Track star Navarre goes all-in and helps York’s lacrosse team finish second in state

By Jeff Vorva | Photos by Jeff Vorva

Track? Lacrosse? Track? Lacrosse?

York’s Morgan Navarre had some tough choices to make in her four years at the Elmhurst school. She was sensational in both sports, but both sports occur in the spring.

Navarre tried her hardest to make it work.

The first two years, she participated in both sports. Her junior year, she gave up lacrosse to concentrate on track.

But her senior season in 2026, she started playing both sports again before giving up track in mid-April.

York’s lacrosse players get ready to go to battle in the state semifinals in June against Marist.

“I knew the potential that our team had, and I wanted to give all of my attention to lacrosse for my last year,” she said.

It was a good choice.

The Dukes had the best finish in school history with a second-place showing in the Illinois High School Association state tournament in June at Hinsdale Central High School.

The Dukes (21-4) finished up with a 17-6 semifinal win over Marist before dropping a 21-3 decision in the championship to powerful Loyola.

Navarre knew this team was special. Many of the athletes on the team played with the Honey Badgers growing up.

That team started up more than eight years ago and was able to see the fruits of its labor with the state runner-up finish.

Navarre, Hayden Daniel, Kayla Mirante and Elizabeth Karabetos also played for the National Premiere Lakeshore Lacrosse club team.

“We had a lot of high expectations because a lot of us had played together for so long,” Navarre said. “We were looking for the best finish possible. I don’t think that it was a shock.”

Coach Ryan Walz played many of his stars when they were freshmen and watched as they finished with respectable records of 12-7, 16-3 and 14-7 before heading into this season.

“We have a preseason meeting about what our goals are and what we want to accomplish,” he said. “We hit every goal. We wanted to make it to the state championship. We knew Loyola was an amazing team. But we thought we could beat any other team in the state.”

Navarre is heading to San Diego State University to play lacrosse while Elizabeth Specht is headed to Cincinnati and Daniel to East Carolina. Goalie Hallas Jasani is heading to Quincy University. Ella Skotty, who had 35 goals and 25 assists, is committed to Union College to play hockey.

Walz had plenty of talented and experienced players to work with.

“I knew they were going to be superstars – and they were—so I threw them into the fire at an early age,” Walz said. “Having three freshmen midfielders was something you don’t see, but they had the talent.”

York lacrosse players celebrate their win over Marist to launch them into the state championship game.

He was happy Navarre was able to return this season. She was fourth on the team with 42 goals and second on the Dukes with 38 assists.

Navarre is an all-state runner who holds multiple school records for the Dukes, and her speed and endurance made her a valuable member of this year’s history-making squad.

“She’s obviously an amazing athlete,” Walz said of Navarre. “This year, her skill set was sharper. Her shooting was better and she is always working hard to improve.”

San Diego State, meanwhile, is also working hard to improve. The Aztecs were 3-13 this year; however, four of those losses were by one or two goals.

The team hasn’t had a winning season since a 3-2 campaign that was cut short in 2020 because of COVID-19.

The Aztecs’ last full winning season was 2019 when they went 11-7.

As for York?

Expecting another second-place finish in the state might be a reach given the talent that is graduating. Seniors accounted for 275 of the team’s 321 goals.

But rising senior Abby Evans notched 27 goals and 16 assists. There are also players waiting in the wings to make their marks.

“I see a lot of potential,” Walz said. “We also had a camp in the summer and there are some talented freshmen coming in.”