This week, Back Of The CAGE caught up with the #19 ranked senior on Long Island and from Wantagh High School, Makenna Boutin for our weekly Senior Spotlight series interviewing a new senior each week.
Makenna Boutin earned her spot as one of the top defenders on Long Island and certainly in the country. For years, she has been the backbone of the Wantagh Warriors defense and it's not just her physical capabilities but her leadership, which is why Makenna was voted Team Captain this year. Makenna is headed to take her academic and athletic abilities to Rutgers University after a tremendous career earning Academic All American honors on top of a plethora of other awards that we have highlighted for you below. Let's see what the future Scarlet Knight had to say and keep an eye out for her over the next 4 years at Rutgers.
Q&A w/ Makenna Boutin
Back Of The CAGE (BOTC): When you found out last year that the season was going to be canceled, what was your initial reaction and how did you deal with it and keep your spirits up? Makenna Boutin(MB):: I was devastated when they officially canceled the season. We put a lot of effort into preseason and we had an amazing team. This team had been talking about our goals for the 2020 season since the beginning of the school year. It was hard to deal with the best thing you look forward to get taken away. However I took this time to work on my stick work and stamina. Keeping active everyday helped me keep my spirits up.
BOTC: What is your favorite saying from your Coach Robyn? MB:: One saying that Coach Robyn Rooney established for our team was “stay focUSed”. The emphasis on the “us” reminded my team to not be concerned with our competitors and stay concentrated on only our team and be confident in ourselves regardless of who we were playing.
BOTC: Having missed out on playing last year, how much extra motivation (if any) does it give to you personally and to your teammates in the short amount of time that you guys have been practicing together?MB:: Not only missing playing last year but the shortened season that we did get there was much more motivation and urgency to work hard and win early on to create a winning record. All of our team wanted to be the best so we practiced hard to show everyone we played that we couldn’t be beat.
BOTC: Although you missed last season, how much more will you treasure this season as this will be the last time that you will be playing high school lacrosse before going on to play at the collegiate level? MB:: This season was special for more than one reason, it was our return from the covid hiatus but we also had a really talented senior class and team. All eleven seniors were committed to play lacrosse at the collegiate level. Us seniors have been waiting forever for this season. The bond we had was incredible and it’s a shame that we won’t be able to play together again.
BOTC: What made you choose to attend Rutgers University, and what other colleges were you considering? MB:: What made Rutgers the obvious choice for me was the coaching staff. They have a competitive and determined mindset which I share as well. The vigorous conference was also very appealing to me. Some other schools I was considering was UMass and Brown. I cannot wait to continue my lacrosse career this year at Rutgers University.
BOTC: Are you superstitious and do you have any pre-game rituals?MB:: I am not very superstitious but before every game I have to listen to my game day playlist to get in the zone.
BOTC: What's on your playlist before games?MB:: Lose Yourself by Eminem, Hall of Fame by the script, The Greatest by Sia
Rapid Fire Q & A's:
- Favorite Food? Rice and beans
- Favorite Movie? Moneyball
- Favorite Sports Team? New York Jets
- Favorite Athletes? Sabrina Ionescu
See some of Makenna's career athletic accomplishments below: 2021 Selected Team Captain, 2021 Unsung Hero, 2021 Nassau County Academic All American, 2021 Selected Preseason All Long Island Class 2021 (Long Island Lax Journal), 2020 Selected Preseason #1 Defender on Long Island (Back of the Cage Publication), 2020 NY Newsday Top 100 Lacrosse player, 2020 Selected Preseason All Long Island, Class of 2021 (Long Island Lax Journal), 2019 ALL COUNTY HONORABLE MENTION (Nassau County Conference 1), 2019 Top 50 Girl Lacrosse players on Long Island (NY) (Back of the Cage publication), 2019 Named to the Long Island Metro Team (USL National Tournament School Girls Division 2019), 2019 Named FLG Super Sophomore 2019 season, 2019 Named to FLG Premiere Showcase All Star team, 2019 Long Island Newsday “Key players to watch", 2018 Long Island Newsday "Key players to watch" (One of only Four freshman named).
