Conference Carolinas Announces All-Conference Men’s Lacrosse Honors
High Point, N.C.> Conference Carolinas All-Conference Men's Lacrosse Teams were determined by vote from each head coach of participating institutions. Nominations are collected and then voted upon by ballot and tallied to determine First Team, Second Team, Third Team, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year award winners. Awards will be presented at the Conference Tournament Championships hosted by Queens University of Charlotte at this weekend's conference championship. Semifinal games will be played Friday and the championship final Sunday at Queens Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park. This year's award winners are as follows:
Player of the Year:
Jake Ternosky – Limestone College
Limestone junior face-off specialist Jake Ternosky lead Conference Carolinas in face-off percentage at an eye popping .826, taking 62 of 75 attempts within conference games, while also leading the league among field position players with 32 ground balls in five conference contests. Failing to win possession only 13 times, 18 of Ternosky's controls at the center "x" led to Limestone goals on those immediate offensive possessions in which the Saints maintained the ball. His efforts lead the nationally No. 4 ranked Saints to the Conference regular season title for the fourth consecutive season with a perfect 5-0 mark and 12-1 overall. On the season Ternosky ranks No. 2 nationally in NCAA Division II men's lacrosse in face-off win percentage at .700 (159-of-227) while muscling his way to 68 ground balls.
Freshman of the Year:
Luke Gillespie– Pfeiffer University
Luke Gillespie anchored the Falcons defense that allowed a slim 5.83 goals against average in 2012. Gillespie registered six goals with four assists totaling 10 points on defense while amassing a team-high 60 groundballs. The freshman also contributed to the Falcons and their man-down defense which ranked fifth-best nationwide to help them to a 10-5 overall mark and 4-1 league record.
Coach of the Year:
Chris Barrett – Belmont Abbey College
Chris Barrett was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year in his first year as a head coach for the Crusaders. With his selection, all three of the Abbey's men's lacrosse coaches in its history have been named Coach of the Year in their first year on the Crusader sideline. Barrett guided an offense that saw five players score at least ten goals, one short of a program-high, while seven players registered double digit points, which is just one shy of the school record to lead the Abby to a 2-3 league mark and 5-8 overall record.
Regular Season Champion:
Limestone College
All-Conference First Team:
Attack Shayne Jackson –Limestone College
Riley Loewen –Limestone College
James Shepherd - Pfeiffer University
Midfield Jackson Decker -Limestone College
Jake Ternosky –Limestone College
Tor Reinholdt –Limestone College
Steve Tilmon -Pfeiffer University
Defense Anthony LaMarca – Pfeiffer University
Anthony Starnino –Limestone College
Josh Wharton –Limestone College
Goalkeeper Hayden Kirk - Pfeiffer University
All-Conference Second Team:
Attack Corey Geroy –Queens University of Charlotte
Tucker Hammock – Pfeiffer University
Corey Rich –Limestone College
Midfield Scotty Steele- Belmont Abbey College
Dan Morrissey– Belmont Abbey College
Justin Rose –Pfeiffer University
T.C. Whaley - Queens University of Charlotte
Defense Jeff Konko –Pfeiffer University
Connor Doyle– Belmont Abbey College
Luke Gillespie –Pfeiffer University
Goalkeeper Steve Gartleman –Limestone College
All-Conference Third Team:
Midfield Keith LaClair –Coker College
Defense Tim Cloud –Queens University of Charlotte
Midfield Desi Gonzalez –Limestone College
Defense Steven Sauser –Limestone College
Defense Matthew Rabung –Pfeiffer University
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletic conference currently made up of 12 teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Coker College, Converse College, Erskine College, King College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Mount Olive College, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Queens University of Charlotte.