News at St. Catherine's

Times-Dispatch: Athletics director Julie Dayton of St. Catherine's to be inducted into National Lacrosse Hall of Fame

Julie Dayton will be inducted in September.
By LAURA FIEN
Richmond Times-Dispatch

     Julie Dayton is a hall of famer, again.
     Dayton is the St. Catherine’s athletics director, a former Longwood All-American and a Women’s Lacrosse National Team member. She was recently nominated to be enshrined in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The official induction ceremony will take place Sept. 10 in Hunt Valley, Md.
     “I’m extremely honored. There are not many other ways to say it,” Dayton said. “I was surprised but very honored and excited to be included with so many people that I hold in the highest esteem and people that have been my mentors and teammates and coaches. It is really an extraordinary honor.”
     Dayton started her career at Longwood as a field hockey player, but became a multisport athlete after her field hockey coach, Dee McDonough, recruited her to play lacrosse. McDonough was also Longwood’s lacrosse coach.
     “That was an interesting journey to pick up a lacrosse stick for the first time at 18 years old,” said Dayton. “It was like, ‘I don’t know about this.’
“It was a fortunate journey, though, and I loved playing at Longwood. I had great doors of opportunity to open.”
     Dayton scored 93 career goals as a midfielder and was a two-time All-American selection during her career at Longwood, from 1978-1981. In her senior year, Dayton won Longwood’s Female Athlete of the Year Award.
     After college, Dayton had a career on the United States Women’s Lacrosse National Team, from 1981-1990.
     Dayton was a midfielder on the 1986 U.S. World Cup Team and also played on the U.S. Olympic exhibition team in 1984. She was the recipient of the U.S. Lacrosse’s Beth Allen Award in 1987 as the most outstanding U.S. team player at the Women’s National tournament.
     “It really challenged me as an athlete,” Dayton said. “I had to train very hard to play with so many outstanding lacrosse players. I think what most people say automatically when they have a chance to represent their country is it is an amazing feeling of pride and humility to stand there in a U.S. uniform and represent your country when you hear the national anthem.”
      Dayton has previously been inducted into four halls of fame. She was inducted into the inaugural class for both Longwood and the U.S. Lacrosse Richmond Chapter, and she is also a member of the U.S. Lacrosse Charlottesville Chapter Hall of Fame and Delaware Hall of Fame — she’s originally from Laurel, Del.
     Joining Dayton in the 2016 national class are Margie Anderson, Kim Basner, Joanne Connelly, Michele LeFevre Doyle, Glen Miles, Mike Morrill, Robert Shek and John Tucker.
     “What makes the celebration so meaningful is you get a chance to say thank you to everyone that has impacted you and has played an important role in your life,” Dayton said.
     The class of 2016 will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 10 at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. Tickets are available to the public at www.uslacrosse.org/HOF.
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Located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, St. Catherine’s School is a private, all-girls pre-K, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school. We provide a well-rounded educational experience for girls from communities across Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and all of central Virginia. St.Catherine’s all-girls educational experience is rooted in more than a century of history and tradition. From our revolutionary past to our dynamic present, St. Catherine’s has always focused on preparing students for a boundless future.