Huntington Lax Alum Headed to
Hall of Fame
Mr. Lantier was introduced to lacrosse by Don Loughlin, who founded the Blue Devil program and coached the team in its early years before becoming a high school assistant principal. A prolific scorer, Mr. Lantier was the only Suffolk player on the 1960 ten-man Long Island Lacrosse All-Star Team. As a Huntington senior he was named to the first team All Scholastic Lacrosse Squad by the Metropolitan and Long Island Lacrosse Association.
The Huntington grad went on to a storied career at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He played five years of college lacrosse (he played his first year at the University of Maryland) and broke Navy's 11-year old plebe scoring record as a freshman. In four seasons on the Navy varsity, the teams Mr. Lantier played on suffered only one loss and won three national college championships and one national open title.
Mr. Lantier graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. He was inducted into the Naval Academy's Hall of Fame and awarded the coveted Stuart Oxnard Miller Memorial Lacrosse Cup.
The former Blue Devil great was a three-time college All-American, winning honors at attack in 1963 and for his midfield play in both 1964 and 1965. He captained Navy's 1965 team that went undefeated and won college and open national crowns. It marked the first time in 42 years (and last time since) that a team had accomplished such a trifecta.
After graduating from the Naval Academy, Mr. Lantier spent five years as a naval officer on sea duty, seeing combat action in the Vietnam War. After leaving the U.S. Navy, Mr. Lantier played for the Philadelphia Lacrosse Club being he embarked on an international banking career, working for some of the world's biggest financial companies. He has served on the U.S. Lacrosse Foundation's board of directors and was finance chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy alumni committee that built the $3 million Navy Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
A large contingent of Huntington lacrosse alumni are expected to attend the Hall of Fame induction dinner and celebrate with Mr. Lantier. To join the group contact Hutch VanderSchuyt at hutch1965@verizon.net or 427-3092.