Between coaching and continuing to play post-college, Emily Hawryschuk has been busy of late.
The former Churchville-Chili and Victor girls lacrosse star, who went on to set several scoring records at Syracuse University, remains active in every facet of the sport.
She plays professionally in the recently-formed Women's Lacrosse League, and two years ago competed for the United States' first national women's box lacrosse team. That's coupled with several coaching gigs and 51 Stars Lacrosse, a skill development organization that Hawryschuk founded.
Earlier this year, the Democrat and Chronicle readers voted Hawryschuk No. 1 in the Section V's all-time greatest girls lacrosse player poll. Hawryschuk received 54% of the vote, besting former Spencerport
and Northwestern star Erin Coykendall for the top spot.
We recently connected with Hawryschuk to cover a myriad of topics, including her transfer from Churchville-Chili to Victor, her record-setting career at Syracuse University and venture into coaching.
Varsity reflection
Victor girls lacrosse has become an annual powerhouse in New York state. In the spring, the program captured its fifth straight New York state title — only the second school in state history with such a streak.
In a sense, Hawryschuk was part of the foundation-building. She was a top player for the 2016 Blue Devils that won the Section V title (their third straight) and reached the NYSPHSAA Class B semifinals. That season, her senior year, Hawryschuk was named All-Greater Rochester and MVP of the Class B section tournament.
There's also this unique distinction: Hawryschuk earned All-American nods for two different schools. She did so at Churchville-Chili in 2015, before transferring to Victor and repeating the feat the following year.
Transferring has become a trendy path for high schoolers in recent years. Former Section V Executive Director Kathy Hoyt told the Democrat and Chronicle last year that the section processes around 200 transfer requests in a calendar year.
Among them before the 2015-16 academic year was Hawryschuk. Already committed to Syracuse, her family was looking to re-home from Churchville to somewhere closer to central New York and landed on Victor. Hawryschuk acknowledged that there were suspicions of recruitment at the time, but denied any wrong-doing by her new school district.
Helping ease the transition, Hawryschuk was familiar with some of her Victor teammates through the Lady Roc club program.
"I was just happy to be 45 minutes closer to Syracuse," Hawryschuk said.
Asked who were some of the other top players in Section V during her career, Hawryschuk reeled off a list of future college teammates.
There was Kenzie Harris (who was "dominant on the draw and really creative on offense"), Carly Randall and Kelzi Van Atta who all starred at Brighton. Also, Emily Resnick (a "super crafty player") who led Webster Thomas.
While her greatest team accomplishments came at Victor, Hawryschuk offered a shoutout to both of the towns she represented.
"I started at Churchville so I'll always have great memories, from the first time I picked up a stick through the development stages" Hawryschuk said. "I think (the year at Victor) really helped me in the transition to come afterward. To be able to say you played for Victor lacrosse is something I'm lucky to say."
Catching the coaching bug
Syracuse's women's lacrosse team owned a 7-1 record with wins over nationally-ranked Northwestern and Maryland, and ranked fourth in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse, in March 2020 when the team learned its promising season was over.
Shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to collegiate athletes. Hawryschuk thought the Orange were a national title contender, so the return to college was a quick sell. However, due to an ACL tear early in the 2021 season, one additional year turned into two.
By the end of her six-year collegiate career, Hawryschuk ranked among the program's career scoring leaders in several categories, including single-game goals (seven vs. Canisius in 2020 and at Cornell in 2022) and points (11 at Cornell in 2022), and goals scored in a career (272, which remains No. 1 through the 2026 season).
Originally, there were no plans to continue with lacrosse after Syracuse. With studies focused on accounting and finance, Hawryschuk figured she'd move to New York City and work for a major firm.
"I knew within a year or so (into college) that wasn't going to be the case," Hawryschuk said. "I wanted to continue with lacrosse in all aspects of my life."
That inspired thoughts of coaching, with a particular attraction to small group settings where participants could hone their fundamentals.
As she worked toward a master's degree, Hawryschuk started a business plan for lacrosse instruction and launched the 51 Stars Lacrosse program in 2022 shortly after graduation. She's also a member of RIT's women's lacrosse staff, and this summer joined the Aces youth program.
In the last four years through 51 Stars Lacrosse, Hawryschuk has worked with around 100 players from youth to college, with a focus on skill-based training. Or, in her words, "all the stuff people glance over." Sometimes it's hourlong shooting bootcamps, other times it's practicing specific ball control motions to master body control and confidence. Dryer Road Park in Victor and the facilities at RIT are popular sites for skill work.
The No. 51, which was Hawryschuk's uniform number at Syracuse, references her father Nick. A former college linebacker at Alfred University, No. 51 was the patriarch's preferred number. The rest of the Hawryschuk family followed suit.
"It's a common number (in football), not so much lacrosse. But I knew I wanted to wear the number when I got to college," Emily Hawryschuk said. "It's a family number, but it's my dad's number."
Overall thoughts on lacrosse
Girls lacrosse debuted in Section V in 1995, and in the 30-plus years of competition, there has never been a postseason champion from the west side of Monroe County.
That's in part because schools in that area — Brockport, Hilton, Spencerport and Hawryschuk's former home Churchville-Chili — were late adopters to varsity girls lacrosse, offering the sport a decade or longer after some counterparts like Canandaigua, Irondequoit and Penfield.
While there have been competitive teams, like when Spencerport reached back to back championship games in 2018 and 2019, consistent contention has proven elusive.
How do such schools from the area close the gap on annual powers like Pittsford and Victor? Hawryschuk, who didn't pick up a lacrosse stick until seventh grade, said it starts at the youth level.
"Victor does an amazing job starting at kindergarten of getting sticks in hands. There's a really passionate group of leaders who want to make sure these kids are trying lacrosse, don't walk away from it and fall in love with it," Hawryschuk said. "When you look at the programs on the west side that are starting to gain momentum, I think they do a really good job building out the youth program."
Hawryschuk knows firsthand that opportunities are key. Professional women's lacrosse was not an option 10 years ago. And in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, lacrosse will return to the international event after a 120-year absence (men and women will play "sixes lacrosse," a version that allows for six players per side).
She acknowledged there are barriers for entry, as club programs are growing in expenses and importance. The game itself, too, has changed. Once reliant solely on finesse, physicality has slowly crept in.
From a 10,000-foot view, though, Hawryschuk thinks the sport is in a very strong place.
"The game has evolved and that's why we're seeing the opportunities that come with it," Hawryschuk said. "For me personally, it changed my life and it is my life."
Justin Ritzel is a sports reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on Section V athletics and high school trends.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Voted Section V's greatest ever, she's still growing girls lacrosse
