By Henry Palmore

Senior Charlie “Cmoney” Miller (‘24) has been a locksmith on the Collegiate lacrosse team for the past four years. Miller’s attitude and effort on the defensive side of the ball are key points of the lacrosse team’s success. Last season, Miller was named First Team VISAA All-State honors, All Preparatory League honors, and Second Team All-Metro. Miller was one of three Juniors to receive First Team honors. Miller, who is a short-stick defender, was named All-State as a short-stick defender, which is the first time they have given out this award to someone in years. Miller has been used to take out the opposing team’s best player throughout last season, as well as helping move the ball downfield to the offense after a defensive stop and possession. Millers’ stats last year consisted of 37 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers over 19 games. 

Miller has been playing lacrosse since he was six years old. He has played on multiple club teams, including Richmond Hawks and Next Level. Miller says that he has more fun playing for Collegiate than his club teams over the summer because of the culture and camaraderie of Collegiate’s program.

Miller is committed to playing lacrosse at Bucknell University. The other schools that showed high interest in Miller were The United States Military Academy at West Point (Army), Rutgers, Marist College, Jacksonville, and Fairfield University. Regarding the recruitment process, Miller said, “Connecting with the coaches in person, they welcomed me really well. I liked the size of [Bucknell] and the great academics. The guys that I talked to enjoyed their time there, and it felt like the place for me.” Miller’s advice on the recruiting process is, “Try not to pay attention to coaches on the sideline as much as possible. Always play aggressive and gritty, always 100 percent, and always stay focused whenever you’re out there. You never know who’s watching.”

Miller believes being a short-stick defender is, “the hardest position in lacrosse besides goalie. It requires a lot of lateral quickness and athleticism. It is very difficult to guard opposing teams’ best attackmen and midfielders.” The expectation for Miller is that he guard a player just as well as a long pole can. Short sticks have to stand closer to the player that they are guarding, and the position takes a certain level of athleticism. Charles Nolde (‘24) described the position: “You always have to be focused and doing your job to the best of your ability. And you’re also connected to both sides of the ball.”

This spring, Miller wants to connect with the younger guys on the varsity team and have a close bond. He is very excited to take a leadership role, being a Senior on the team. Ben Heidt (‘25) described Miller: “Charlie Miller is the definition of an athlete, and he is a tenacious player on the field. He loves to shut down the opposing team’s best player.”

Miller’s state playoff game against Chantilly’s St. Paul VI Catholic High School was his best game of the year, according to him, and he succeeded in shutting off PVI’s best player at the time, Matt Han. He also had a great game against Norfolk Academy, tallying a goal and an assist, which is rare for a defensive player. Miller had a key play where he had a takeaway and cleared the ball down the field for a goal, which changed the momentum of the game. That goal tied the game up, and they held Norfolk scoreless in the second half. 

There are seven Division I commits on this year’s Collegiate boys lacrosse team, including Miller, Jackson O’Keefe (‘24) (Marist College), Randolph Campbell (‘24) (Providence College), Warner Lewis (‘24) (Virginia Military Institute), Adam Sulanke (‘25) (United States Military Academy), John Seevers (‘25) (Denver University), and Heidt (‘25) United States Air Force Academy. There are high expectations for this team, and their goal is to bring Collegiate lacrosse a state championship for the first time since 2006. 

All photos by Maggie Bowman.