Tesoro defender Knute Kraus capped his four-year career lacrosse career by earning all-county and All-American honors.
Kraus, the first All-American from Tesoro and one of six from the county, is about ready to take the next step in his career. Kraus, who started for four years, will play lacrosse at Salisbury State University in Maryland in the fall.
He leaves around the middle of August to prepare for college.
“I wanted to go back East, I’ve known that since my freshman year,” Kraus said. “I decided Coach (Jim) Berkman was a great coach. The team is an awesome team and I really liked the campus and their style of lacrosse.”
Other schools who showed an interest in Kraus were Duke, Notre Dame, Providence, Bellarmine, Sacred Heart, Brown, Sienna, Towson, Drexel and Air Force.
“When I go out there I want to go out there and fit it into the system and find out where I fit in to Coach Berkman’s system and try and help the team as much as I can,” Kraus said.
Kraus is thinking about majoring in marketing, business or communications.
He is hoping to build on the success that he had during his lacrosse career at Tesoro.
“It’s great to see Knute’s hard work pay off by going to college and continuing to play lacrosse at a high level,” Tesoro Coach Brian Eisenberg said. “It was an honor to have coached an All-American player, but more importantly, be a part of a great person’s development in life.”
Eisenberg said that Kraus made strides each year. He was first team All-South Coast League the past two years and for three years was a Tesoro scholar athlete.
“Knute led by example and had a great time doing it by just being himself,” Eisenberg said. “His attitude on life and working hard to achieve his goals will serve him well in college.”
This past season, Kraus was a first-team All-South Coast League player for the Titans. Kraus had 82 groundballs, six goals and three assists for the Titans.
A number of games stood out this year, but the Mission Viejo game on March 29, which Tesoro won, 7-6, tops the list, Kraus said.
“It was awesome because I know a bunch of the kids on the team and we’re rivals with them and beating El Toro at El Toro was a fun one,” he said.
“We had a really young team. We had a few senior leaders but the injury bug got the best of our seniors. But we still had a successful year and the team should build on it and hopefully have a great year next year.”
Kraus, a member of the West Coast Starz club team, finished his high school career by playing in the All-American game June 30 at Orange Coast College.
“That was really fun, it was awesome playing with a bunch of kids in a high level lacrosse,” Kraus said.
Kraus began playing the sport in the seventh grade.
“My football coach (who was coaching lacrosse) asked me if I wanted to play for their team because they were looking for some players and after the first practice, I was just in love, it was so much fun,” Kraus said. “I like playing all the sports. I played soccer, basketball and hockey, but lacrosse is a hybrid sport of all the sports put together. It’s really laid back and real fun.”
Kraus, who has also coached lacrosse on the youth level, has noticed the rapid rise in popularity of the sport. He’s noticed more high school programs have emerged and more youngsters are playing the sport.
He believes the future of Tesoro lacrosse is bright.
“There is a lot of young talent and a lot more talent coming in here,” he said. “I think in a couple years from now, you’ll be able to put Tesoro, Foothill, El Toro, St. Margaret’s all in the same bracket. It’s really cool to watch Tesoro mature mature and grow.”
He is also thankful to his father and Coach Eisenberg for their support.
“My dad really pushed me in everything I did,” he said.
“Thanks to Coach Eisenberg for a great four years and for what he has done for me, and what he has done for the lacrosse program has been incredible.”
Kraus also thanks his friends who he said, “put up with me being so competitive and always trying to win.
Follow Tim Burt on Twitter at TimBurt.Irvine
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