Team off to 3-4 start under head coach Stuart Gentry
Lacrosse is alive and well in its third season at Windsor High School, with the program looking to continue a steady progression that began in 2015 under the guidance of former coach Ross Albertson.
Former collegiate star (Utah State) and Jaguars assistant head coach Stuart Gentry, who handled most of the X’s and O’s last year, has officially assumed the head-coaching reigns, ably assisted by veteran coaches Brett Sack, Mark Kulkinski and Albertson.
Gentry has the Jags off to a 3-4 start, posting wins over The Bay School (13-9) San Rafael (13-12) and most recently Lick Wilmerding (9-7) this month, with losses coming at the hands of Drake (15-12), Tamalpais (11-5), Novato (13-1) and Branson (14-3).
Although its early, Gentry has liked what he’s seen from his charges and is confident the team can reach new heights this year.
“Our biggest weakness is the fact that we’re a third-year program and most of our players don’t have a lot of lacrosse experience,” Gentry said. “But what we lack in experience we make up for with athleticism and a healthy locker room – all our kids get along well and the team chemistry is good.”
The Jags are coming off a much-improved season in 2016, a year that included a solid 4-6 record in the North Bay League and a spot in the NBL playoffs before finishing up at 9-11 overall. The Jaguars fell just short of North Coast Section playoff consideration, a goal that fuels the team’s motivation this year.
“We were the number four team in the conference playoffs last season and we’d definitely like to go in with a higher seed this year,” Gentry said. “Our main goals are to finish at .500 or better and to make the NCS playoffs.”
The NBL remains unchanged this season, featuring a group of teams that include defending champion Casa Grande, Petaluma, Cardinal Newman, Sonoma Academy, and Rancho Cotate. The Jags will play a 10-game league schedule, with all home matches being played in the friendly confines of Kirkpatrick Stadium starting at 7 p.m.
The Jaguars will benefit from another year of varsity experience, returning all but three starters from last season. Key all-league returnees are junior defenseman Bas Osborn, senior defenseman Jarrod Mulholland, senior offensive attacker Christian Albertson and senior offensive midfielder Nolan Sweeney. Junior attack/face-off specialist Casey Horton is currently rehabbing from a football injury and could be lost for the season.
Other returning players are senior Ethan Ling, juniors Colton Jimenez, Olin Piotter, seniors Arlen Burton and Isaac Bemis, junior Tyler Cozad, and sophomores Tyler Hensel, Ethan Kat Kuoy and Kobe DeMello.
“Their experience should help us control the tempo of games on offense and defense,” Gentry noted. “Most of our promising youth is at attack and so far, even in spite of our inexperience, this group has proven they are hungry on offense and will take it to teams.”
Varsity newcomers include Andy Dutton, Scout Gugel, Daniel Garcia, Bryce Flowers, Nicholas Arredondo, Tristin Goldberg, Cesar Herrera, Kyle Hoff, Joshua Gaspar, Lukas Payne and Jacob Poorman.
Upcoming dates
The Jaguars will kick off the NBL schedule at home on March 29 against Petaluma (7 p.m.), followed by a March 31 visit to Sonoma Academy (7 p.m.).
