On February 19, Durant High School senior and lacrosse player Kaylee Carr signed with Guilford College in North Carolina. Prior to high school, Carr had no intention of playing lacrosse, but she was encouraged to join the team by one of her friends.
“Freshman year, I actually had no knowledge of lacrosse and one of my friend’s older sisters played for Durant and has convinced me to tryout,” said Carr.
Carr made the team and learned about the game but tore a piece of her left ACL before the start of the season. However, the tear wasn’t large enough to require surgery or physical therapy, so she did not get to play much during her freshman or sophomore years.
“That’s a really big fear of mine—especially this year—that I could tear it and miss a whole year or more of lacrosse,” admitted Carr.
Despite the rough start to her time on Durant’s lacrosse team, she was able to regain the strength and ability to play to her full potential and became a starter in her junior year.
“Last year, when I became a starter, that really boosted my confidence and helped me believe I was good enough to play in college,” said Carr.
She joined one of her friends on a travel lacrosse team in Tampa Palms that taught her new skills and boosted her confidence as a lacrosse player. Watching her teammates sign with colleges last year inspired her to follow in their footsteps in her senior year.
In order to gain the attention of college recruiters, Carr made a Next College Student Athlete account that allowed her to post her stats and highlight videos. She caught the attention of multiple college lacrosse teams but ultimately decided to attend Guilford College.
Carr did end up tearing her ACL in the early part of the 2022 season but was able to sign with Guilford College prior to the injury, so she will still be able to play next season.
Guilford College made it to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals last year and was ranked eighth in this year’s preseason predictions by the conference’s Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll.
Durant High School’s girls lacrosse team played their first game of the season on February 15, and the regular season will continue through Monday, April 4. For more information on this season or to purchase tickets to Durant’s next lacrosse game, visit hillsboroughschools.org/athletics.
