Quaker Valley’s Blaugrund earns U.S. Lacrosse All-American honors

By: Karen Kadilak
Friday, July 5, 2019 | 6:05 PM

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Quaker Valley departing senior Katherine Blaugrund put in hours to lacrosse, and she has been rewarded.

Blaugrund, a midfielder, was named a US Lacrosse Girls High School All-American for Western Pennsylvania.

“To be honored with this title is such an incredible way to end my high school career,” said Blaugrund, 18, of Sewickley.

Blaugrund scored 75 goals and had 23 assists and broke the Quaker Valley all-time scoring record this season. She contributed 164 draw controls, 66 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers.

She led the Quakers to the WPIAL Class AA semifinals.

In four seasons, she posted 252 goals, 69 assists, 397 draw controls, 159 ground balls and 62 caused turnovers.

Quaker Valley coach Kristin Semones said Blaugrund, a two-time captain, was a leader on and off the field.

“(She has) great communication skills (and) stepped up this season by communicating changes in offensive and defensive sets on the fly,” Semones said. “(She) contributes all over the field.”

Semones said Blaugrund has the ability to play a full game and rarely comes off the field.

“(She is) always looking to get better,” Semones said. “She played club lacrosse in the offseason. She helps teammates outside of lacrosse (and) was a high school tutor.”

According to the US Lacrosse website, All-Americans are the best players from their area. They exhibit superior skills and techniques, possess exceptional game sense and knowledge and embody good sportsmanship.

Players must be significant contributors to their teams. US Lacrosse oversees the selection of the awards.

The 5-foot-10 Blaugrund thanked her teammates and coaches for pushing her to set challenging goals.

“Being All-American really did come as a surprise, both because it came so far after the season and because it wasn’t exactly something that was on my radar,” Blaugrund. “Our team this past season was such a tight-knit group and all of our goals were so team-oriented that individual goals were not a focal point.”

Blaugrund, who earned all-academic honors last season, hopes to play club lacrosse at Virginia. She is undecided about a major.

Blaugrund was one of two Sewickley area players honored by US Lacrosse.

Sewickley Academy senior defender Daniel Phillips was named boys all-academic, which is awarded to a player who exhibits exemplary lacrosse skills, good sportsmanship on the field and represents high standards of academic achievement in the classroom.

Tags: Quaker Valley