Boys Lacrosse: Janowicz hopes to help senior-laden UA add to title total
Wednesday, March 10, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Upper Arlington’s Tommy Janowicz, an Ohio State commit, wants to help lead the Golden Bears to another state championship. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Growing up in a boys lacrosse community with a tradition of success unmatched across Ohio, Upper Arlington senior Tommy Janowicz remembers picking up a stick for the first time when he was in second grade.
That doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to try new things to expand his skills in a sport where his future looks bright for years to come.
A 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, Janowicz signed to play for Ohio State in November.
“From seventh grade through my junior year, I’ve always been an attackman except for when I played midfield the first two games of my junior season,” Janowicz said. “This season, we’ve had some key guys go down at midfield, so they’ve moved me to middie. I’ve played wing and defense for the first time ever, but the majority of the time, I’ve been at middie this year, which is going to be good to learn.
“I just love the adrenaline of the sport when I’m playing. There are not many things I’d rather be doing than celebrating with my teammates or at the end of a game when it’s close and gritty and when we can find a way to pull it off. And I love just the connections it brings, like with any other sport. The community aspect of lacrosse just brings everyone so close.”
With 11 seniors whose focus is on adding to the program’s extensive past success, the Golden Bears are what Janowicz considers a “tight-knit group.”
UA defeated Dublin Coffman 16-3 on April 9 to improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the OCC-Central Division. After opening league play with a 19-5 win April 3 over Olentangy Orange, the Bears beat Worthington Kilbourne 15-9 on April 4 and Mason 13-6 on April 6 in non-league contests.
UA lost in a Division I state semifinal in 2019 when Janowicz was a seventh-grader. That season, Janowicz made his return to lacrosse after stepping away from the sport in sixth grade to play baseball.
Tommy Janowicz (15) attacks down the middle of the field during Upper Arlington’s home game against Mason April 6. Photo: Kevin Rouch
After the 2020 season — when Janowicz was in eighth grade — was canceled at all levels because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Bears lost to Dublin Jerome 12-11 in the 2021 state championship game.
During Janowicz’ sophomore season, he finished with 52 goals and 16 assists, including scoring three goals in the state final as UA avenged the loss to Jerome with a 12-10 victory.
That gave UA the 17th state title in program history, with 16 coming during former coach Ted Wolford’s 25-year tenure which ended after the 2016 season.
“Everyone from our community has picked up a lacrosse stick, which is a cool thing,” Janowicz said. “It’s just more than a game to this community, which sounds cliche, but that’s just what it is. To see how many kids start at a young age is pretty cool.”
Janowicz finished with 52 goals and 40 assists last season as UA finished 20-2, but the season ended with an 8-7 overtime loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier in a state semifinal.
Janowicz’ freshman brother, James Janowicz, is new to UA’s varsity this spring.
Their father, Mike Janowicz, is a 1996 UA graduate who starred for the Bears and went on to play for Massachusetts.
In addition to his lacrosse success, Tommy Janowicz dressed varsity in 2021 as the UA football team reached a state semifinal.
He was a key contributor the last two seasons at quarterback as the Bears went 10-3 and 10-4, respectively. Last fall, an ankle injury ended his season in Week 6, but he’s back healthy this spring.
“He’s one of those guys who is physical, tough, fast, and kind of gives you everything you need,” said Kyle Olson, a 2001 UA graduate who won three state titles as a player and took over as the Bears’ coach in 2017. “His father was a captain on the ’96 team, and his little brother, James, is a freshman. (Tommy) and (senior midfielder) Quinn Crotty had goals in the state championship game as freshmen, and they’ve continued to develop. Quinn is going to Yale and (Janowicz) got some Division I opportunities and stayed at Ohio State, which is awesome. He’s a great kid from a great family.”
Upper Arlington’s Quinn Crotty looks to make a pass against the visiting Mason Comets April 6. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Crotty is optimistic about how his team has played so far this season.
Although he’s the first lacrosse player from his family who will play college lacrosse, his father, John Crotty, competed in track and field at Dayton and his grandfather, Greg Lashutka, played football for Ohio State.
“It’s been really awesome honestly,” Crotty said. “Our coaches are second to none with the amount of experience they have, and it’s really a pleasure to play for that. This season, we’re obviously hoping to get back to the state championship and win that, and I think we can definitely achieve that.
“Especially last year, we had such a strong season going into (the state semifinal), and losing that puts a chip on our shoulder and extra dedication for this year.”
Another senior who has committed to play collegiately is midfielder Austin Stutz, who will compete for VMI despite not joining the UA lacrosse program until last spring after growing up playing baseball.
Juniors Cal Casey and Noah Gerhardt have committed to play for Mercer and Ohio State, respectively, as well.
The Bears avenged last year’s loss to St. Xavier with an 11-10 victory March 17 in their opener.
They then split a pair of games in Denver, beating Greenwood Village (Colorado) Cherry Creek 12-11 on March 28 and losing to Highlands Ranch (Colorado) Valor Christian 12-8 on March 30.
“It’s going pretty well,” Olson said. “We played two games out in Denver and went 1-1 against two really good teams. We’re still kind of figuring stuff out. It’s similar to every year where we return guys at some positions and lose guys at other positions. The best thing about the trip was seeing the guys bond.”
Upper Arlington’s Wally Swiney (2) and Tommy Janowicz celebrate a goal against Mason April 6 at UA. Photo: Kevin Rouch