Caitlyn Wurzburger has lacrosse in her blood. Her father, Rob, played for two legendary coaches — Mike Messere at West Genesee (N.Y.) and Dick Edell at Maryland — and was a two-time college All-American.

Wurzburger made waves when she committed to Syracuse as an eighth-grader two years ago, but now she’s just making waves on the field.

Nearly 1,200 of the nation’s top high school lacrosse players competed in the US Lacrosse National Tournament over Memorial Day Weekend on Long Island. The top division featured an all-Long Island final with Long Island Metro 1 beating Long Island Metro 2, but Wurzburger found a way to stand out.

Wurzburger led her South Florida squad to a division championship for the second year in a row, earning the Heather Leigh Albert Award as the tournament’s outstanding player. 

The award is named after a former player at the event who died in 1993 at the age of just 21. It has been awarded since 1994 and a distinguished list of past recipients includes former U.S. World Cup players Lauren Aumiller and Katie Chrest.

“I feel blessed and grateful,” Wurzburger said. “She seems like she a tremendous person from the way everyone talks about her. I hope I can live up to her name.”

Wurzburger led American Heritage to a Florida state championship as a sophomore and is on her way to rewriting high school record books. She began playing varsity lacrosse as an eighth grader and has topped 100 goals and 100 assists in each of her first three seasons.

Her early college commitment, which came before new recruiting regulations were in place, has done little to slow her drive.

“When you commit, the work just begins is what my dad says,” Wurzburger said.