YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The Barton men's lacrosse team (10-7) captured the 2026 Conference Carolinas Championship with a 15-12 victory over Lees-McRae (11-6) Sunday afternoon in the finals at the Mountain Lions Field on the campus of Young Harris University.
Barton junior attacker
Nick Pomilio (Raleigh, N.C.) scored a team-high three goals while four other Bulldogs scored twice in picking up their sixth consecutive victory.
Barton, which took control with a seven-goal third period, avenged a regular season loss to the Bobcats and won the league crown for the second time in school history: Barton also captured the crown in 2023.
Lees-McRae, the second seed in the championship, got three goals from Carter Whissell (Cambridge, Ontario, CANADA), Adam Ross (Stoney Creek, Ontario, CANADA) and Cayden Onagi (Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA) each despite the loss. Barton was seeded fourth in the league tournament.
Barton graduate student
Luke Woollard (Kent, ENGLAND), the tournament MVP, earned the victory in goal after stopping 17 shots. Lees-McRae's goalkeeper, Alex Epple (Warwick, R.I.), suffered the loss despite 13 stops on the afternoon.
With the victory, the Bulldogs earned an automatic qualifying berth to the 2026 NCAA Division II Playoffs. Barton will be making its first-ever appearance in the national postseason tournament.
2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Luke Woollard, Barton (MVP)
Zach Kashubara, Barton
Nick Nelson, Barton
Marvin Johnson, Barton
Gabe Thompson, Barton
Cole Morris, Lees-McRae
Cayden Onagi, Lees-McRae
Adam Ross, Lees-McRae
Caden Castle, North Greenville
Lucas Betz, North Greenville
Brendan Boschi, Belmont Abey
Jack Clough, Belmont Abbey
