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08/09/2018 12:00 AMWhether it was on the mat or the turf, Mark Hartmann was never afraid to stare down his opponent and a win a battle in order to help his wrestling and boys’ lacrosse teams succeed at Daniel Hand. The recent graduate capped off his high-school career by having great senior seasons with both clubs this year.
In the winter, Mark was a senior captain who wrestled in the 132-pound division for the Tigers, recording his 100th career victory during the campaign. Moving to the lacrosse field this spring, Mark was designated as Hand’s face-off specialist and lived up to his assignment by winning 78 percent of his face-offs (250 total) to help the squad notch 14 victories and return to the Class M State Tournament final. Mark, who also corralled 125 ground balls, was named to the All-SCC First Team and All-State First Team.
“My teammates helped a lot on face-offs, because not all of them were quick wings, and my wings had to help. I was lucky to have good wings that would eat up ground balls,” says Mark. “You can’t do the same moves versus every opponent, and I would like to have my long-stick midfielder on the left, so I can flick the ball quick.”
Through his journey on the wrestling mat, Mark found a solid center of gravity that proved hugely beneficial in lacrosse. Wrestling not only taught Mark how to use his entire body as an athlete, it helped him become lightning-quick on the draw.
“Wrestling has a lot to do with getting low and driving, which helped in lacrosse. It also helped me with reaction time, and you can’t really work on reaction time,” Mark says. “It also helped me with being comfortable with not being on my feet. You have to adapt to different people in wrestling and face-offs. Wrestling taught me perseverance, because you are going non-stop for two hours in practice and six minutes in matches. You are also fully exerting yourself in that short time of a face-off.”
When it came to taking face-offs, Mark always analyzed the situation before the ball was even dropped. This way, he would be prepared for anything that came up once the whistle blew.
“I line up and look at how the other guy sets up and positions his hands and stick. From there, I decide if I should go all speed or use muscle against a bigger guy,” he says. “Tiny factors can make or break things—like reaction time—and face-offs involve reading the whole situation.”
While being guided by a familiar face in the Madison lacrosse family, Mark and the Tigers went on another memorable ride to the biggest stage in the state this season. Hand advanced to its fourth straight state final by taking on comers, both in and out of Connecticut, while giving its all each and every night.
“[First-year Head Coach] John Orlando has been around the Madison Youth Lacrosse program since I can’t remember, so he knows how the guys play. He has an attack style where we won’t sit on the ball, and he had us play to win games,” says Mark. “We had a nail-biter loss to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and then we had a big win against Fairfield Prep. We were their first SCC loss in three years. Everyone did their jobs in that game, and it was the highlight of my senior season.”
Coach Orlando praises Mark’s diligence as a true student of lacrosse. Orlando says that Mark always took note of his opponent’s tendencies in the face-off circle and knew how to hold on to the ball.
“Mark is a very competitive athlete that puts the work in to be the best he can,” Orlando says. “He studies his opponents and their face-off techniques and how he can win. That is a very important part of the game, as we retained possession of the ball after most face-offs.”
Mark has committed to play lacrosse at Division I Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he will study management information systems. While his final high-school season didn’t end the way he wanted, Mark will always appreciate all the time that he spent working alongside his teammates and coaches at Hand. He feels the Tigers are in great shape entering next season.
“We lost the state final, which wasn’t the way I wanted to end my high-school career, but we made it to that state final the last four years,” Mark says. “The guys were a family, and the coaches doing their jobs all worked out. The underclassmen here make me excited for the future of the program, and I think they can get it done next year and win it all.”