Mareno helped Spartans set records
Rocco Mareno is a senior midfielder and faceoff specialist for the Burnt Hillsballston Lake boys’ lacrosse team. He began his varsity lacrosse career in eighth grade when he was brought up for sectionals.
Mareno ended his scholastic career Wednesday in a 16-5 loss to eventual state champion Manhasset in the Class C semifinals at the University at Albany.
The senior, also a standout football player, will continue his lacrosse career at the collegiate level at Towson University.
Q: You have enjoyed a tremendous varsity career, was your senior year very satisfying?
A: Oh yeah, absolutely. This year was a lot of fun. People were telling me “good season.” I didn’t even know some of the records we were beating until it was over. I didn’t know we had never (won) regionals or ever won the Suburban Council. I didn’t know we had one of the best records in school history to be honest with you. The only thing I really knew about was winning another sectional championship or that we had
James Franco / Special to the TU never won a state championship. That was something we had on our board. To get all of those records is really cool, especially with it being coach (Tom) Schwan’s last year.
Q: When you came into this season after having no state lacrosse tournament in 2021 and no season in 2020, was there a heightened sense of wanting to make the most of this season?
A: Yes. If we had a state tournament last year, I think we could have done the same things this year’s team did. Maybe more. Maybe less. The expectations were pretty high last year. What helped us in football and lacrosse (played in the spring of 2021), we kept building our chemistry in lacrosse getting back after COVID. I think that helped build the team up.
Q: You’ve had a few days to think about it, so what can you say about this season’s run?
A: I think looking back on it, we’ve all talked about this being such a fun season we had together. We all got to finish out with our brothers. We’ve been together for a while. Breaking the records we did was fun and getting to say we won the Suburban Council, a sectional championship and were regional champs is pretty cool. We wanted to win a state title, so not getting the ending we wanted hurts. We did end up losing to the team that won the state championship, which I guess is better than saying we lost to a team that reached the final.
Q: Faceoffs are such an important part of lacrosse. What is about that aspect of the game that you derive so much enjoyment out of?
A: I think it is the one-on-one aspect. You have the wing guys as well, but I think it is that one-on-one aspect of the game that you don’t really get a lot of. Being able to go against someone else and prove your skills and kind of showcase it in front of everybody and get your team the ball is an important part of the position. I like to say getting our offense the ball is one of best things for me.
Q: It probably must be hard for you to believe that in a few months, you will be at Towson University. How exciting is that to look forward to?
A: It is awesome. I have been looking forward to it. We have a group chat with the commits in my grade going to Towson. We have been talking. I went to Towson’s game against Fairfield (April 23). The atmosphere was great and it wasn’t even a home game. The way they play and the way they warmed up was crazy. I can’t wait.