Westhampton’s Olivia Rongo Is Named USA Lacrosse All-American

Olivia Rongo is changing the game with her All-American nod from USA Lacrosse.

The recent Westhampton Beach graduate is one of just eight in Suffolk County to be on the prestigious list this year, and garners the honor after racking up 42 goals and 27 assists this spring, including a hat trick in a historic 6-5 victory over Comsewogue for the program’s first Suffolk County Class B championship title. She tallied seven goals and three assists across the Hurricanes’ monumental postseason run, where the team also earned the first Long Island championship crown in school history, and made its first state tournament appearance.

“Knowing that people actually do see the end result of my hard work and determination feels amazing,” Rongo said. “I feel honored.”

The James Madison University-bound midfielder also led Westhampton Beach with two goals and two assists, and secured plenty of draw controls in a 9-8 overtime loss to Queensbury in the state semifinals at SUNY Cortland last month.

But Westhampton Beach head coach Mary Bergmann said the recognition does a lot for high school lacrosse, although her face-off specialist did finish the season with 46 caused turnovers, 40 ground balls and 74 draw wins — which ranks her second all-time in a single season.

“The All-American title, to me, should go to a player that’s a game-changer, that’s coachable, that’s a competitor and that elevates her teammates. Liv was all of these things this year,” Bergmann said. “So many times, with these awards, everyone gets hung up on goals, assists and points. But the ultimate award should be more than just that. Liv stepped up in crucial moments … Sometimes the things Liv did ended in her teammates scoring goals or being able to assist or scooping up a ground ball, and Liv was more than happy to do what was needed to win and cheer on her teammates when they succeeded. Liv never made it about her or her stats, and listened to us as coaches when we laid out a plan of action.”

All those attributes are what drew James Madison University head coach Shelley Klaes to pursue Rongo, who received multiple offers come time to sign her national letter of intent.

“Olivia adds length and physicality in every sport she plays, which translates into impact plays all over the field,” Klaes said. “She is known to collect draws, to create knock-downs, to feed and finish. Olivia will add depth to our midfield and draw unit.”

Rongo said she’s enjoyed the feeling of knowing she’s been “part of something bigger” than herself.

“I feel honored, because there were so many great players this season, so the selections must have been difficult for the coaches,” she said. “Considering that Westhampton’s last All-American went on to and is still doing amazing things and breaking so many records at higher levels, I am beyond grateful to be able to follow in her footsteps even a little bit.”

Rongo is referring to Hurricane alumna Belle Smith, who helped Boston College to a NCAA championship as a freshman, scoring two goals in the final game against Syracuse University. Smith also earned the All-American recognition as a freshman, along with the title of Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, and made an appearance in the national championship game again this season.

At 5 feet 11 inches tall, Rongo has been known for her pressure and prowess at the face-off circle. Over her career, she’s won 138 draw controls, racked up 116 points on 60 goals and 56 assists, collected 97 ground balls and caused 97 turnovers. Those stats are also over just three years, since she lost her sophomore season due to the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdown, and with her playing solely as a defender her freshman year.

“She puts all her effort into the things she does, much of which doesn’t show on a stat sheet,” said her father, John Rongo. “She draws the double team, she’s a lockdown defender at midfield, she encourages and cheers louder for the girls that don’t get as many minutes and it’s made her into a very selfless player. She’s always more concerned with putting the ball in a position to be successful for the team than doing anything for herself. She put the team first, and I think that made her a better lacrosse player overall.”

It also garnered her other postseason distinctions this spring, including the school’s Carl A. Hansen Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest character and athletic ability, and the Cory Hubbard Memorial Scholarship Award, bestowed upon the player that’s considered the ultimate teammate.

“Through all of this, I’ve definitely learned that success is more than just one person — it takes the whole team coming together and all having the same goal,” Rongo said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you don’t have a full team behind your back, you can’t be successful in the game of lacrosse.”

