Lancaster County players named to the Central Pennsylvania chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Boys All-America Team, from left, are Michael Ondrusek and Spencer Lehr of Hempfield, and Austin Schultz of Manheim Township. Schultz also was named the District Three Player of the Year in voting by the coaches.
The Lancaster-Lebanon League proved it was the best league in District Three boys' lacrosse, placing the top three teams in last month's playoffs.
The District Three All-Star Team reaffirmed that, as the L-L League placed 12 of 24 players on the District Three First Team.
Leading the L-L contingent were the Hempfield duo of Spencer Lehr and Michael Ondrusek and Manheim Township's Austin Schultz, all of whom earned All-America honors.
The three were selected for the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Boys High School All-America team. The team is chosen by the region's coaches.
Schultz was also named the District Three Player of the Year.
The recent Township graduate will continue his career at Bucknell, where he turned down a partial athletic scholarship to receive a full ROTC scholarship.
Schultz was a four-year starter and three-year captain for the Blue Streaks, earning L-L League and District Three first-team honors the past three seasons. He scored four goals in his career and snagged 392 ground balls.
"You don't see that many three-year captains in any sport," MT coach Rich Lefever said. "We look at leadership regardless of grade and even though he was a quiet kid, he's led by example. He works hard and does everything asked of him and does it better than expected."
Schultz becomes the 10th Township player, and fifth straight, to earn All-America honors, joining Chris Rommel (2003), Eric Graupensberger (2004), Paddy McKendry and Aaron Weber (2006), John DuBois and Tim Stratton (2007), Chris Zielinski (2008), and Dan Wertz and Nick Sizemore last season.
"He's had the opportunity to go against Tim (Stratton) and John (DuBois), Zielinski and Wertz and Sizemore in practice," Lefever said of Schultz. "Then he draws the No. 1 in every game. He's always gone up against the best players in practice and in games."
Schultz was also an accomplished wrestler, winning the L-L championship this season and qualifying for the state tournament. The skills he learned from wrestling, according to Hempfield coach Doug Bailey, paid off for Schultz on the lacrosse field.
"His wrestling experience gives him unbelievable position to break down and dictate where the offensive player will go, instead of the other way around," Bailey explained.
Lehr was a jack-of-all-trades for Hempfield this season and a big reason why the Knights won both the L-L League and District Three championships.
He finished the season with 23 goals and 12 assists, 126 ground balls and won 112 face-offs while being named to the District Three and L-L League first team as a defensive midfielder. He also was a second-team all-section midfielder and an honorable mention selection to the all-section face-off team.
"He worked very hard to be an offensive midfielder and we needed his ability on defense to stabilize the defense," Bailey said.
"He's a phenomenal athlete," Lefever said of Lehr. "Most teams go with a FOGO (face-off specialist) guy. He's a good enough athlete to play defense, score goals and take the face-offs, that's not easy. The fact that he can do all of that is special."
As good as Lehr is at lacrosse, he's an even better football player and student.
Lehr, who will play football at Carnegie Mellon, was an all-league selection as a defensive back (first team) and running back (honorable mention) as a senior and an honorable mention selection in his junior year. He was also a nominee for the A. Landis Brackbill award, which is given to a L-L athlete that excels in the classroom.
"The nice thing about kids that play football is that every play is a complete battle," explained Bailey. "That mentality that football players bring, the physical battle with mental strategy, makes them that much tougher as a lacrosse player."
Lehr and Ondrusek are the seventh and eighth players from Hempfield to garner All-America honors, joining Andrew Mavraganis (2003), Jordan Kolb and Chris Schuch (2004), Scott Wengrenovich (2005), Kyle Piper (2007) and Sean Sheehe (2008).
Ondrusek, who will be a senior next year, was an all-league and all-district attacker this season, finishing the regular season with 61 goals and 15 assists.
"One thing that separates him is that he's a great outside shooter and he can get open inside too," Bailey said. "He makes the players around him better."
After notching 54 goals and 21 assists to earn first-team all-league honors in his sophomore season, Ondrusek showed toughness (playing with a fractured hip in the district playoffs) and physical maturity in his junior season.
"His physical maturity is elevating his lacrosse skills," Bailey explained. "It helps him come up with plays that he may not have been able to make when he was younger."
"When he graduates, he'll be one of the best lacrosse players from this county," Lefever said.
DISTRICT THREE ALL-STARS
Attack — Quint Miller, Manheim Township; Michael Ondrusek, Hempfield; Mike Marshner, Susquehannock; Corey Elmer, Conrad Weiser; Steven States, Red Lion; Rob Gilroy, Carlisle; Austin Helm, Wyomissing.
Midfield — Phil Hess, Ephrata; Mark Stratton, Manheim Township; Tyler Ulrich, Ephrata; Grayson Helm, Wyomissing; Will Haus, Palmyra; Brandon Kessler, Red Lion.
Defense — Austin Schultz, Manheim Township; Thane Heller, Elizabethtown; Tyler Muckle, Ephrata; Karl Rice, Central York; Peter Rebuck, Cumberland Valley.
Longstick Midfield — Tanner Biemesderfer, Warwick; Patrick Conroy, Dallastown.
Defensive Midfield — Spencer Lehr, Hempfield.
Face-off — Patrick Brogan, Hempfield.
Goalie — Pete DeLuca, Penn Manor; Chris Dymski, Carlise.
Player of the Year — Austin Schultz, Manheim Township
DISTRICT THREE ALL-AMERICANS
Nathan Pendleton, Cumberland Valley; Steven States, Red Lion; Samuel Price, South Western; Michael Marshner, Susquehannock; Chris Dymski, Carlisle; Will Haus, Palmyra; Michael Oliveto, Conrad Weiser; Austin Schultz, Manheim Township; Spencer Lehr, Hempfield; Michael Ondrusek, Hempfield.
DISTRICT THREE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Peter Rebuck, Cumberland Valley; Joel Gemmill, Red Lion; Chad Frey, Lampeter-Strasburg; Ronald Fox III, Lampeter-Strasburg; Rob Gilroy, Carlisle.