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Anthony Raio is presented the Raymond Enners Award by Suffolk...

Anthony Raio is presented the Raymond Enners Award by Suffolk County Lacrosse Coaches’ Association President Desmond Megna at the Suffolk County Lacrosse Coaches’ Association 2025 Awards Banquet at Villa Lombardi’s on Monday. Credit: David Meisenholder

Just when you think there’s nothing left for Anthony Raio to win, the Half Hollow Hills West senior adds one more accolade to his storied high school career.

Suffolk County Lacrosse Coaches Association named Raio as the recipient of the 2025 Lt. Ray Enners Award, which debuted in 1970. The award, which was presented at Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook on Monday, is given to the top lacrosse player in the county each year who “best exemplifies courage, teamwork, skill and leadership,” according to the award’s website.

“Going through high school I always looked up to that award, just knowing it was something I really wanted,” Raio said. “To be able to get it in my last season was definitely special, and I’m forever grateful for that.”

Raio, Newsday’s boys lacrosse player of the year and Long Island’s all-time leader in career goals (293), led Half Hollow Hills to an undefeated season (23-0) and the program’s first state title. The senior recorded 99 goals and 77 assists this spring, recording fewer than five points just twice across 23 consecutive wins.

Enners, a football, basketball and lacrosse captain for Half Hollow Hills before attending West Point, was killed in action on September 18, 1968, in North Vietnam. The 22-year-old carried a wounded squad leader to safety before being fatally wounded while leading an attack. Enners was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his heroism.

“Ray Enners was a phenomenal athlete, teammate and person,” Hills coach Connor Hagans said. “All those qualities that you look for in the Ray Enners Award and who Ray Enners was, is Anthony to a T.”

Raio is the first Enners award recipient from Half Hollow Hills since Steven Randby in 1987 and the fourth in the program’s history. It’s fitting, given how Raio and his surrounding teammates have been celebrating Lt. Ray Enners Day every spring since they were in elementary school.

“To be able to play that day for something bigger than yourself . . . It's a great feeling for me and my teammates,” Raio said.

It’s how the UNC commit works alongside his teammates that helped take Hills from a great team to a historic one, improving from 44 assists in 20 games as a junior to 77 in 23 games as a senior.

That selflessness on the field isn’t exclusive to it, as Raio often attends youth lacrosse practices and clinics. He also spent time with the Challenger Program, which involves volunteers playing sports with special needs children.

Raio, alongside teammate Ben Vogt and the varsity lacrosse team, also volunteered for the Mercy House around Thanksgiving to prepare meals for those in need. 

Said Hagans: “It’s the perfect culmination of a great high school career.”

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