Hall of Fame
Marie Van Der Kar Gray rewrote the Castleton women’s lacrosse record books top-to-bottom following an exemplary career from 2008-2011. She stepped on campus as a freshman and immediately helped guide Castleton to its first-ever winning season, scoring 45 goals and dishing out 12 assists to help the Spartans to a 10-8 record and a trip to the New England Women’s Lacrosse Assocation championship game. Her sophomore year saw her rise to national notoriety, ranking in the top 10 in the nation with 77 goals, 5.05 ground balls per game and 4.84 draw controls per game. That season, the Spartans again upped their win total, posting a 15-4 record and again played in the NEWLA title matchup. The season didn’t end there, with Van Der Kar and Co. making a run to the ECAC Championship game after downing Curry and Emerson in the first two rounds of the tournament. Her junior year saw her amass 66 goals and seven assists, but she played an equally important role on the defensive end, ranking among NCAA leaders with 4.42 ground balls and 2.63 caused turnovers per game. The Spartans’ winning ways continued, with a 13-win season and a third-straight NEWLA championship appearance. In her final season, Van Der Kar racked up 56 goals and 14 assists for 70 total points, and ranked top-10 nationally with 5.0 ground balls per game and 3.41 caused turnovers per game. Castleton won 12 games in 2011 and made its fourth consecutive NEWLA championship appearance. Van Der Kar finished her career with numerous records that still stand at the time of her induction: 293 career points, 244 career goals, 311 career ground balls, 175 caused turnovers, 96 ground balls in a single season, 58 caused turnovers in a single season and nine goals in a single game. She graduated as the record holder in nearly every offensive and defensive category, and remains among the all-time leaders in those categories in which she no longer holds the top spot. Van Der Kar was fourth all-time in caused turnovers and sixth all-time in NCAA history for ground balls at her time of graduation. She was a four-time First Team All-NEWLA selection and two-time NEWLA Offensive Player of the Year. After graduation, Van Der Kar moved to Montana where she met her husband, Peter, before returning to Vermont. Her and her husband live and work on their family-owned vegetable farm in Newbury, Vermont, with their two children, Sophie and Sam.
