Mason lacrosse players recognized with PRESTIGIOUS national honor
Divyana Bose | Sports Writer
From unknown to national prominence.
In the midst of a pandemic, two Mason Girls’ lacrosse players made a name for themselves this summer, being selected to Under Armour All-American teams.
Junior Lauren Stone was chosen to play “attack” in the highlight division, while Sophomore Peyton Flynn played midfielder in the common division. Both were victorious as they celebrate not only their win, but how far they have come as players.
Mason girls’ lacrosse team has come a long way as more continue to pursue their goals of becoming D1 athletes such as Peyton Flynn who has not only gone the extra mile of her training, but has worked on her self awareness as well.
“I lift and train like an athlete instead of focusing on one sport, because they’re different things and one is more speed, quickness, agility,” Flynn said.“Something I’m really working on is being a confident player and I think I’ve grown a lot in that aspect,training like an All-American player does.”
Going above and beyond has worked in Stone’s favor as she dominates the field, challenging herself whenever she can. Stone explained how her skill and agility have continued to grow in the past few years by pushing her limits and building off this All-American achievement.
“I really tried to practice with other division 1 players from Cincinnati so that I can raise my level of play,” Stone said. “I’m really looking forward to cotinuing to grow as a player, and putting Mason Lacrosse on the map.”
Despite the short amount of time at the games, Flynn says everyone has a love for each other, just due to the same amount of passion for lacrosse each person next to you has.
“The love that everyone on the team has for the sport is almost uncomfortable, and everyone has a goal to play at the top level,” Flynn says. “No one can run the field if there’s no teamwork happening. When you are playing girls who are also trying to play at a D1 level, you are competing to be the best.”
Stone and Flynn both had similar goals throughout the tournament and keep wanting more opportunities, as they are assets to the girls Mason Lacrosse team. Striving for greatness is in their nature as they both stated and want the best for themselves and each other.
Stone now hopes that her teammates will feed off of her hunger while striving for a common goal. Stone wants to be a better role model for the Comets, and push the team to new heights.
“I learned to communicate and be a leader on the field,to use my voice, and really assert myself into the higher,”Stone said. “I’m just wanting to improve the community, family aspect, and hopefully bring the Comets to a big victory.”
Many players have hopes and dreams of accomplishing what Stone and Flynn have done, but competition runs high all over the country. Mason Head Coach Davis said that coming out on top is just having outright motivation from people who doubt your abilities.
“If somebody says you can’t do it, find out why. Then go out and do it right,” said Davis. “Don’t just don’t settle for second best:be an elite player, be an elite person, and have fun doing it. Find a passion there.”
Coach Davis’ words of advice have guided Flynn throughout her journey of making it as far as being an All-American, and she hopes to continue accomplishing bigger and better things. As only her sophomore year starts, she knows that she couldn’t have made it this far without his expectations pushing her to be the best.
“You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And if you can’t do that. It’s really hard to adapt to new situations,” Flynn said. “So he pushes you in a way that he knows you can get there and it shows like he puts a lot of trust in you again.”
“I hope that I can just push Mason across to be one step better,” Stone said. “My goal is to put Mason Girls Lacrosse on the map and hopefully we can win a state championship this year.”
Stone now hopes that her teammates will feed off of her hunger while striving for a common goal. Stone wants to be a better role model for the Comets, and push the team to new heights.
“I learned to communicate and be a leader on the field, to use my voice, and really assert myself into the higher,” Stone said. “I’m just wanting to improve the community, family aspect, and hopefully bring the Comets to a big victory.”