Leading off today: Given the amount of talent New York produces every year, I'm not sure if Connor English is in a class by himself as a lacrosse player.

   I am pretty sure, however, that the coaching staff at the University of Virginia, is collectively salivating at the thoought of putting him on the field in a Cavaliers uniform next spring.

   Manhasset put on a great show in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys Class C lacrosse final yesterday at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester by beating LaFayette, 16-11. And English was an electrifying presence, scoring nine goals.

   "It's unreal," English said after his scholastic finale. "Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this. This is the ultimate high you can ever experience."

   Records are sketchy, but English's nine-goal day is believed to have tied a NYSPHSAA tournament record set by Jason Doneger in the 2000 Class C final for Lynbrook, also against LaFayette.

   "He's up at the school every day shooting," Manhasset coach Bill Cherry said. "He's out there before practice shooting. He stays after practice to shoot. He's home shooting. That's what the real good ones do, A lot of guys have the firepower, the speed on their shot. But they don't have the accuracy."

   Said English: "In the offseason I probably shoot 200 shots a day in between lifting and speed workouts. After practice I stay with a bunch of the guys and we just shoot buckets — we probably shoot 50 to 100 after practice when we're tired. At practice when we're all fatigued we try to work on picking spots to shoot at."

   And being able to put forth extra effort while tired paid off for Manhasset. English and senior midfielder Jeff Izzo had scored back-to-back in the third quarter to cap a run that turned an 8-4 halftime lead into 12-4, but LaFayette responded. Gehnew Printup and Lyle Thompson scored twice apiece as part of a six-minute spree that cut the lead to 12-10.

   English then counterpunched. First, he scooped up a loose ball and fired it home from about 20 feet in front of the cage and Izzo followed up with an extra-man goal. English and Printup then traded goals to make it 15-11 before English's highlight-reel moment.

   Rolling from behind the net, he started to go low as midfielder Nate Beresovoy tried to ride him off course. But English kept driving his legs and, with Beresovoy all but applying a head lock, fired to the far low corner to elude goalie Chris Klaiber with 7:04 to go.

   "I knew the goal was somewhere to the right," he said. "I just fired."

   It was exactly the sort of leadership Cherry needed and expected from the 20 seniors making their final appearance in the navy and orange.

   "Before the game I brought the seniors forward and said, 'Gentlemn, look at these guys. They're getting it done.'"

   West Islip now 3-for-4: West Islip went on a 7-0 run to wipe out Orchard Park's 4-2 lead and earn a 10-5 victory in Class A. It was West Islip's third state championship in four seasons.

   Junior Nicky Galasso scored three times and classmate Andrew Hodgson twice during the decisive span, which began 2:05 before halftime and covered 15:50 on the clock. Galasso finished with four goals and four assists as West Islip completed a 22-1 season.

   Senior attackman Bryan Badolato scored three times for West Islip, the last capping a 4-0 third period. Hodgson scored a pair of goals.

   Senior Jeff Tundo scored four goals for Orchard Park in

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his final game.

   Canandaigua nets its first trophy: LaFayette's loss left Niskayuna as the last undefeated NYSPHSAA team of the season, and the Silver Warriors pounced on Canandaigua for two goals in the first 44 seconds.

   But the momentum didn't last. Canandaigua went on a 5-0 run over the next 25:15, and Brian Scheetz scored twice in the second half as the Braves won just the second championship in Section 5 history with a 10-5 decision in the final.

   Senior midfielder Marshall Johnson led the winners with three goals and registered another strong day on faceoffs, winning 15 of 19 draws.

   Canandaigua won its final 20 games of the season.

   Perhaps the start of a change: No one is ready to read too much into it, but yesterday was the first time in the 10 years of the three-class tournament format that each of the six finalists came from a different section.

   Section 3 and the two Long Island sections had won all 15 trophies over the previous five years and 20 of the last 21.

   Yesterday, Canandaigua played in its first final, Niskayuna in its second and Orchard Park its third.

   "We don't know what to make of it," state coordinator Tom Hall said, "but I think it's very good for lacrosse and it shows some of the development across the state. Normally you see two 3's, two 8's or two 11's in the finals. Yeah, it's got to be a good development for the state.

   "I like to see new faces."

   Crazy eights: While the boys were showing a bit more diversity in terms of finalists, the girls lacrosse finals awards presentations in Cortland took on a Nassau/Suffolk County flavor.

   Mikaela Rix scored a hat trick and Emily Norell tallied twice for Garden City in a 12-7 victory over Yorktown for the Class B championship, the Trojans' fourth in a row and 10th in 15 years of the tournament.

   Caroline McTiernan's goal with 11:08 left in the first half gave Garden City the lead for good at 5-4 and was part of a run that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 9-4 lead.

   Jaimie Morrison led Yorktown (20-1) with three goals and one assist.

   In Class C, Rachel Wiederkehr scored three of her four goals in the second half and Stephanie Anderson added three goals and one assist as Shoreham-Wading River of Section 11 earned its third straight title with a 13-11 victory over Honeoye Falls-Lima.

   Wiederkehr's goal on an assist from Brosco gave Shoreham-Wading River a 12-7 advantage with 6:39 to go before the Cougars applied late pressure.

   Lindsey Powell led HF-L with six goals and an assist.

   The Class A final came down to Kyra Ochwat's free-position goal with :09 left in Farmingdale's 10-9 win against Guilderland. After Guilderland wen head by 9-7 with 6:44 to play, Kelly McPartland scored with 5:25 to go and Melanie Raso connected with :59 remaining.

   More to come: I'll be back tonight with some highlights from yesterday's track and field, baseball and softball finals around the state.