East's Engelken Commits to Delaware

Sachem East junior Thomas Engelken has committed to play Division I lacrosse at the University of Delaware.

Engelken, a Holtsville resident, played in the Suffolk County Rising Junior game over the summer and was a consistent scorer for East’s varsity squad as a sophomore last season.

He said he chose Delaware because it’s a mid-sized university with a distance that’s convenient for him and his family.

“They would be able to attend most of my home games,” he said.

Delaware plays in the Colonial Athletic Association and finished 11-7 overall in 2011. The Blue Hens also play schools close to the New York area, including Hofstra, Massachusetts, Penn State, Drexel, Towson and St. Joseph’s.

Among other things, Engelken said he likes the class size, the layout of the campus and the sports facilities.

“I also felt very comfortable with the support structure for the student-athlete,” he said. “The lacrosse program has a quality schedule competing against top Division I teams. Coaches [Bob] Shillinglaw and [Greg] Carroll both down to earth people and felt confident that I would succeed as a student athlete at the University of Delaware.”

Last spring Delaware actually one morning. It marked the first time an NCAA Division I athletic program of any kind used a facility at Sachem. The team was on Long Island to mourn the death of freshman defender and East Hampton native Jared Bowe's father Chet.

In case you're wondering if there are any other Sachem-Delaware connections, there are: Sachem athletic director Gary Beutel played football there, as did Ralph Gazzillo, a Sachem alum from the Class of 1997. Samoset physical education teacher and middle school boys lacrosse coach Matt Golini played there. Sachem North track and freshman soccer coach Ryan Stillufsen and Sachem North English teacher Jon Weston also both graduated from Delaware. Sachem East track coach Joe Coffey briefly attended the university.