LACROSSE

Lacrosse: Ramsey pays tribute to Jim Grasso, best of the week, rankings and more

Sean Farrell
NorthJersey

There was never a quick trip to Jim Grasso's office.

There was always a story or a word of encouragement for Ramsey coach Dan DeMartino when he went to see his athletic director. 

Grasso was an influential figure around town who used his voice to bring lacrosse to Ramsey. His legacy still lives on with the Rams, even after his death last August following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He is remembered today as a people person, someone who seemed to know everyone. 

From 2010: Jim Grasso is the executive director of the new Big North Conference.

"I'm definitely mindful of the fact that he's not there," said DeMartino, in his sixth year with the Ramsey boys. "I didn't think that it would ever come so soon." 

The Rams paid tribute to their former AD on Saturday at the Jim Grasso Memorial Lacrosse Tournament. 

They unveiled purple jerseys, a color associated with pancreatic cancer awareness, and dedicated some of the proceeds from the sale to Relay for Life. The six-team event included two of Grasso's past stops in Paramus and NV/Demarest. It also featured NV/Old Tappan and Ramapo along with North Rockland, the New York school where Grasso's brother Greg coached for several years.

"It meant the world to us," DeMartino said. "It was so much fun to play and compete while wearing the purple jerseys for pancreatic cancer and in honor of Jim. To win that day, we needed every bit of luck we could possible get. I'm sure Jim threw some luck our way."

Ramsey plans to wear purple again on May 2 and honor Grasso before a home game against Indian Hills.

The Rams became a varsity team in 2015 and Grasso was a key to getting them started. There are only 40 boys lacrosse teams in North Jersey, and Ramsey is 25th in enrollment. Despite their size and relative inexperience, the Rams (4-4) are among the best in Bergen County and have enjoyed success on the girls side as well.

"It was Jim's strength, it was Jim's ability to weather a storm a little bit when it came to budgeting," DeMartino said. "He was willing to really put himself out there to make sure that the student-athletes at Ramsey High School had a lacrosse opportunity and they were given a great experience when they had it. He definitely had to maneuver some things to get it at the high school and make it work."

"Without him, I don't think Ramsey High School has lacrosse even still."

Players to watch

Matt Bellinger, Paramus senior midfielder

Don't look now, but the Spartans are on a six-game win streak with Bellinger driving the offense. The two-time captain was good for 22 points last week and scooped up his 200th ground ball when the program earned its first ever win over River Dell.

Danielle Lagomarsino, Paramus Catholic senior midfielder

Lagomarsino came to Paramus Catholic without any lacrosse experience, but will leave as one of its top scorers. She hit 100 career goals on Thursday, despite only getting into the sport as a freshman.

Patrick Orapello, Wayne Hills junior midfielder

Orapello reached 100 career points last week and become the first Patriot junior to get to the century mark. He has 15 goals and seven assists this spring.

Maggie Smith, Glen Rock, senior midfielder

Smith joined the 100-goal club last Wednesday in a wild 21-17 victory over Caldwell. The Panther middie has scored a team-high 26 times this season and impacts the game through her work on the draw.

Jackie Wolak, Ridgewood senior attacker

Any list of the most athletic players must include Wolak, the top scorer on Bergen County's top team. The Notre Dame signee had 16 draw controls in a win last Wednesday, breaking a Ridgewood single-game record of 10, held by multiple players.

Ridgewood's Jackie Wolak (5) drives with the ball in the first half. No. 1 Ridgewood defeated No. 2 IHA 19-5 on Monday, April 8, 2019, in Washington Township.

Boys lacrosse rankings

  1. Ridgewood 6-1
  2. Bergen Catholic 6-1
  3. Northern Highlands 5-2
  4. Don Bosco 2-5
  5. Ramapo 2-3
  6. Wayne Hills 7-0
  7. Glen Rock 4-4
  8. St. Joseph 6-3
  9. Wayne Valley 5-3
  10. Lakeland 6-2

Girls lacrosse rankings

  1. Ridgewood 9-0
  2. Immaculate Heart 5-2
  3. Northern Highlands 3-4
  4. Mahwah 3-6
  5. Indian Hills 8-1
  6. Saddle River Day 1-8
  7. Ramapo 3-3
  8. Ramsey 5-2
  9. Wayne Hills 8-0
  10. Lakeland 6-4

(Stats and records through Tuesday)

In case you missed it

Paramus senior Nicole Buccola scored her 100th career goal on Monday in a win over Clifton. Buccola has taken over as the Spartans' scoring leader this season by getting at least a hat trick in each of the first seven games.

Passaic Valley senior Catherine Bennett added to her collection of program records on Saturday with a single-game high of 11 goals. Bennett has been on fire throughout the season with 41 goals and easily ranks first on the Hornets all-time list with 153.

River Dell captains Teri Manzelli and Katie Rowley recently became the highest scoring set of teammates in program history. The Golden Hawk seniors combined for seven goals on Saturday to beat NV/Demarest and establish a new record. Rowley (20 goals, 12 assists) and Manzelli (18 goals, 11 assists) are both close to 200 career points and have been key to their team's 5-3 start. Manzelli also made history last week with her 77th career assist, a new River Dell record.

Tenafly goalie Dylan Wickey came through with one of the best single-game performances of the season on Monday. Wickey turned away 24 of 26 shots, good for a 92.3 save percentage, in a 2-1 loss to Dwight-Englewood. After playing sporadically in a backup role last spring, he has taken hold of the starting job as a junior and drawn praise for his offseason work. The Tigers now stand at 6-2 with a 3.63 goals against average.

West Milford has an excellent pair of scorers in Ray Gorny (32 goals) and Casey Fagan (27 goals). That combination has helped the Highlanders win five of their last six and average 12.4 goals per game. Dylan Connors, Aidan Bolger and Ryan Pomeroy have all been crucial in picking up ground balls.

Westwood seniors Ellsa Peabody and Sarah Levy reached 100 career points on the same play last Thursday. Levy set up Peabody on a goal for the Cardinals (7-1).

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