Manfredo gets hyped up about playing lacrosse

Published 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Springtime is Camilla Manfredo’s favorite season, and that means some serious lacrosse action is coming her way during those months.

The Mercer Island High School (MIHS) junior’s team has been making this spring a special one by amassing a 9-1 Snoqualmie Division record at press time and notching a No. 2 Washington State Girls Lacrosse ranking.

Midfielder Manfredo, who captains the squad with senior defender Lucy Tiscornia, said the team has greatly improved its game after losing its first match to No. 1-ranked Eastside Catholic all the way through a string of victories until this point.

“Just looking at the difference between then and now is just insane. We thought it was going to be a growing year, but we’ve been doing really well, which is really cool,” said Manfredo, noting that the numerous keys to their success have been consistency, energy, chemistry, strategy, bonding, friendship, trust and pure athleticism.

Top Islander players this season, according to Manfredo, include junior midfielder Lucia Carr (a solid scorer), sophomore midfielder Anabelle Morton (a fast player and frequent scorer) and freshman attacker Kara Kang (who’s a stellar draw-taker).

Manfredo began playing lacrosse in preschool on the east coast, continued her lacrosse journey when her family moved to the Island nine years ago and she later played club ball for the Seattle Starz. (She now competes for Arc Lacrosse, which was founded by MIHS coach Lyndsey Gillis.)

Recently, Manfredo committed to play lacrosse at Elon University in North Carolina.

She’s clearly thrilled about stepping onto the lacrosse field to engage in some adrenaline-fueled matches where players get competitive and aggressive.

“I really get hyped up and fired up whenever I’m doing a physical activity and I think that the whole hype about lacrosse on the Island is so great,” said Manfredo, who was part of the MIHS state championship team two years ago and earned co-MVP honors. “We go to practice every single day and everyone wants to be there. It’s a good time to just get away from all the stresses of school and everything and just dial in and play a sport that everyone is just really excited to play.”

The Reporter asked Manfredo a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life:

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

It’s actually a lacrosse person. I’d probably go to dinner with Chloe Humphrey (University of North Carolina sophomore). She’s insane. She’s broken every single record. She has like 130 points this year and she plays for the best team right now. She’s just really cool and I would love to talk to her.

What’s the best piece of advice that you would give someone who’s just starting off in lacrosse?

Just make sure it stays fun and you just stay hungry. I think especially when you’re starting a high school sport, it gets stressful. Take a step back, make sure you know what you’re doing, why you’re playing a sport. I think probably the best advice I’ve been given (from her coach) is just stay hungry for the ball, which goes into aggressiveness and competitiveness.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

I just don’t like when people eat with their mouth open.

What’s a binge-worthy TV series that you’d recommend?

It’s called “Mare of Easttown.” It’s like a murder mystery that my mom told me about. I was kind of skeptical about it, but it’s really good.

What’s a special skill that you’d like to learn?

I really want to do a behind-the-back shot. I’ve done it before, but I really want to do it in a game.

What’s a superpower that you’d like to have?

Probably flying. Like flying over the Grand Canyon sounds really cool.

How do you spend your spare time?

I like hanging out with my friends. I mean, we live in the Pacific Northwest, so going outside is really nice, especially (when the) weather gets nicer: going to the lake, driving around, just hanging out. I like playing soccer. Just being active, going to the gym, hanging out with my family, playing lacrosse with my family, hanging out with my dog, going on walks, everything. Usually just anything that requires any movement is fun for me.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Probably just working a cool job, living in a cool city, doing something fun that I like. Probably not an office job; it doesn’t really sound that appealing to me. I feel like something surrounding sports. I’m taking psychology right now, which is really cool, so something like sports psych or sports medicine or something sounds pretty intriguing for me. I’ve been doing sports my entire life, so that’s something that I’m passionate about.