Rongo also earned the district’s Larry Makransky Scholar-Athlete Award; was a Butch Dellecave Award nominee, which is presented to the top high school male and female student-athletes in Suffolk County; and was one of 15 Long Island Lacrosse Journal Paumanok Award finalists, an honor given to the top Long Island player in the senior class.

“Liv only played midfield for two years and became one of the best players on the island after losing a year to COVID,” Bergmann added. “I hope people see that when you set your mind to something, you can accomplish great things — and you can do it while being a great teammate and having a successful team. One does not have to come at the cost of the other.”

That drive also helped her as part of the Hurricanes’ basketball team, which netted the school’s first Suffolk County championship in 2020. The team would have competed for its first Long Island championship title if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

“She was definitely looked up to as a leader on the court and with how she approaches practices,” Westhampton Beach girls basketball coach Katie Peters said.

Adversaries saw it, too.

“We know that Olivia Rongo … she’s a monster. Monster,” Southampton girls basketball coach Juni Wingfield said following a loss to the Hurricanes last season. “She is all of everything that anyone’s ever said about her.”

Rongo has played lacrosse, basketball and soccer since she was young — competing on Westhampton Beach teams in all three sports — and also took part in gymnastics and dance through middle school. She was introduced to lacrosse through her older sister, Lindsay, a rising senior defender at Stony Brook University, who had been on a Suffolk County Police Athletic League that their father coached.

“When I was in around kindergarten or first grade, my Dad was pushing my sister to play lacrosse, and he dragged me along to every practice,” Rongo said, laughing. “Whether I wanted to be there or not, I was there.”

John Rongo said his daughter picked up the sport quickly.

“She had an immediate knack for sports, and was seen early on scooping up ground balls behind the cage,” he said. “Two years in, she began running drills and plays with us, and showed she had such natural talent and athletic ability. Lindsay also drove her for a while — motivated her, because whatever Lindsay was doing, Olivia wanted to do and be good at, too. To watch her grow and develop was exciting.”

Olivia Rongo said over the years she began to gravitate more toward lacrosse as her skills advanced.

“I just grew up playing more lacrosse than anything,” she said. “I think the IQ that you need for lacrosse is unmatched, so that drew me to it.”

She said she continued playing basketball because she enjoys the two sports’ similar fast-paced, team environments.

Since Rongo began competing on both teams as a freshman in 2019, she has been tabbed Rookie of the Year, All-County, All-County Academic, All-Conference and All-League in basketball and lacrosse. She was also named an Under Armour All-American team member, USA U15 National Combine participant and Women’s Professional Lacrosse League Development Program participant in 2019 and an Under Armour All-American National Champion team member in 2021. This past season, she also garnered an All-Long Island recognition, and was named to the All-Long Island and All-State teams. Rongo was also a member of the travel Long Island Top Gun Black Team.

She said she’s looking forward to taking her talents to James Madison University, where she will be majoring in health science, and where she hopes to make an impact as a freshman.

She first saw the Dukes in 2018, when they competed for and won a national championship with a win over Boston College at Stony Brook University.

The girls were taking part in sideline celebration dances — doing push-ups and high-fiving their coach, just having fun, which Rongo loved seeing. Her father did, too.

“Kelly is an amazing coach and a motherly figure. She’s concerned with raising good women, not just good lacrosse players,” John Rongo said. “But what I’m most proud of is Olivia chose her school very methodically. She looked at the school, its reputation from students who didn’t play sports, the graduate rate, if it had her major and then lacrosse and the coaches.”

What he wants others to also know is that his daughter is not just a star athlete, she’s also a lifeguard, cares about her community and is a dedicated friend.

“The maturity that sports have brought to her is only going to make her that much better. It’s propelled her and given her lessons that have gone way beyond the boundaries of courts or fields,” Rongo said. “She knew she had to put in the work if she wanted to be special, and so to see all the hard word and sacrifice culminate in this, I’m super proud of her. She’s showed that anything you want in life is possible if you’re willing to work for it.”