Joe Nicholson Wins James C. Metzger MVP Lacrosse Award

A close game in the Class C 2026 Long Island Boys Lacrosse Championships favored Nassau County’s Wantagh High School. The Warriors defeated Suffolk County’s Sayville High School 12-11. The game was held at Stony Brook University on Saturday, June 6. Senior midfielder Joe Nicholson of Wantagh, with four goals, received the game’s James C. Metzger MVP Award. Nicholson is committed to Villanova University.

The award was presented by Long Island lacrosse all-stars and All-Americans James Pannell and Jack Concorran.

Pannell is a graduate of Smithtown West High School, where he was a two-time All-American and career points leader. He became an All-American at the University of Virginia and a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) All-Star. From Lindenhurst, Concannon is a graduate of St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington and a multi-time All-American goalie at Hofstra University. He is a Major League Lacrosse and Premier Lacrosse League All-Star for New York Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).

A three-sport athlete at Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills, James C. Metzger 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.