Wheeling Jesuit men’s lacrosse players, Matt Maccario and Austin Grimes, were named the WJU Men's Athletes of the Week for being selected to the East Coast Conference All-Conference team for 2012.
After receiving preseason second-team All-American status, Maccario, earned ECC second-team honors. The junior from Springfield, Pa. recorded 38 caused turnovers, which ranks first in the ECC, and collected 43 ground balls. Maccario has started every game while at Jesuit along with being captain his sophomore and junior season. He was named a team captain as a sophomore and continued the role during the 2012 season.
“Maccario had the difficult task of defending the nation’s top attackmen, said Head Coach Jay Sothoron. “He is one of the best cover guys in the country.”
Grimes broke into the league’s top ten in two statistical categories. The senior from Hartland, Wisc. finished sixth in ground balls pick-ups with 56 and ranked tenth overall with 21 caused turnovers en route to an ECC Honorable Mention award. As a four-year starter, he was named captain for two seasons as a long-pole midfielder.
Coach Sothoron on Grimes and Maccario: “These two guys really anchored our defense and had to cover the top attackmen and middies from opposing teams. In our conference we play the nations best players so they never really get a break.”
“They both had a great year, which was a big reason our team improved and had a successful season. We will miss Austin next year, but we are excited to have Matt back for one more season. We expect big things from him next year, establishing himself as one of the best defensemen to ever wear a Cardinal uniform.”
