Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief
This year, first-year lacrosse player Jonathan Williams, an exercise science major, was named 3rd Team All American under the MCLA. This is the first time since 2015 that a player has achieved an All-American ranking; a feat that Williams was able to accomplish in just his first year on the team, and first year in college. I was able to sit down with him to discuss what the season looked like for him.
When did you start playing lacrosse, and why?
My freshman year of high school. My brother started playing his freshman year, and he’s three years older than me. He started playing because his friend recruited him because we didn’t have that many players on the team. I was still playing baseball at the time, in middle school, but I went to a few games and watched him play, and I was always really interested in it. My freshman year I was like, ‘yeah this is what I want to do,’ instead of baseball.
How do you feel that the season has gone for you?
I think it went pretty solid. I think there’s some improvements that need to be made, but I think we’re right on the edge of being an upper-level team. When the season started, we were playing in California against top-ten teams. We played two games over the weekend, and I had five goals … I was thinking, ‘Okay. Two or three goals a game — doesn’t sound that bad first season.’ And then, I got into league play and it was five, six, the occasional seven (goals). So I thought, ‘If this is how the rest of the season goes I’ll be feeling pretty good.’
How did you find out you were chosen for the All-American team?
I woke up to a text at like 9 a.m. … from Coach Dan It was actually just a screenshot of my name on the list. I was still just waking up … so I had to go back and look at it a few times to make sure it was real.
What was your reaction when you realized that it was real?
I was pretty excited. Not as excited as I was expected to be, I guess. The third team part sound weird to me … but it was still really cool to realize that of everybody in the nation I was in the top percentage of them.
What does the future of WOU Lax look like?
We had a really strong freshman class this year … we’re getting I think six or seven more freshman this year … so we have a lot of young guys and really good talent. We just need to get them all together and on the same page and I think we’ll be pretty solid for the next few years.
Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu
Photo by Caity Healy
