Devin Paccione Receives 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. One of the eight award recipients is senior attackman and midfielder Devin Paccione of Wantagh High School. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball and lacrosse), Paccione scored two goals and provided three assists in the championship game.

The lacrosse championships were held on Monday and Tuesday, June 1 and 2, at Hofstra University. In the Class C championship game on Monday, Wantagh defeated South Side High School of Rockville Centre 15-7.

The award for Paccione was announced by 1970s Long Island lacrosse star James C. Metzger, 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 Nassau County now known as Acrisure.