District 99 girls lacrosse co-op begins first official season in Spring 2020

On June 17, 2019, the District 99 Board of Education unanimously approved the boys and girls lacrosse co-op as a funded sport beginning in the 2019-20 school year.

"We're excited to officially welcome lacrosse as a funded sport in our district," North High Athletic Director Denise Kavanaugh said. "We couldn't ask for a better coaching staff to kick off the inaugural season."

Learn more about the girls lacrosse coaching staff below:

Jon Gargiulo: Program Advisor/ Coach, Mentor and Founder of Downers Grove Lacrosse

Thanks to Coach Gargiulo, lacrosse is a funded sport at District 99. For the past 11 years, he has been instrumental in bringing lacrosse to Downers Grove and raising interest and participation. Coach Gargiulo has been coaching for 21 years and previously played lacrosse for Union College in New York.

Christian Pilapil: Varsity Head Coach Girls Lacrosse

New to District 99, Coach Pilapil teaches Health & Physical Education at North High and South High. He is a trained U.S. certified lacrosse coach with experience coaching multiple age levels and high school teams since 2012. Coach Pilapil specializes in player development by identifying and developing leaders within the team.

Katlyn Wilke: Varsity Assistant Coach Girls Lacrosse

Coach Wilke has been the Varsity Assistant Coach of the DG girls lacrosse team for the past four seasons. She has several years experience coaching competitive club lacrosse. She has had 10 years of success on the field including at Blaine High School in Minnesota and North Central College. Coach Wilke provides expertise in training the skills of lacrosse at every level.

Zach Pressley: Junior Varsity Coach Girls Lacrosse

Coach Pressley teaches within the Special Services Department at North High. He has coached for the past six years and this will be his second year coaching the girls lacrosse team. In high school, Coach Pressley played for the DG Boys lacrosse program and then went on to play at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

To learn more about District 99 athletics, please contact North High Athletic Director Denise Kavanaugh at [email protected] or South High Athletic Director Randy Konstans at [email protected].