Hall of Fame
James Van Der Kar ’08 was a four-year starter for the Spartan men’s lacrosse program, shutting down opposing attackers with regularity as a lockdown defender. The Manchester, Vermont, native racked up 313 ground balls in his career, the most by any defenseman in program history. Van Der Kar was ranked No. 12 in the nation his senior year in ground balls per game, racking up 7.1 ground balls per game while leading Castleton to a then-program-record 13 wins. In 2007, he was named Second Team All-North Atlantic Conference after collecting 52 ground balls and helping hold opponents to just 6.3 goals per game. He followed that up with a First Team All-NAC selection as a senior team captain and landed team Most Valuable Player honors as well. He amassed a career-best 142 ground balls that year, third most in a single-season in program history at the time. 2008 saw the lacrosse program reach new heights, as Van Der Kar helped lead the team to an ECAC Tournament win over Salem State to move to the ECAC Semifinals—a first in school history. After graduation, Van Der Kar and his wife Stefanie moved to Colorado where they settled and have two children. He developed a career designing custom residential homes, advancing to the role of Senior Project Manager at Pinnacle Mountain Homes. He is active in local sports in Breckinridge and plans to coach his two children once they are old enough to participate in the youth lacrosse programs.
