Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

LaFragola, three-sport standout, is S.J. senior boy athlete of the year

C.J. LaFragola took it easy in high school. That might seem hard to believe, since few scholastic athletes in recent South Jersey history were as persistently active and consistently productive as the multisport star from St. Joseph in Hammonton.

St. Joseph's C.J. LaFragola never felt overwhelmed by his overbooked sports schedule in high school. He said he was busier as a youngster. "I guess I'm a little crazy"; LaFragola said. "I love to be doing stuff. I get bored otherwise." (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)
St. Joseph's C.J. LaFragola never felt overwhelmed by his overbooked sports schedule in high school. He said he was busier as a youngster. "I guess I'm a little crazy"; LaFragola said. "I love to be doing stuff. I get bored otherwise." (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)Read more

C.J. LaFragola took it easy in high school.

That might seem hard to believe, since few scholastic athletes in recent South Jersey history were as persistently active and consistently productive as the multisport star from St. Joseph in Hammonton.

LaFragola was a standout fullback and linebacker for a St. Joseph football team that won state titles in each of his three varsity seasons with the Wildcats.

He was a sensational wrestler who struck deep into the state tournament as a junior and senior, capping his career with an appearance in the championship bout under that famous vaulted ceiling in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

He was a top hitter and infielder in baseball, helping the Wildcats to the South B title game as a junior and tying for the lead in South Jersey in home runs as a senior.

He was among South Jersey's best athletes in three very different sports. He is a slam-dunk choice as The Inquirer's senior boy athlete of the year.

But LaFragola never felt overwhelmed by his overbooked sports schedule in high school. He said he was busier as a youngster.

"I guess I'm a little crazy," LaFragola said. "I love to be doing stuff. I get bored otherwise.

"When I was little, there were times I would play five [sports] in a year. I remember wrestling and playing basketball at the same time, playing football and soccer at the same time. I even tried lacrosse one year."

It's one thing to participate in multiple sports. That's unique and admirable in an era of overspecialization among high school and even middle-school athletes.

It's something else to excel in sports with vastly different demands and skill sets.

And it's something else again to shine on the football field, wrestling mat, and baseball diamond while also collecting a steady succession of "A" grades in the classroom. LaFragola was a top scholar-athlete who plans to wrestle at Brown University.

LaFragola enjoyed his best team success in football. He ran for 702 yards and scored 16 touchdowns as a senior, as St. Joseph went 11-0 and finished as the No. 1 team in The Inquirer's rankings.

LaFragola scored three touchdowns in the state final, a 55-0 victory over St. Anthony.

"He had a great career," St. Joseph football coach Paul Sacco said.

LaFragola said there was "something special" about playing football for St. Joseph.

"Football is the best from a team standpoint," LaFragola said. "It's a brotherhood."

LaFragola rolled right into wrestling season after football extended into December. He compiled a 44-2 record as a senior, finishing second in the state at 182 pounds.

"There's nothing like competing [in the state finals] in that event at Boardwalk Hall," LaFragola said.

St. Joseph wrestling coach Joe Henshaw said LaFragola's "work ethic" was the key to his success.

"Lots of kids have talent," Henshaw said. "He combined that with a tremendous work ethic. He was never one of those kids who would sigh when he had to work hard."

Some outsiders might regard baseball as LaFragola's No. 3 sport, since it's last in the school year and the team doesn't compete at the same level as the football squad.

LaFragola doesn't look at it that way.

"My dad still thinks baseball is my No. 1," said LaFragola, who lives in Little Egg Harbor in Ocean County. "I love playing baseball. It's the sport I've been playing the longest."

St. Joseph's athletic director Bill Hiltner said LaFragola had a "breakout year" in baseball as a senior.

A shortstop, LaFragola batted .467 with 36 hits, 11 doubles, 10 home runs, and 35 RBIs. He tied with Bishop Eustace's Chris Jones for tops in South Jersey in home runs.

LaFragola said playing three different sports kept him "fresh" during the course of his career.

"I never got burned out," LaFragola said. "It was great going from sport to sport, playing with different teammates, making different friends. In a lot of ways, the different sports complement each other."

More and more athletes are pushed to focus on one sport at an earlier and earlier age, thanks to the growing influence of travel programs and out-of-primary-season training regimens.

LaFragola said he would advise high school athletes to play multiple sports. He entered Holy Spirit High School (he transferred to St. Joseph as a sophomore) in the fall of 2010 with a goal: 12 varsity letters.

He earned his 12th this spring in baseball.

If it wasn't against the rules, he might have gone for 16.

@PhilAnastasia

www.philly.com/

jerseysidesports