Mars’ Grieco named WPIAL 2A Lacrosse Player of Year
ADAMS TWP — Following a superb sophomore season that included 81 goals, Enzo Grieco’s role changed for the Mars lacrosse team and it’s led to him becoming an even more dominant player.
A wealth of talent graduated from last year’s state championship team, including Wesley Scurci, Austin Cote, Josh Seipp and Jacob Caringola, who combined to contribute 108 assists during the 2022 season.
“Last year, Enzo was primarily a finisher,” said Mars coach Bob Marcoux. “We had a lot of guys getting him the ball, but with so many of them gone, we needed him to initiate things a lot more this season.”
An attackman, Enzo has responded by tallying 34 assists through 22 games for the Planets (20-2), second on the team to Kyle McEwen’s 36. He has not lost his scoring touch, either, recently becoming just the second player in program history to reach 100 goals in a season. He enters Saturday’s state quarterfinal against Susquehannock with 101 scores.
“I try to stay away from keeping track of stats,” Enzo said. “My dad (Vince Grieco) knows a lot about lacrosse and he told me before this season that my job was to make the players around me better. I have to make sure my hands are free not only to get shots off, but also to pass.”
For his efforts, Enzo Grieco was recently named WPIAL Class 2A Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year.
“It was really cool to receive that,” he said. “It’s a prestigious award. Other Mars guys (Blake Thompson, Anthony Grieco, Mike Doyle, Scurci and Quinn Fuller) have won it, so it’s nice to keep that tradition going.”
Vince Grieco was heavily involved in the formation of Mars lacrosse, which began in 2009 via a pair of youth teams.
“I was just 3 years old when I got my first stick,” Enzo said. “When I was 5, I was lucky enough to play on a U7 team.”
Free time has turned into lacrosse time over the years, helping Enzo become the player he is today. He verbally committed last year to play lacrosse at Penn State University and, along with teammate Jack McKenzie (junior midfielder), was recently named an All-American by USA Lacrosse.
“He has the rare combination of size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), speed and skill,” said Marcoux. “He has very good footwork for a big guy.”
Enzo missed out on contributing to the varsity team as a freshman due to an injury to his right knee. The Planets unleashed him on opponents last year, the beginning of a truly special varsity career.
Mars has won seven straight WPIAL titles, has played in the last two state championship games and is hoping to win back-to-back PIAA crowns to cap the 2023 campaign.
“It’s amazing,” said Enzo. “We go hard at each other in practice every day because we know we need to be the best version of ourselves. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit, too. They know so much about the sport and have made us better players.”
Along with Enzo Grieco and Jack McKenzie, other Mars players named All-WPIAL this season include: attackman Jack Dunham, midfielder Kyle McEwen, defensemen Cole Yoshioka and Evan Frye and goalie Jonathan Grieco.
