News

Run With The Best Long Island Standouts

Follow My Lacrosse Tournaments on InstagramTwitter and Facebook

The Run With The Best Showcase on Long Island is in the books!

More than 200 of the top players in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 graduation classes came out to the Sachem Sports Complex to play in front of and learn from more than 50 of the best college coaches in the country. CLICK HERE to see a photo gallery from the event. 

Here's a list of some of the players who stood out the most from the event. 

2020

Nick Agresta '20, defense, East Islip (N.Y.) / Empire - Highlights
Agresta plays a tough, aggressive brand of lacrosse, and he was able to use his strength to push attackmen off of their spot. He had an impressive yard sale early in the day, sailing an attackman's stick into the sky, and he later added a couple more caused turnovers by getting low and leveraging his stick into a good position to knock the ball free. 

Cory Capri '20, attack, Glenn (N.Y.) / Team 91 Orange - Highlights
Capri is coming off of an impressive 50-goal, 84-point campaign for Glenn, and it's not hard to see how he was able to rack up the points in bunches. He was a man amongst boys at RWTB, routinely beating his man at X with exceptional change-of-direction ability and a good handle in tight. He had a great feed to set up a behind-the-back goal from Thomas Stock, later added a superb backhander from just above GLE and showed off a nifty BTB finish. Capri has terrific vision and does a tremendous job of drawing slides at X. 

Cole Doller '20, attack, Sayville (N.Y.) / East Coast Elite 
Doller shouldered the scoring load for Sayville this year, ranking 14th in Suffolk County in points (74) on the strength of 27 goals and 47 assists, and that passing vision is evident once you watch him work. He was particularly good in the first game for the Maryland team, showing an ability to thrive either with the ball in his stick or without it. Doller does a great job of drawing attention to him and dumping the ball off to open teammates, and he rarely tries to force the action. A coach's son, he shows off good fundamentals, often opting for overhand shots. 

Brayden Franey '20, goalie, Glenelg Country Day (Md.) / Team 91 Maryland - Highlights
Franey had a strong day in the Duke cage, making some big-time stops inside. He earned praise from his coaches for his command of the defense and communication skills, and he made all the saves that he should and added a couple of highlight-reel stuffs to boot. Franey was particularly stout in the final game of the day, and he does a nice job of starting the fast break with his passing. 

Sam Harris '20, defenseman, DeMatha (Md.) / Team 91 Maryland 
Harris defended well on the ball and communicated well with his teammates all day. He threw strong checks and did a solid job in the clearing game. 

Jack McCarthy '20, defense, Connetquot (N.Y.) / Team 91 2020 Orange - Highlights
McCarthy has great size at 6-1, 200 pounds, and he plays like it with a physical, mean, violent and aggressive playing style. He relishes and seeks out contact, and going up against him 1v1 is no treat. Already a three-year starter, a football player and a 3.6 student at Connetquot, McCarthy pushed attackmen around with ease, but he also showed a good stick, scooping up ground balls with relative ease. 

Adrian Rutkowski '20, midfield, Patchogue-Medford (N.Y.) / Team 91 Orange 
The tall lefty popped 20 goals for Patchogue-Medford this spring, and he's gotten noticeably bigger in the process. An excellent student, Rutkowski played both attack and midfield and did well at both. He hammered out an upper corner early in the day, and he's a very good shooter on the run and gets separation on his split dodge. He had a strong fall for the '20 Orange team, and he's picked up right where he left off. 

Thomas Stock '20, attack, Newfield (N.Y.) / Empire Volt - Highlights
Stock had a productive spring with a very even 21-goal, 22-assist stat line, and you find yourself more and more enamored with his game the more you watch him. His desire and effort in the riding game jumped off the page, and he routinely harassed defensemen and midfielders until the midline. He dropped a dime of a skip pass on a fast break off of a faceoff win for an assist in one game, and he also had a great play where he picked off a pass at the midline and made a great pass to a teammate. If you can pair him with a big-time shooter, Stock will become even more dangerous. 

2021

Chris Cappelmann '21, faceoff midfield, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze - Highlights
Cappelmann has already carved out a reputation for himself as one of the class of 2021's elite faceoff men, and he lived up to the billing on Saturday. He earned some playing time on a loaded St. Anthony's team this spring, winning about 70 percent of 100 or so faceoffs against a rigorous schedule, and he's a tall, athletic faceoff men with exceptionally quick hands and a diverse arsenal of moves. He was almost unbeatable, and his stick work after the faceoff continues to get better and better. 

