Lacrosse

In 1940 Thornton Academy boys basketball coach Frederick Kosiba introduced the brand new sport of lacrosse to the school’s athletic program. Given the lack of available competition, the Maroon and Gold played a modest three-game schedule.Thornton fielded teams in 1940 and 1941 before World War II broke out and impacted the school’s ability to field boys’ athletic programs. 

Prior to the Maine Principals’ Association sponsoring state championship play in lacrosse in the spring of 1998, Thornton had a club program that competed in the Maine Interscholastic Lacrosse League (MILL). Once becoming a school-sanctioned sport in 1998, the Golden Trojans experienced immediate success on the field, earning a berth in the regional semifinals in its first year and completing an undefeated regular season in 2000 under Coach Dean Wolfhart. Wolfhart retired following the 2008 season, a year in which his teams completed a perfect 12-0 regular campaign en route to the Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship.

Recently the Golden Trojans have emerged as one of the top boys lacrosse programs in the state of Maine. Led by 2018 Southwestern Maine Activities Association Coach of the Year Ryan Hersey, Thornton Academy has made seven regional championship game appearances since 2010. In 2018, the Golden Trojans finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record and the first Class A state championship in school history. Thornton Academy duplicated that feat in June of 2019 with a thrilling overtime victory over Falmouth in the state championship game.

Thornton Academy fielded its first girls lacrosse team during the 1998 season. The program has had only two head coaches during its two-decade history – Kelli Corrigan and Craig Agreste. The girls program has been consistently competitive in Class A South during Agreste’s tenure, having won ten or more games on five occasions and appearing in regional championship games twice (2009, 2014). Agreste is the winningest coach in Thornton Academy program history with over 100 career victories.

A number of outstanding players have competed for both the Thornton Academy boys and girls lacrosse programs during their brief histories. Carly McKenna (2014) and Paige LeBlanc (2017) were Maine Sunday Telegram All-State players and later went on to compete for NCAA Division II programs. Dan St. Ours (1999), C.J. LaBreck (2018, 2019), Ean Patry (2019), and Alex St. John (2021) were selected as U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans while Noah Edborg tallied over 130 career goals in earning all-state status.

The typical Thornton Academy boys and girls lacrosse seasons consists of twelve regular season games and five non-countable exhibition dates. The Thornton Academy boys program hosts an annual preseason play day while the girls compete in a number of large tournaments. For regional post-season purposes, the Golden Trojans are grouped in the Class A South region and traditionally compete against some of the top programs in southern Maine.

All home lacrosse contests and the majority of practices take place at Dr. Paul S. Hill, Jr. Stadium. The lacrosse program also utilizes the Eastern Trail facility located on the west side of the school’s campus, for some of its practices. Participation in Thornton lacrosse is a six-day per week commitment with many of the regular season games taking place on Saturdays.

Tryouts for Thornton Academy’s lacrosse teams take place at the end of March. The varsity level is reserved for the school’s most highly skilled players. Students still developing their skills and novice players are assigned to sub-varsity teams. Thornton Academy offers two sub-varsity squads for boys players and one team for girls.

Season:                  
Spring

2022 Opening Date:        
March 28

Teams:                
Varsity, Junior Varsity, First Team

Coaches: 
Varsity Boys Coach:  Ryan Hersey
Varsity Girls Coach: Craig Agreste
Junior Varsity Boys Coach: Brian Dougher
Junior Varsity Girls Coach: Stephen Stinson
First Team Boys Coach: Justin Normand