Sports
Men's Lacrosse: Eastern Tech Grad Aids Nationally-Ranked Team
Travis Crane, after one season at UMBC, is a star midfielder CCBC Essex
Travis Crane, a 2008 graduate of Eastern Tech and a Carney resident, is going through the recruiting process all over again. After high school he played Division I men's lacrosse for UMBC during the 2009 season.
But with an eye on playing at a larger school, Crane asked for his release and sat out the 2010 college season while continuing to take classes at UMBC. This season he is playing for CCBC Essex as a full-time student at the school while also taking classes at UMBC.
"Once he got there (to UMBC), he was looking for more of a bigger school," CCBC Essex coach Shawn Burke, who also attended UMBC, said of Crane. "What makes him such a good kid is he is a great leader. He does not have to have the ball on his stick all of the time. He is like a point guard."
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A 6-foot-1 sophomore midfielder, Crane is attracting attention from the programs at Maryland, Penn State and Georgetown, Burke said.
Crane, who also played football and basketball at Eastern Tech, was slated to visit College Park on Friday and meet with coaches with the Terps' program.
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"That has been interesting so far," Crane said of being recruited by Division I programs again. "I try not to make it a distraction."
The CCBC Essex roster includes sophomore Luke Horner (Eastern Tech), a teammate of Crane in high school. Horner played for CCBC Essex last year and is receiving attention from Division II and III programs, Burke said.
CCBC Essex, which won 14-7 over Army Prep on March 6 as Crane scored the first goal of the season, was ranked No. 2 in the nation in the NJCAA poll earlier this month.
"I think we have the tools to win a national title," Crane said. "We have work to do and have to improve every day. We play as a team. We are very balanced on offense and defense, with good goalkeeping."
Crane is majoring in financial economics. He is taking 12 credits at Essex CCBC and 7.5 at UMBC this semester. He said a student has to be a full-time at one school to be eligible to compete in athletics at that school. Crane and his team host Navy Prep at 11 a.m. on March 20 in Essex.