Machado Rodriguez '21, faceoff midfield, Chaminade (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze 
For the second year in a row, Rodriguez absolutely dominated at Run With The Best. He jumped once early in the day, and that might have been the only time he lost. Rodriguez's incredible hand speed gave his opponents fit, and he's athletic enough to not only run away from guys with the ball in his stick, but to stay on the field and play some midfield. He and Chris Cappelmann give the Blaze a lights-out 1-2 punch at the faceoff X, and Rodriguez also projects to be one of the top faceoff men in the Class of 2021. 

Brandon Ventarola '21, midfield, Mount Sinai (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze - Highlights
Ventarola was great this spring for the Mustangs, piecing together a 35-goal, 47-point breakout season. "He's better than everyone he's going up against here," said one college coach. Ventarola is a smooth midfielder who was placing accurate shots when he got his hands free, and he has the vision and leadership to make the guys around him better. Ventarola is the type of player that your offense can run through, and he's also a solid defender. 

AJ Volkmann '21, defense, Mount Sinai (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze - Highlights
Already built like a college defenseman, Volkmann only has one speed: fifth gear. Another excellent student, Volkmann buzzes around the field at full speed and can either bounce around to LSM or close defense. Trying to get physical with him is a terrible idea, and he does a nice job of corralling ground balls with a good stick. A multi-sport athlete, Volkmann's potential is through the roof. 

2022

Brock Behrman '22, attack, Niskayuna (N.Y.) / Team 91 Smash 
It didn't take long to notice the chemistry between Behrman and Smash teammate Joey Spallina (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) as they teamed up again on the Princeton team. The tandem racked up the points early, often, and then often again, while using totally different playing styles. Behrman is a quick, shifty attackman whose athleticism calls for early slides. Behrman, who started as a freshman for Nisky, had a goal where he absolutely dusted his defender by simply sprinting by him to above GLE and turning and ripping home a shot. He's not a one-trick pony, either, as he made a number of nice passes to set up his teammates. 

Ryan Challice '22, attack, Pleasantville (N.J.) / Team 91 Tristate Select
Challice had a pretty good gig going Saturday as the lefty on an attack line with standouts Joey Spallina and Brock Behrman and he made the most of it. He did a nice job of popping to open spots and finishing a bunch of feeds from Spallina and Behrman. In one 10-minute stretch, he showed off a variety of ways to score by firing home a hat trick with a strong take through traffic, an overhand bouncer through the five-hole and a great off-ball cut to finish off a ludicrous Spallina pass. 

Jason Monopoli '22, attack, Ward Melville (N.Y.) / Empire 
Monopoli earned some praise for his coaches for his ability to do a little bit of everything. He saw the field well and doled out a handful of inch-perfect passes and he drew slides with his dodging ability. Perhaps even more impressively, he was tenacious on ground balls and showed a willingness to get dirty to get possession. 

Joey Spallina '22, attack, Mount Sinai (N.Y.) / Team 91 Crush and Smash
On the heels of a ridiculous 65-goal, 66-assist, 131-point season as a freshman for Mount Sinai, Spallina was his usual dominant self at Run With The Best. He's got unrivaled lacrosse IQ, incredible stick skills and ridiculous vision, and he did a terrific job of getting his teammates great looks with his passing ability. When he's got the ball in his stick, everyone is watching him, and he had one assist in particular that wowed everyone where he drifted back toward X and launched a one-handed dime to Ryan Challice for the goal. If he keeps up his current pace, Spallina will annihilate the New York career scoring record of 500 points, possibly even in his junior year after an 85-point season as an eighth grader.

Honorable Mention
2020

Ryan Aljader '20, goalie, Chaminade (N.Y.) / Team 91 Orange 
Kenny Deckman '20, goalie, Westhampton (N.Y.) / East Coast Elite 
Justin DeMonte '20, attack, Rocky Point (N.Y.) / Empire Volt 
Ricky Gleokler '20, midfield, DeMatha (Md.) / Team 91 Maryland 
Lucas Kaelin '20, defense, Morris Catholic (N.J.) 
Matthew Krieg '20, attack, Comsewogue (N.Y.) / Empire Volt - Highlights
Patrick Moyer '20, midfield, DeMatha (Md.) / Team 91 Maryland 

2021

Matthew Graffeo '21, goalie, Mount Sinai (N.Y.) / Empire 
Colin Hughes '21, midfield, Chaminade (N.Y.) / Team 91 Ambush 
Matt Lonigro '21, midfield, Miller Place (N.Y.) / Empire 
Aiden McCaffrey '21, LSM/defense, Comsewogue (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze 
Chris Zara '21, defense, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) / Team 91 Blaze 

2022

Marty Stewart '22, defense, Hendrick Hudson (N.Y.) / Team 91 Tristate Select



Search Archive »




Browse by Year »

2019
2018
2017

About Us

Showcases

Tournaments

631-423-4010
See you next Season!