Eight Nassau County Lacrosse Players Receive 2026 James C. Metzger Lacrosse Leadership Award

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 2026 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 faceoff specialist and midfielder Matt Bruzzese of Cold Spring Harbor High School

Senior attackman Tyler Byrnes of Massapequa High School

Junior faceoff specialist and midfielder Alec Notaro of South Side High School (Rockville Centre)

Senior attackman and midfielder Devin Paccione of Wantagh High School

Senior midfielder Merit Ruckh of Garden City High School

Senior attackman Conor Sheerin of Manhasset High School

Junior defenseman and long stick midfielder Jack Symanski of Locust Valley High School

Senior goalie Josh Weisenfeld of Syosset High School

Game Results

The Nassau County boys high school lacrosse championships were held on Monday and Tuesday, June 1 and 2, at Hofstra University.

Class A championship game: Massapequa High School defeated Syosset High School 19-5.

Class B championship game: Manhasset High School defeated Garden City High School 9-8 in overtime.

Class C championship game: Wantagh High School defeated South Side High School of Rockville Centre 15-7.

Class D championship game: Cold Spring Harbor High School defeated Locust Valley High School 12-2.

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

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.