Knighthawks draft two former Section V lacrosse stars

In last month’s National Lacrosse league draft, the Rochester Knighthawks picked a pair of homegrown talent –Penn Yan’s Conner Fingar and Victor’s Regan Endres.

The former Section V stars double as college teammates.

“We’re excited to have you on board,” sad Knighthawks General Manager Dan Carey said to second-round draft pick Fingar on the night of the NLL Draft.

“Watching those games, whenever we’d run out as little kids, we’d pretend we were on the Knighthawks,” Fingar said. “From there, I was like, all right, this is a team I play for. I want to play pro lacrosse.”

They now get to play for the team they grew up idolizing.

“The first thing that was running through my head was just smiling like I was excited,” Endres said. “It was just it was a surreal feeling.”

And both were in the right environment to make that happen. At Victor, Endres won two state championships while Fingar was a five-time Section V Champion at Penn Yan.

“Section V is crazy,” Endres said. “I mean, every school has at least a Division I guy.”

“[It’s] one of those places that I think they teach the right way,” Carey said. “Players come out of here and have a lot of success at the NCAA level, but also professionally as well.”

The winning didn’t stop in high school. Endres and Fingar played together at the University of Albany, picking up an America East Championship last year.

“Winning that championship with all the fellows and all the boys and coaches, it was just it was good for everyone,” Endres said.

Now, they get to play another couple years together in the pros.

“We’re all friends off the field and on the field,” Fingar said. “So it was awesome seeing more Albany guys getting drafted.”

He is playing one more year in college while Endres signed a one-year contract for the upcoming season.

“I don’t think it’ll be real until it’s really that real,” he said. “You can only imagine so much until you’re actually, like, there.”

The Knighthawks season opener is on Nov. 30.