Practice can be tedious and not so much fun. But extra practice does pay off.

One Saint Ignatius lacrosse player who has taken this lesson to heart has been rewarded for his efforts.

Anthony Ameo '18 has announced his decision to commit to The Ohio State University. 

Since his freshman year, Ameo has thrived on and off the field by virtue of his hard work. Ameo has earned the praise of his teammates and his coaches for being a hard-working leader.  

"In addition to Anthony's success in games, it is the way he has worked with our other faceoff guys that really tells his story," head junior varsity lacrosse coach Garen Distelhorst '96 said. "He comes to practice 1/2 an hour early every day to work with them and the results have paid off on every level for Saint Ignatius lacrosse. I just can't say enough how proud we all are."

Ameo has thrived in his role as a faceoff man, recording a 68% faceoff percentage during his sophomore campaign in 2016 and adding 156 groundballs. 

"I know I speak for our former head coach, Pat McManamon '96, and the rest of the coaching staff when I say we are thrilled for Anthony," Distelhorst said. "He has worked so hard and deserves this amazing opportunity to play for his home state Buckeyes."

Ameo follows in the footsteps of several of the best lacrosse players to ever walk the halls of Saint Ignatius, TJ Discenza '93, Greg Zytkowski '96, Matt Schwabauer '97, and Anthony Kelly '99, who also played lacrosse at Ohio State.

The Ameo family is excited about Anthony's bright future.  

"We are extremely proud of and happy for Anthony.  He is a focused, hard-working kid, and has been fortunate to be surrounded by a fantastic group of coaches and teammates," Tony and Debbie Ameo said. "We are especially grateful for Coach McManamon for believing in Anthony as a freshman; and for Coach Calleri and Coach Kelly for all their help on the field and with the recruiting process."