Newsday Athlete of the Week is Floyd girls lacrosse's Kayla Gilmore
Floyd's Kayla Gilmore (5) looks to get around Connetquot's Jenna Zachmann (11) in the fourth quarter during the Suffolk girls lacrosse Class A quarterfinal playoff game between Floyd and Connetquot on Tuesday May 14, 2024. Credit: Bob Sorensen
After Kayla Gilmore learned how to count in the classroom, she headed to the field to become a student of the game.
The Floyd senior and true triple threat has shined on the basketball court, lacrosse field, and soccer pitch, serving as a captain for all three teams. The University of Maryland lacrosse commit’s love of athletics was born at a very young age.
“I’ve always loved sports and being competitive,” Gilmore said. “My mom has been the soccer coach at Shoreham, and she would pick me up from preschool and take me to her practices. Seeing the work and time and the success she had inspired me to bring that culture to Floyd.”
Newsday’s Athlete of the Week has made historical impacts on the Colonials’ programs, including back-to-back final four appearances in lacrosse and basketball and helping Floyd win its first league hoops title in 40 years last season.
“We wanted to be a winning program and it showed,” said an emotional Gilmore Friday night after the Colonials’ one-point loss to Ward Melville in the county semifinals. “We’re a much different Floyd. It’s nice to leave a positive mark and inspire younger generations."
As Gilmore strived for team-wide success, she accumulated an array of personal bests. A member of under 18 Team USA lacrosse, she has earned All-American and All-American Academic honors and hit more than 600 career draws and 350 career points. On the court, Gilmore became Floyd’s all-time leader in points (1,367), assists (295) and steals (530), according to basketball coach Rich Sinclair.
“She’s a great leader on and off the field,” lacrosse coach Nicole Alesi said. “She puts her 100% effort into it. Everything is important to her regardless of the season. She’s someone that always wants to be better, a better athlete, teammate, and player for that sport.”
Gilmore, who says she has always prioritized academics, holds a 97 unweighted GPA and is actively involved in the National Honor Society, student government, foreign language clubs, and consistently maintains her place on the honor roll as the 12th ranked graduate in her class.
“I want to be a coach at the college level one day, but I knew in order to get there and get into my dream school, I needed to be a student first,” Gilmore said.
Maryland has been Gilmore’s top choice since she was in 5th grade, and while she announced her commitment last October, her decision was reconfirmed when she received an unexpected health diagnosis in December.
“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It was a huge low point for me, and I couldn’t understand it,” Gilmore said. “But it turned out the Maryland coach’s son has type 1 diabetes, and, actually, the Stony Brook hospital room I was in even had turtles on the wall. It felt like everything was telling me I made the right choice.”
As Gilmore prepares to become a Terrapin and major in criminology and criminal justice, she hopes to pursue a career as an attorney or work in law enforcement with the goal of eventually entering the FBI.
“I want to help people in any way possible,” Gilmore said. “Even with sharing my diagnosis, I hope to inspire people and bring more awareness to it in hopes of finding a cure.”
