The Washington Township school board honored the WTHS Boys’ Lacrosse at the board meeting on June 30 for winning the South Jersey Interscholastic Lacrosse League (SJILL) Atlantic Division championship.
The Minutemen defeated Kingsway High School, who were ranked 12th in the state at the time, on May 8 6-5. The win marked the first division title for WTHS since they joined the Atlantic Division in 2023.
“Our lacrosse team recently completed the most successful season in program history,” said the school’s athletic director, Kevin Murphy. “The team wrapped up an incredible campaign with an outstanding 18-4 record. Building on that momentum (from the division win), the team also advanced to the program’s first ever Group 4 sectional final appearance state semifinals.”
The team also made it to the state finals but would lose against Southern Regional High School, 10-6. Despite the loss, the team still considered the season a major success overall. Several people on the team earned individual recognitions, such as head coach Josh Hanlon who was named the Group 4 coach of the year. He would address the crowd in attendance.
“I’ve got some great gentlemen behind me,” Hanlon said of the players. “They’re really supported by their parents, community members. It really is a community effort. It really comes to the youth coaches as well who put in the time for these players. Growing up, a lot of them are multi-sport athletes.
“I learned as a coach early on that scores kind of fade away. If we recognize these boys, what I want to recognize is their commitment as student athletes. So many student athletes that we have a Washington Township High School. We demand a lot of them.”
One of those athletes was Ethan Wechert, a recently graduated senior. Wechert was a varsity player for all four years on the lacrosse team, a three-year all conference player, a two-time team captain and was named a U.S Scholar All-American. He addressed the crowd with a brief speech.
“On behalf of our team,” Wechert said, “I would like to thank the board of education for taking the time to recognize us and celebrate our season. It truely means a lot. I’ve been playing sports in this community since elementary school alongside many of these guys here tonight that I just graduated with. Growing up together, competing together and finishing our high school careers as the most accomplished team in program history, makes this recognition even more special.”
WTHS Lacrosse player Ethan Wechert (at the podium) addresses the crowd during the June 30 Washington Township School Board meeting.
