Five young South Florida women are shaking up sports locally and nationally—even toppling the giants in their fields.
2019 was the year of the woman.
With the U.S. women’s national soccer team winning its fourth World Cup and vehemently fighting for equal pay, young girls everywhere are looking up to their (s)heroes. Some may recognize South Florida as a football hub, but Palm Beach County is home to women athletes who are paving the way for young players across the world. Each day this week, Boca mag is profiling one of those athletes who calls South Florida home—and this will not be the last time you see their names on big screens.
Caitlyn Wurzburger
Caitlyn Wurzburger’s earliest lacrosse memory includes her front yard and a blue-and-white lacrosse stick. The 5-year-old didn’t know it yet, but in eight years she would be the youngest women’s lacrosse recruit in history.
She received a verbal commitment to play for Syracuse University in 2016, when she was in eighth grade.
“My dad told me once I committed, ‘this is when the work begins,’” Wurzburger says. “It motivated me to be better and to turn it on. Now you’re expected to do good, and you’re making a promise to a college to be there and play your best with them.”
The commitment coincided with the second year of American Heritage’s girls’ lacrosse program, which reached the state semi-finals that year, thanks to more than 100 goals and 100 assists from Wurzburger.
To date, she has scored 406 career goals and 429 career assists for a national record of 835 points. She is a four-time All-American and the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2020, per Inside Lacrosse.
“I do a lot of things people don’t expect me to do on the field,” Wurzburger says. “I think I have a lot of different factors that I bring to the game that helps the offense.”
Wurzburger works hard to stay on top of her game. During season, she wakes up at 5 a.m. twice a week to work on speed and agility. She works on her wall-ball four to five times a week. Her hard work has paid off, as she helped lead American Heritage to its first state title in 2018 and is now a member of the USA U-19 Girls National Team.
Last year also marked the year Wurzburger decided to take her talents elsewhere. She dropped her commitment to Syracuse and instead sought out the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
“I’m excited to be in such a competitive and passionate environment,” Wurzburger says. “Everyone is so driven at UNC. That’s one thing I was really drawn to, and I love the coaches. I’m ready to get out there and start working for such great people.”
Now heading into her senior year of high school, Wurzburger gives credit to her team for making its impact on Florida sports, but she also coaches budding players. “I do a lot of community service, and I love doing it,” she says. “It’s something I love and am passionate about. I enjoy playing with kids.”
This story is from our November/December 2019 issue of Boca magazine. For more content like this, subscribe to the magazine.
