Men's Lacrosse
Men's Lacrosse: Denison to play season in memory of Clayton Manos
Denison will wear the #42 in tribute to Clayton Manos, a Granville High School student who was killed in an automobile accident in December. On Sunday the family of Clayon Manos will serve as honorary captains at Denison's game versus Elizabethtown.
Date: February 28, 2008
Location: GRANVILLE
The 2008 Denison University men’s lacrosse season is slated to get underway versus Hendrix College (Ark.) at 4 p.m. this Friday (Feb. 29) in Piper Stadium on the Denison campus. For the visiting Warriors, it will be the first varsity lacrosse in school history. Denison, on the other hand, enters its 2008 campaign as the top preseason pick in the North Coast Athletic Conference and as a national NCAA Division III power.
While the focus of third-year Denison head coach Matt McGinnis is to win the program's 10th NCAC championship and return to the Division III playoffs for the 16th time, all 45 members of the Big Red team will be playing for something even greater.
On Dec. 2, 2007, 17-year-old Granville resident Clayton Manos was killed in an automobile accident while traveling along Interstate 70. Manos, a junior at Granville High School, was a member of the Blue Aces' football, wrestling and lacrosse teams. He had struck up a friendship with several Big Red lacrosse players after attending a number of Denison's sports camps and clinics, so the decision to dedicate this season to his memory was an easy one for McGinnis and his DU squad.
"We wanted to reach out to the Manos family and possibly help them through the healing process," said McGinnis. "Clayton had made an lasting impact on the lives of a number of young men, and he certainly left his mark in the community. This season is dedicated to him, and we are all proud to wear his number '42'."
A varsity letter winner in football and wrestling at Granville, this spring Manos would have earned his first letter in lacrosse. It is said of him that he truly enjoyed learning the game of lacrosse and wasn't concerned with scoring goals or being flashy. Manos was there to play whatever position his coaches asked him to play, and he was looking forward to helping Granville High capture another state lacrosse championship in 2008.
Two days after the season opener with Hendrix, Denison will host Elizabethtown College (Pa.) at 12 noon on Sunday (March 2) in Piper Stadium. The Manos family will be in attendance, and they have been invited to serve as honorary Denison team captains for that event. Prior to the game, a memorial tribute to Manos will be read, and a moment of silence will be observed. In addition, members of the Big Red men's lacrosse team will wear Manos' number.