By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/29/10
Conestoga junior defenseman Jamie Ikeda has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse for defending national champion Duke University.
Ikeda was a contributor on a Pioneers team that won its first state championship last year. Ikeda was ranked No. 34 by Inside Lacrosse last summer in its Young Guns Rising Juniors feature. He also competed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Showcase in June.
He plays club lacrosse for Mesa Fresh 2012.
Ikeda becomes the fifth Conestoga junior to commit to a Division I college. The others are attackmen Connor Frisina (UMass), Bradlee Lord (Maryland), and Tyler Brooke (Maryland) and midfielder Adam Goins (Notre Dame). Also, six Conestoga seniors have signed National Letters of Intent or made commitments to play Division I lacrosse.
Ikeda also considered Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Princeton, Cornell and Maryland.
“In my first visit I met with coach (John) Danowski, coach (Chris) Gabrielli and coach (Ron) Caputo, all of whom really impressed me,” Ikeda said. “During my second visit I was able to meet the team through Billy Conners, from Malvern Prep, who was a great host.
“Everyone I talked to was really nice and welcoming and I was able to watch the team’s strength and conditioning drills which gave me a good look at what is expected at the college level.”
Ikeda will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference against his brother, Casey, a freshman at Maryland. At Duke, he will join two Conestoga seniors that have signed Letters of Intent to play at Duke, long stick midfielder Brian Dailey and midfielder Tanner Scott.
Ikeda, recently inducted into the national Honor Society, plans to take a pre-med program.
“I also met with an academic advisor who gave me great information about fulfilling pre-med requirements at Duke,” he said. “Other factors beside the exceptional academics and athletics that helped me make a decision were the class sizes, location and having many relatives living in the area, as I seriously considered following my brother, too (to Maryland).
“Also, having Pennsylvania standouts like Billy Conners, Dan Wigrizer (Haverford School), Jordan Wolf (Lower Merion), Henry Lobb (Malvern Prep), Brian Dailey and Tanner Scott going there is great, too.”
Ikeda also plays football and basketball at Conestoga. He said his team is ready for the challenge of defending its state crown.
“I am very much looking forward to the 2011 lacrosse season, but will miss the great leadership on and off the field from last year’s senior class,” Ikeda said. “It was an amazing experience to play with my brother and win a State Championship, but I am hopeful with all the returning talent and leadership we will be working even harder to keep the momentum going.”
Ikeda wished to thank his coaches in Conestoga Youth Lacrosse, Penn Star 2008, Mesa Fresh 2012 and Conestoga HS, as well as older brothers Brian and Casey and his parents.
