Pine-Richland boys lacrosse players commit to play in college

By: Kevin Lohman
Friday, March 8, 2019 | 7:33 PM

A quartet of Pine-Richland boys lacrosse players pledged their commitments to their future colleges of choice Feb. 27 at the high school athletic office, gathering to both celebrate the future and enjoy the unique moment together before embarking on their senior seasons.

Seniors Ben Barnes, Brendan Hein, Will Harnick and Jon Scherer were all present at the ceremony to cement their decisions to play college lacrosse. They were joined by a flock of teammates, as well as coach Kevin Welty, who said days like that are rewarding for a coach.

“It’s my best day as a coach that I’ll have, getting to see those guys really realize their dreams, and it’s my proudest moment because they did all the hard work. They earned it,” Welty said.

“That’s what you just love to see. They deserve that moment. It’s just a really great moment as a coach.”

Barnes has had an illustrious career up to this point as a goal scorer for the Rams, tallying more than 100 goals. After this season, he will be playing lacrosse at Seton Hill.

Hein serves as one of the anchors for the Pine-Richland defense, and will look to do the same at John Carroll.

A four-year contributor for the Pine-Richland boys lacrosse team, Harnick will be attending York College. With more than 50 career goals, Harnick will look to contribute his offensive skill set to a Spartans team that went undefeated in the Capital Athletic Conference last season.

As a long-stick midfielder last season, Scherer helped make a name for himself on the recruiting scene. The senior capitalized off his stellar play, earning a spot on the Mercyhurst team for next season.

All in all, it’s an impressive list in both numbers and talent for a Pine-Richland boys lacrosse senior class that has helped propel the program to three consecutive Section 4-AAA titles. However, Welty said he takes more pride in the quality of their collegiate lacrosse decisions, as opposed to the quantity.

“It’s not about how many of them are going. It’s more about quality of the institutions that the guys are headed off to,” Welty said.

“The way I see it, anybody in our senior class could’ve played college lacrosse had they chosen to. They were all being recruited. But they may have other interests. They may want to pursue a future on an academic basis. If you look at the senior class, overall, and the choices they’re making for the future, it’s awesome.”

Tags: Pine-Richland