Sombrotto and Paul Sanit.

Metzger was a three-sport athlete at Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills. He received the 1977 Lt. Ray Enners Award for outstanding Suffolk County lacrosse player when he scored 102 points and received All-American honors. An All-American lacrosse player at Hofstra University, Metzger is the founder and chairman of Whitmore – The Agency, an insurance and financial services firm in Garden City now known as Acrisure.

Sombrotto attended Chaminade High School in Mineola and was a Hofstra University All-American midfielder. He was named to the 1982 All-World Team and is a member of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Sanit lettered four times at Hofstra, was co-captain of the lacrosse team during his senior season and was the goalie for the 1979 team that ranked seventh in the country.