With his recruiting process complete, Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Zach Mann '17 thought this summer would be a good time to have some fun with the sport he loves.
Zach was selected to the West's boys' lacrosse team for the Bay State Games, and from the moment he made the cut, he sure had his fun.
Zach and the West team rolled through its five-game schedule, easily earning the gold medal. The West out-scored its opponents 75-29, which included a 10-5 win over Northeast/Metro in the final in Waltham.
"I got to play with a lot of guys I've known for a long time, having grown up in the area," said Zach, who has verbally committed to attend and play lacrosse at Division I Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland. "That was a good experience."
The team never had all of the players at the various tryout dates so Zach wasn't sure how the team would fare in the statewide tournament. However, after the first game, he knew the team had the potential to make a special run.
"On the first day we beat the Southeast team, well, a lot to a little," said Zach, referring to the 20-6 outcome. "At that point I realized we had a good thing going. And, once I realized I knew a lot of the people and knew I could play with them, I knew we weren't just going to be a thrown together team."
Zach scored in every game, finishing with five goals and an assist for the tournament.
"It was great to win the gold medal game," said Zach, who played at midfield. "I know a couple kids on the Northeast team. We have a friendly rivalry so it was good to beat them for the gold. It was fun. It liked being on a team of kids that I kind of knew but not really well."