Senior Spotlight: Mt. Lebanon 100-goal scorer wanted more for himself, team

By: Bill Hartlep
Saturday, May 30, 2020 | 7:01 AM

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

John Sramac is one of the WPIAL’s top lacrosse talents.

An all-section, All-WPIAL and All-MSLCA honoree a year ago, the Mt. Lebanon senior had even higher expectations for himself this spring.

“Personally, I wanted to be an All-American and be WPIAL Player of the Year,” said Sramac, a 6-foot, 190-pound attack who will continue his career at Division III Ithaca College.

Sramac, who had more than 100 career goals, was the Blue Devils’ offensive MVP last season when they finished as the WPIAL runner-up after falling to Pine-Richland in the Class AAA title game. It was the second time in three seasons they were silver medalists. They finished fourth in 2018.

Again, he had higher expectations for his senior season, which the PIAA canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“As a team, we always say the first goal is to win the section and go from there, but our senior class has wanted to win a WPIAL championship and make a deep state run since middle school,” he said.

How have you been keeping busy during the coronavirus pandemic?

Since we started online classes, I’ve been keeping up with school work and assignments and also trying to stay in shape as best I can with gyms being closed.

Have you been doing any lacrosse activities?

I’ve been going to the middle schools to shoot and hit the wall.

How much practice time did you have before the shutdown?

We got about two weeks of practice and a scrimmage.

What do you plan to study at Ithaca?

I plan on majoring in business.

What do you like most about lacrosse?

I like being able to compete and the team environment and camaraderie. It’s fun to make friends with kids I wouldn’t know otherwise.

What are some of the other activities you were involved with at Mt. Lebanon?

I was in concert band through my junior year and played intramural basketball.

What was your reaction when you found out you wouldn’t be returning to school this spring?

Even though I felt like we were gonna be canceled, it was still really disappointing and frustrating knowing that it was out of everyone’s control.

What have you missed most during this quarantine period?

I’ve missed being at school and seeing everyone on a daily basis.

What has been your favorite show to binge watch?

To be honest, I haven’t watched any shows, but I’ve watched a lot of movies and “Inception” was my favorite that I watched.

If you could have dinner with any three celebrities, who would they be?

I’d choose LeBron James, Travis Scott and Bryan Cranston.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. lebanon