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Carlisle
Hubert Gilroy
723 W. Penn Street
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
17013
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 News: Fraker is All-American |
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Thursday, July 21
Fraker is All-American
By Alicia Johnson, July 21, 2005
Recent Carlisle High School graduate Tommy Fraker says his 18th birthday was one he will never forget.
No, he didn't throw a massive party that was filmed by MTV. In fact, Fraker spent his birthday on July 7 at home with his family.
All it took for Fraker's "special day" to be beyond his wildest dreams was a quick visit to the U.S. Lacrosse website.
"I knew (the All-American High School Lacrosse selections) came out last year in the middle of July," Fraker says. "I heard that there were talks that a Carlisle player was getting it, but I didn't know who. I happened to look on the website and (my name) was there."
The Thundering Herd midfielder was one of three players (Matt Mersky from Lancaster Country Day and Scott Wengrenovich from Hempfield were the others) from the Central Pennsylvania area selected to the 2005 U.S. Lacrosse Boys High School All-American team, a team composed of more than 325 players from around the nation who are chosen by area committees.
"The decision adds notoriety in the sense that these are the coaches that coached against (Fraker) that selected him," Carlisle head coach Dave Breschi says. "It was a surprise because we are the No. 3 team in the area. I knew we had very limited choice and I figured that some of the teams in the area (York, Lancaster, Dauphin, CV and a few teams in State College area) that were better than us would get the prize. Not that I thought the players were better than us, but I just thought to the winners go the spoils. But it was a pleasant surprise."
So what did Fraker do to attract the attention of the area coaches?
Well for starters, the Herd co-captain led the team in goals scored with 45. He piled up 17 assists for the season and was named to the All-Mid-Penn and All-District 3 first teams this season. Fraker was also chosen team MVP.
For the Alvernia College-bound athlete (Fraker will play lacrosse there), this year's personal and team success began in the offseason when he and teammate Cory Adams got up at 6 a.m. to train at the local YMCA.
The hard work carried into summer league lacrosse and went straight on to the team indoor season. When it was time for Fraker and the Herd to take to the field this spring, they dominated.
Carlisle won its seventh straight Mid-Penn League Championship with a 15-5 record, including 7-0 in the conference. The Herd advanced to the semifinals in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association championship before losing to Manheim Twp. 10-7.
Fraker's All-American selection makes him just the third Carlisle lacrosse player to receive the distinction. Jason Lutz and Jon Blashford each received All-American honors in 2003. Breschi says former player Matt Daniels was named to the Academic All-American team.
But despite all the success the Carlisle lacrosse team has achieved over the years, the game is still lacrosse. And in the football- and basketball-crazed town of Carlisle, winning seven straight league titles is not enough.
"It is kind of difficult (playing in Carlisle) because obviously football and basketball get a lot of attention," Fraker says. "We play on the band field, the lines are never lined right. The football field always gets watered and our field is as hard as a rock. It's tough especially being one the top programs at the school and we don't get any recognition. We haven't lost in our division in six years and nobody knows that, so that kind of hurts."
As it stands right now, Carlisle and Cumberland Valley are the only two varsity boys' lacrosse teams in The Sentinel area, a factor that could work against a player like Fraker when it's time to pick All-Americans. Fortunately for him, his talent was hard to ignore this season.
"I read something about the Hempfield coach saying I was a key player they had to watch out for (when they played us)," Fraker says. "With Hempfield being the state runners-up and one of the top programs in the state, I thought that was pretty cool."
"He played his heart out every single time he was on the field and he delivered results," Breschi says. "He scored goals, played great defense, picked up loose balls and did a lot of small things. The coaches in the area recognized that and gave him the award."
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