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Palm Beach Atlantic University

West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Florida Southeast
Private Small Developing team
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Katy Richardson

Palm Beach Atlantic named Katy Richardson as the head women’s lacrosse coach in the summer of 2021. Richardson, a graduate of Park Vista high school, returned home to West Palm Beach after spending the last two years as an assistant coach at SSC counterpart, Florida Southern.


The Sailfish finished their season with a 3-12 record in Richardson's second season at the helm. PBA won their opening game of the season against Bridgeport 13-9 then gathered victories over Ashland and Young Harris to close out the year. Freshman Olivia Larges led the team with 26 goals in her opening season with the Sailfish.


Richardson went 2-12 in her first season with the Sailfish. PBA captured a win in her Sailfish debut as they took down Young Harris 13-8. There second win of the season came against Fort Lewis 16-11. With Richardson at the helm, freshman goalie Courtney Rausch broke the school records for saves in a game with 17 against Embry-Riddle on April 13 and saves in a season with 122.


In her two seasons as an assistant with the Mocs, Richardson helped lead FSC to a combined 15-4 record since 2020. Florida Southern finished the 2021 season with a 9-1 record while being ranked No. 7 in the country and earning a piece of the SSC Regular Season Championship. The Mocs were also ranked No. 7 in the middle of Richardson’s first season with the squad before the season was ended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In her stint in Lakeland, she coached six All-Americans, six All-Region student-athletes, and eight All-SSC honorees, including 2021’s SSC Player of the Year, Marina Jozokos.


Richardson brings an expertise to the lacrosse scene in South Florida having served as the Director of Education & Recruiting Coordinator for Lax Maniax, a club lacrosse program based in West Palm Beach from 2013-2020. During her time with the club, she helped the program launch locations in Tampa, Pensacola and Greenville, S.C. She also created a centralized evaluation protocol used to evaluate over 300 middle and high school athletes while using data

visualization to communicate evaluation results to players, families, and coaches.


After graduating from Park Vista, Richardson played two years at Adelphi University where she was a part of a Panthers squad that won the National Championship in 2014. Richardson then transferred to NCAA Division I Presbyterian where she earned All-Big South honorable mention while leading the team in goals, assists and points. She is still tied for the record at PC for most points and most goals in a game.


Richardson graduated with honors from Presbyterian with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She finished her master’s degree in Organizational Psychology in December 2021 from the University of Hartford.

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Jesse Vanatta

Vanatta was named the head coach of the PBA men's lacrosse program in May of 2022 after serving as the interim head coach for the 2022 season.


In his second season, Vanatta added Brett Bernardo to the coaching staff as an assistant coach and added 13 new players. PBA picked up a dominant win over Davis & Elkins 22-5 on Mar. 7. The ‘Fish tied a program record for most goals in a game when they defeated Quincy 23-11 on Mar. 17. Additionally, freshman Cooper Porter was named to the SSC All-Freshman team.


In his first year at the helm, Vanatta helped the team improve on the field and spiritually, implementing weekly Bible studies with the team. He strives to mirror the lacrosse program with the mission of Palm Beach Atlantic. Vanatta and several of his student-athletes have connections with FCA and the local Christian lacrosse community in Palm Beach County which strives to use the sport as a platform for ministry.


On the field, he exceeded expectations, leading the Sailfish to first-ever wins against Lincoln Memorial, North Greenville, Assumption, and Flagler. At the beginning of March, the team tied the program’s longest winning streak. The Sailfish earned four all-conference honors this season, tying the most all-conference awards in a single season in program history. Other notable achievements from Vanatta’s first season at the helm are Henry Sloyan becoming the program’s career goals leader and defender Gunner Gebelein reaching 200 groundballs and 100 caused turnovers in his career.


A PBA graduate in 2013, Vanatta was a three-year captain of the club team and was selected as an all-conference performer. He helped guide the team to their first-ever conference championship appearance as a player in 2010 and to their first national championship tournament appearance as a coach in 2013. Since graduating, he's served as the defensive coordinator for the club team and assisted with administrative duties including game planning, scheduling, travel and equipment. In addition to his work at PBA he was part of FCA Lacrosse South Florida from 2013-17 and has worked with the Florida Launch of Major League Lacrosse since 2014.

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