Even though the Summit boys’ lacrosse team did not win another state championship, lacrosse is still king in the town of Summit.
That’s because Summit and Oak Knoll captured girls’ state championships Saturday at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium in Union.
First it was the Hilltoppers garnering their first Group 2 title by defeating Allentown 16-11.
Then the Royals came back and then held off Mountain Lakes 10-9 to win the Group 1 crown.
Next for Summit and Oak Knoll is the Tournament of champions semifinals Wednesday at Monmouth. The other two state champions are Shawnee in Group 4 for the first time since 1998 and perennial powerhouse Moorestown in Group 3.
The TOC final is Saturday, June 8, at Kean.
Junior midfielder Madeleine Gramigna paced Summit with an outstanding six-goal performance.
Six other Summit players scored, including Olivia Kelly and Sara Szynal with three goals each. Anna Baumeister scored twice and Meaghan Celmer, Stuart Humphrey and Emma Olcott once.
Hilltopper goaltender Kady Glynn made nine saves.
Summit, which scored eight goals in each half, won its eighth straight to improve to 18-4.
Allentown finished a fantastic year with a superb 22-2 mark.
Oak Knoll also defeated a one-loss team, with Mountain Lakes finishing 19-2 and the Royals improving to 17-5.
After trailing 5-1 early, Oak Knoll went on an 9-0 run to take the lead for good at 9-5.
Morgan Ryan scored three goals for the Royals.
The TOC was not set as of Sunday, but most predicted that Oak Knoll would be the four seed and face the top seed, which was most likely going to be Moorestown. If that is true, then Summit will take on Shawnee in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
– JR PARACHINI