By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/20/11
Conestoga junior long stick midfielder Miles Thomas has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Drexel University.
Thomas helped the Pioneers claim their second straight Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championship this year. Conestoga finished 25-1 and also won their third straight District 1 crown while finishing No. 2 in the nation in the final MaxPreps rankings and the LaxPower Computer Ratings.
Thomas, who plays club lacrosse for Mesa Fresh, is the third Pioneer junior to commit to coach Brian Voelker’s Dragons. The others are midfielders and Mesa teammates Jordan Klunder and Mike McGregor.
Also, Radnor junior face-off specialist and Mesa teammate Mike Barnes recently committed to Drexel. Other Philly players in the Class of 2012 that commirtetd to Drexel include Holy Ghost Prep midfielder Jeremy Omrod and Bishop Shanahan defenseman Chris Panichelli.
Thomas hopes to enter the Drexel co-op program, but is undecided on a major.
“I liked coach Voelker,” he said. “And I liked the fact it’s in the city and the guys treated me well.”
Thomas is thrilled to have played a part in a second state championship.
“I thought it was great to get back to the championship again,” he said. “I think we took it one game at a time and didn’t try to look forward to any games but the next game. We got up for every game.”
Thomas said the team peaked at the end of the season. The Pioneers routed St. Joseph’s Prep, 13-4, in the title game, scoring 13 consecutive goals after falling behind, 3-0.
“I thought we were playing our best lacrosse all season in the two games leading up to that game,” he said.
Other Conestoga juniors to commit to Division I colleges include attackmen Tyler Brooke and Bradlee Lord (Maryland), attackman Connor Frisina (Delaware),midfielder Adam Goins (Notre Dame) and defenseman Jamie Ikeda (Duke).
Can the Pioneers three-peat?
“I’m excited for next year,” he said. “I think we’ll have a great team. We have a lot of young guys coming up that will contribute and I think we’ll be alright.”
