Boys’ Latin’s Pietramala wins C. Markland Kelly Award as state’s top lacrosse player (VIDEO HERE!)
Dominic Pietramala won the C. Markland Kelly Award as the top boys lacrosse player in a ceremony Sunday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The University of North Carolina-bound attack is the 15th Boys’ Latin perfomer to win the award.
by Derek Toney
The name Pietramala has symbolized excellence in lacrosse in Maryland for five decades.
Sunday, Dominic Pietramala received one of the state’s most prestigious honors. The recent Boys’ Latin School grad was named the winner of the C. Markland Kelly Award in a ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
“It’s super special and something that doesn’t happen without my coaches and teammates,” said Pietramala, an attack who helped the Lakers to the MIAA A Conference semifinals this past season. “I’ve been blessed to have Coach Farrell come into my life in 8th grade…it’s been nothing shy of amazing. The friends I’ve made, the lessons Coach Farrell along with the team have taught me ultimately come back to why I’m in this position.”
Pietramala, who will play for the University of North Carolina next spring is the first Boys’ Latin performer to be named the “Best High School Lacrosse Player in the State of Maryland,” since Shack Stanwick in 2014. Pietramala is the 15th Laker to receive the award first bestowed in 1945 in honor of C. Markland Kelly, who died in 1942 in the Battle of Midway during World War II.
Kelly, who graduated from McDonogh School and attended Friends and Gilman schools, was a star goalie at the University of Maryland. He left in 1940 to join the Navy where he became a fighter pilot.
The second-ranked player in the Class of 2022 by Inside Lacrosse, Pietramala was a driving source for Boys’ Latin, which was the No. 1 seed in the MIAA A playoffs and VSN’s top team for four weeks. He helped the Roland Park school to the MIAA A championship as a junior in 2021.
Pietramala’s father, Dave, won two national titles in 20 seasons as head coach at Johns Hopkins where he was a three-time All-America defensemen and won a national title in the late 1980s. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004.
Dominic, who will attend North Carolina with twin brother Nick, said he’s never felt burdened.
“He never put any pressure on me. He’s the greatest dad in the world and the greatest coach in the world,” said Dominic of his father, now an assistant coach at Syracuse. “What he’s done for me in my life is show me that there’s no wrong way to handle any situation…no matter what I do he’ll be proud of me if I were to play baseball, soccer or lacrosse.”
Pietramala was the overall winner, selected by the Maryland State Lacrosse Coaches Association, which presented awards to the top players in the public and private sectors. Pietramala was top choice for North private schools while Bullis Prep’s Charlie Muller won for the South.
Fallston junior faceoff specialist Aiden Dixon was selected the top player in Class 1A. Kent Island’s Jamie Smith won for Class 2A after leading the Kent County school to the state crown last month.
Catonsville’s Brian Ruppel was the top player in Class 3A. The University of Maryland-bound goalie was selected the Tim Wynne Award recipient as the state’s best netminder.
Future Terp teammate Eliot Dubick from Winston Churchill was selected the top player in 4A. Dubick helped Churchill become the first Montgomery County school to win a state lacrosse championship.
Top coaching honors went to Churchill’s Jeff Fritz (public) and Chris Ogle from Archbishop Curley (private). Ogle led Curley to the MIAA B Conference championship.
Ohio State associate head coach Travis Crane was the feature speaker for Sunday’s ceremony. The Eastern Tech grad who played at CCBC-Essex and Penn State, served as a Calvert Hall College assistant before moving into the college coaching ranks.
77th C. MARKLAND KELLY AWARDS
C. Markland Kelly recipient – Dominic Pietramala, Boys’ Latin School
Class 1A recipient – Aiden Dixon, Fallston
Class 2A recipient – Jamie Smith, Kent Island
Class 3A recipient – Brian Ruppel, Catonsville
Class 4A recipient – Eliot Dubick, Winston Churchill
Independent North recipient – Dominic Pietramala
Independent South recipient – Charlie Muller, Bullis School
Tim Wynne recipient (State’s top goalie) – Brian Ruppel, Catonsville
Private School Coach of the Year – Chris Ogle, Archbishop Curley
Public School Coach of the Year – Jeff Fritz, Winston Churchill
2022 C. Markland Kelly Award winners (from right to left): Fallston’s Aiden Dixon (Class 1A), Jamie Smith from Kent Island (Class 2A), Winston Churchill’s Eliot Dubick (Class 4A), Dominic Pietramala from Boys’ Latin (overall winner/Independent schools North), Catonsville’s Brian Ruppel (Class 3A) and Charlie Muller from Bullis School (Independent schools South)
