Christopher Newport University Dominates in Men's Lacrosse College Division

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Christopher Newport University took three of the four major awards as the Virginia Sports Information Directors announced their end of season college men's lacrosse awards on Wednesday. The Captain's Andrew Cook was named Player of the Year, Ryan Young was Defensive Player of the Year while skipper Mikey Thompson was named Coach of the Year. Roanoke College's Weston Hammond brought home the fourth award, earning Rookie of the Year.

2023 VaSID All-State College Division Men's Lacrosse Team

Cook was named VaSID Player of the Year after a stellar season, helping the Captains to a 19-3 record and a trip to the 2023 NCAA Men's Lacrosse National Championship semifinals. For his effort, he was named USILA National Midfielder of the Year, First-Team All-American by USILA and IMLCA, First-Team All-Region and First-Team All-CLC. He was named the IMLCA Region 3 Offensive Player of the Year and was just one of three DIII men's lacrosse players named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. He led all midfielders in the NCAA in points (95) and ranked second in goals (65). His 95 points marked the second-highest total in CNU history, while his 65 goals were the third-most by a Captain. Scored a goal in 41 consecutive games dating back to 2022, which stands as the longest streak in program history.

Young picked up Defensive Player of the Year Honors for a season that saw him named USILA National Defenseman of the Year. He was named First-Team All-American by USILA, IMLCA and USA Lacrosse Magazine as well as First-Team All-Region and First-Team All-CLC. He was named the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He ranked 16th in the NCAA in caused turnovers (47) and his 47 takeaways also marked the sixth-most in school history. Young forced a turnover in 21 of his 22 appearances and had multiple takeaways on 11 occasions. He had 10 caused turnovers during the postseason, including a pair in the squad's overtime win against No. 6 Dickinson in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Hammond was just one of three Maroons to start all 19 games on the season. He led the squad with 60 groundballs and 32 caused turnovers. For his efforts, he was named an All-American by USILA and was named ODAC Rookie of the Year, while also earning First-Team All-ODAC.

Thompson was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Captains to the NCAA Final Four for the second time in program history. CNU set a new single-season record with 19 victories, including seven against nationally-ranked opponents and five against top-10 foes. They finished the year ranked fourth in the country by USILA and third by Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine. The Captains spent two weeks at No. 1 in the USILA National Coaches Poll He coached 10 All-Americans, including the National Defenseman of the Year (Ryan Young) and National Midfielder of the Year (Andrew Cook).

13 players were voted to the VaSID first team, with Christopher Newport leading the way with six. Washington and Lee, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Hampden-Sydney also had representatives on the first team.

On the Second-Team were members from CNU, W&L, Randolph-Macon, Lynchburg, HSC, Roanoke and Mary Washington.

VaSID names 44 all-state teams in 23 sports annually, an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a university or conference in the Commonwealth of Virginia.