The 2026 Pingree Lacrosse Team has already started preparing for their upcoming season. The question is, how does the team look this year? Are the Highlanders bringing us home another championship? A lot is up in the air right now.
The Pingree Boys Lacrosse team has started their pre-season box lacrosse league. Box lacrosse is an indoor lacrosse league that many prep school teams collectively participate in before the season to get ready. According to senior Captain Jake Hiltz, “Box lacrosse is important because it kind of gives our team an idea of what we’re looking at for the season, what we need to fix, and what we need to keep doing.” Jake is very confident that the team will hit the ground running once the season begins, since they are already building their chemistry. Senior Captain Wyatt Langway agrees, saying that they are working on “gluing together and just getting our strategies down for the season.”
The boys have high hopes coming off their New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) championship last season. “The standard is the championship,” Langway says. “I think that before we get into the championship, it starts with the little things, you know, just putting in that work in the off-season.”
Langway’s statement highlights the team’s mentality coming into this season. Rather than riding the success from last season, Langway says the team will be focusing on attention to detail and consistency. Holding the team to a higher standard keeps everyone on point, keeping the pace of play high all year. This is the mindset that they believe will take them to this year’s championship.
Along with these high expectations for the team this year comes increased focus and determination from our captains. As Wyatt said, “I want to work on my communication as a leader, you know, making sure the defense is really ready to slide at all times.” This focus on communication comes with holding people accountable. The captains are focusing on speaking up and correcting issues early, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Being such a dominant team in the NEPSAC last season required everything to go right for the team, and team chemistry was a huge part of the success. According to Jake Hiltz, “A tight-knit team is gonna go out there and stick up for each other, and play with each other instead of trying to compete against each other.” This sense of unity was a major factor in the team’s success and remains a priority for them going into this season, as well. Langway also spoke on “Just how gritty we were as a whole. I think the boys just wanted it really bad, and I think we came together to perform our best.”
Hopefully, last year’s deep chemistry and desire will transition to this year’s team and lead them to another NEPSAC championship.
