The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2023 Men's Lacrosse Major Award Winners
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate's Willie Grieco was selected as the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Peyton Farley was selected as the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Wingate's Johnny Caponi was named the Specialist of the Year while Anderson's Radyn Badraun was named the Freshman of the Year. Wingate's Tim Boyle was named the Coach of the Year, the SAC Office announced today.
Grieco, a junior from Lawrenceville, Ga., is the reigning SAC Player of the Year and SAC Male Athlete of the Year and leads the nation in points per game and assists per game. Grieco has piled up 35 goals and 46 assists on the year, helping the 'Dogs rank 3rd nationally in assists per game, 4th in points per game and 5th in scoring offense. He was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List and was named the USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason National Player of the Year. Grieco is averaging 6.25 points per game, the only player in the country over 6 points per contest. He has at least 3 points in every game this year, with 6 points or more 8 times. He had 10-point efforts against Barton and #10 Limestone while registering 9 points in the win at #4 LR.
Farley, a sophomore from Tega Cay, S.C., has anchored a Bulldog defense that ranks 2nd in the SAC and 17th in the nation in scoring defense and 8th nationally in caused turnovers. Farley leads the team with 24 caused turnovers while adding 29 ground balls to go along with a pair of goals. Farley and the Bulldogs have stepped up big against the nation's top offenses, holding #4 Lenoir-Rhyne to 7 goals under their season average and holding #3 UIndy 6 goals under their season average. He has 8 games with multiple caused turnovers, with 4 at Mount Olive. He capped the season with 2 caused turnovers and 3 ground balls against #3 UIndy, holding the nation's second-ranked attackman to 3 points, his lowest of the year.
Caponi, a senior from Oakland, N.J., ranks 2nd in the SAC in save percentage and 3rd in goals-against average, ranking in the top 20 nationally in both categories. He has earned SAC Specialist of the Week honors three times this season. Caponi has been at his best in Wingate's biggest games, piling up 15 saves against #7 Mercyhurst, 16 saves against #10 Limestone, 15 saves against #17 Newberry and 18 saves at #4 Lenoir-Rhyne. He wrapped up the regular season with 16 saves in the win over #3 UIndy.
Badraun, a freshman from Mission Viejo, Calif., leads the Trojans in goals (56), points (76), shots (157), and shots on goal (91) and ranks second in assists (20) and turnovers (33). In conference standings, he is second in goals and shots and is fourth in points. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Varsity Gems Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week and the Jimmy John's Co-Athlete of the Week on March 20th.
Boyle earns his second SAC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bulldogs to a 12-1 overall record. Under his leadership, the nationally ranked No. 5 Bulldogs recorded their first-ever undefeated SAC regular season (9-0) and earned their fifth SAC title in program history, with two regular season championships to go along with three SAC Tourney titles.
Joining Grieco on first team attack is teammate Danny Riley and Lenoir-Rhyne's Toron Eccleston. On the All-SAC First Team at midfield is Limestone's Mike McGarry, Lenoir-Rhyne's Riley Seay, and Newberry's Baker Westmoreland. Joining Farley on the defenders is Lenoir-Rhyne's Victor Powell and Anderson's Peyton Jefferson. The final four members of the first team are Joe Karnich of Wingate at long pole, Lenoir-Rhyne's Colten McCracken as Short-Stick Defensive midfielder, Wingate's James Kotcamp as Faceoff Specialist and Wingate's Johnny Caponi in goal.
The 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship will take place April 28 and 30 at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, N.C.
2023 SAC Men's Lacrosse All-Conference
All-SAC First Team
A – Willie Grieco, Wingate
A – Danny Riley, Wingate
A – Toron Eccleston, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Mike McGarry, Limestone
MF – Riley Seay, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Baker Westmoreland, Newberry
D – Peyton Farley, Wingate
D – Victor Powell, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Peyton Jefferson, Anderson
LP – Joe Karnich, Wingate
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Colten McCracken, Lenoir-Rhyne
Face-off Spec. – James Kotcamp, Wingate
GK – Johnny Caponi, Wingate
All-SAC Second Team
A – Zachary Terry, Limestone
A – Scott Reed, Newberry
A – Myles Moffat, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Chris Erneston, Limestone
MF – Tommy Aguilar, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Curtis Bukta, Newberry
D – Jack Travassos, Newberry
D – Nick Arnold, Wingate
D – Nate Ashley, Lenoir-Rhyne
LP – Nathan Allan, Coker
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Trent Connolly, Wingate
Face-off Spec. – Tim Ladner, Limestone
GK – Ryan Erler, Newberry
All-SAC Third Team
A – Radyn Badraun, Anderson
A – Carter Brand, Limestone
A – James Osorio, Newberry
MF – Garrett Hawkins, Anderson
MF – Will Canata, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Bryce Reece, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Jordan Sullivan, Lincoln Memorial
D – David Squires, Newberry
D – Joey Masson, Lenoir-Rhyne
LP – Brock Strong, Newberry
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Jason Madden, Limestone
Face-off Spec. – John Paulus, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Hunter Klosterman, Anderson
Offensive Player of the Year
Willie Grieco, Wingate
Defensive Player of the Year
Peyton Farley, Wingate
Specialist of the Year
Johnny Caponi, Wingate
Freshman of the Year
Radyn Badraun, Anderson
Coach of the Year
Tim Boyle, Wingate
Statistical Champions
Team Man-Up Offense – Newberry, .567
Team Man-Down Defense – Limestone, .772
Team Ground Balls per Game – Limestone, 45.33
Team Scoring Offense – Limestone, 17.33
Team Scoring Defense – Lenoir-Rhyne, 7.67
Team Scoring Margin – Lenoir-Rhyne, 9.47
Team Faceoff Win Percentage – Limestone, .611
Faceoff Win Percentage – Tim Ladner, Limestone, .647
Ground Balls per Game – Tim Ladner, Limestone, 10.07
Assists per Game – Willie Grieco, Wingate – 3.54
Shots Percentage – Briley Maxwell, Newberry, .510
Goals-Against Average – John Caponi, Wingate, 9.44
Save Percentage – John Caponi, Wingate, .569
Goals per Game – Zachary Terry, Limestone, 4.33
Caused Turnovers per Game – Michael Jensen, Coker, 3.20
Points per Game – Willie Grieco, Wingate – 6.23
– #MakeSACyours –