Merit Ruckh Receives 2026 James C. Metzger Lacrosse Leadership Award

The annual James C. Metzger Leadership Award for Nassau County high school boys’ lacrosse was presented to one player on each of the eight teams that competed in the finals of the 2026 Section VIII Nassau County high school boys lacrosse championships.

Each award recipient reflected the tenacity, honesty, commitment and positive attitude required in Nassau lacrosse. Each player also possessed the ability to inspire others on and off the field. One of the eight award recipients is senior midfielder Merit Ruckh of Garden City High School. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball and lacrosse), Ruckh is committed to the University of Tampa.

The lacrosse championships were held on Monday and Tuesday, June 1 and 2, at Hofstra University. In the Class B championship game on Monday, Garden City was defeated by Manhasset High School 9-8 with five seconds remaining in overtime.

The award for Ruckh is named for 1970s Long Island lacrosse star James C. Metzger, a three-sport athlete at Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills. He received the 1977 Lt. Ray Enners Award for outstanding Suffolk County lacrosse player when he scored 102 points and received All-American honors. An All-American lacrosse player at Hofstra University, Metzger is the founder and chairman of Whitmore – The Agency, an insurance and financial services firm in Nassau County now known as Acrisure.