Girls’ Lacrosse

MAPL CHAMPS

2022

Blair’s girls’ lacrosse team is focused on bettering each player as an athlete and as a teammate while working together to build the program and compete for Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) titles. Head coach Mackenzie Maguire’s daily goal is to balance a focus on individual skills with practices geared toward team play. Every player works toward strong fundamentals—stick skills, game sense, speed and agility—which helps build self-confidence and teaches the value of hard work. Individual strengths are woven together during practice, creating a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. The team’s success relies on a positive team dynamic, strong communication and devotion to hard work.

Blair lacrosse has been improving continually over the past decade. Over the last 15 years, many of our athletes have gone on to play lacrosse at schools such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Colgate University, William Smith College, Bates College and Bowdoin College.

If you have any questions, please contact Coach Maguire at maguim@blair.edu.

Meet Coach Maguire

Mackenzie Maguire joined Blair in 2022 as an admission associate and head girls’ varsity lacrosse coach. Prior to working at Williams College as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach, Mackenzie earned her BS in business marketing with a minor in sports management from the University of Mary Washington in 2019. During her time as a student athlete, she served as a collegiate team captain, made four NCAA appearances and was named rookie of the year by various sports conferences. At Williams, Mackenzie worked as recruiting coordinator, a mentor for student athlete development, and as a coach on and off the field. Mackenzie’s previous professional experience includes working as a sales-and-marketing associate for Trilogy Lacrosse and as a trainee in GEICO’s management-development program for claims adjusters.

Contact Coach Maguire at maguim@blair.edu for any further questions.

Meet Coach Cronin

Courtney Cronin serves as the assistant JV girls' basketball coach. She came to Blair in 2022 as Associate Dean of College Counseling and a Blair lacrosse coach. In addition to her experience at Thacher School in Ojai, California, as Associate Director of College Counseling, head girls’ varsity lacrosse and dorm parent, Courtney worked for eight years as a college counselor, French teacher and girls’ lacrosse coach at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, where she also served as language department chair. Courtney graduated from Colby College, where she majored in French studies and history, and earned her master’s degree in independent school leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2017. In addition to serving as an advisor and mentor to students at Thacher, she also co-leads adult and student anti-ractist groups and ally spaces. At Lawrence, Courtney also served as dorm head, chaperoned “Winterim” trips to Belize, Peru and Ecuador, and chaired the Professional Development Committee. She joins the Blair community with her dog, Coach.

Meet Coach Lohr

Valerie Lohr will teach history and serve as head varsity field hockey coach; she joined our community with her husband, Corey, and daughter, Catie '28. The family relocated to Blairstown from San Antonio, Texas, where Valerie has been completing her doctor of education degree at Baylor University. Her other educational pursuits include working toward completing a master’s of arts in clinical mental health counseling at Southern New Hampshire University (expected 2026), earning her JD at the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law and passing the Pennsylvania bar exam (2006), and graduating from Lehigh University with a BA in political science and history (2002). Over the course of her career, Valerie has coached a number of highly ranked field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams, most recently at St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio and Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. Since 2021, she has also served as region 9 and 10 coach manager of the Nexus Olympic Pathway for U.S. field hockey in Colorado Springs. 

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more recent photos on Blair's Photoshelter or past seasons (2004-2018) on Blair's Flickr.

Blair's girls' lacrosse team has steadily improved over the past decade. In the last 15 years, many of our athletes have gone on to play lacrosse at schools such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Colgate University, William Smith College, Bates College and Bowdoin College.

A team is successful when each member of the group is willing to see beyond the boundaries of possibility and aim further. It is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals accomplish something they thought was beyond their capabilities. This sort of achievement is attained through hard work, commitment, belief in self and belief in others.

Meet Coach Hodakowski

With a "Buccaneer" family lineage too long to detail, admission associate Bridget Hodakowski '99 began working in admission in 2021. She currently serves as the head JV girls' volleyball coach. Previously, she served in Blair's advancement office as special projects coordinator and as assistant director of the annual fund. She is a former member of the Board of Governors, a current rep for the class of 1999 and proud alumna. Bridget holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Dickinson College and found her passion in education while working as an assistant director in undergraduate and graduate admission at Stevens Institute of Technology. She lives with her husband, Marc, and their children, Jack and Drew, in nearby Columbia, New Jersey.

Meet Coach James

A 2023 graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, Caroline Smith has joined our fine arts department as a video studies teacher and head girls' JV lacrosse coach. At Kenyon, Caroline majored in studio art and minored in classics and art history, and she completed undergraduate internships with a wealth advisory firm, a law firm, a medical solutions firm and a mortgage company. She also played women’s varsity lacrosse for four years and participated in the 2022 NCAA tournament as a Division III goalie. Caroline is no stranger to the boarding school world, having graduated from The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, in 2019. 

View directions to athletic events.

View more recent photos on Blair's Photoshelter or past seasons (2004-2018) on Blair's Flickr.