Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame
2018 Team of Honor
1995-1996 Cicero - North Syracuse Girls Lacrosse Teams
The year was 1995 … and a first for girls’ lacrosse in New York … a state championship. And the winner was? Cicero-North Syracuse High School!
If the 1995 team’s accomplishments — a Division I state title and 19-1 record — weren’t enough, along came 1996. CNS not only repeated as state champion, but went 21-0.
Coach Cynthia Wetmore, who began the program with club status in 1987, had built a juggernaut. Bob Wehinger was her varsity assistant, Lionel Brown the Jayvee coach.
Fourteen players went on to play college lacrosse, most receiving scholarship aid (and a 15th was a college scholarship basketball player and a 16th played field hockey in college).
Click on the video to learn more about this outstanding team!
Both the 1995 and ’96 teams were State Public High School Athletic Assn. Scholar-Athlete Team Award recipients.
On the road to its first state crown, CNS survived in overtime by beating undefeated, number 1 state-ranked Saratoga, 17-15, for the Upstate Regional title. And the state championship game was an 8-7 thriller against also undefeated Huntington.
Along the way to a repeat in ’96, CNS won rather comfortably in postseason play until the state championship game — a 5-4 defensive tug ’o war with Northport.
Those 1995-96 CNS teams obviously had stars aplenty. Among the many:
Sarah Brown, the team’s outstanding defensive player, was a U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Assn. All American both years, while attack player Elaine Everett was a USWLA All American in ‘95. Midfielder Noelle Gorski was a USWLA All-American in ’96 and teammates Tiffany Hill and Kelly Morrone made USWLA All American in ’97, and Bonnie Wehinger made HM All American in ‘99. In ’95, the State Championship All-Tournament team included Brown, Gorski, goalkeeper Megan Ellsworth, Sarah Bamberger and attack Kelly Filipowski. Brown, Filipowski, Ellsworth, sibling/defensive standout Michelle Ellsworth and Karen Trait were ’96 all-tourney team picks.
While it’s a story for another day, the 1997 CNS team nearly made it an Empire State championship trifecta, only to bow in the title game.
In fashioning such a marvelous resume, CNS won 46 games in a row. Cynthia Wetmore was the Herald-American All-CNY Team Coach of the Year in ’96.
The Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame is proud to name as its 2018 Team of Honor CNS Girls’ Lacrosse 1995-1996.