M. Lax feels effects of high school scandal

A scandal that rocked a perennial high school lacrosse power in the Baltimore area has also made its tremors felt at Penn. St. Paul's School for Boys, the preseason No. 1 lacrosse team in the nation, cancelled its lacrosse season on Tuesday after one of its players videotaped himself having sex with a 15-year-old girl and showed the tape to his teammates. And at least one of the players on that St. Paul's varsity lacrosse team will be attending Penn next year. Midfielder Reed Bouchelle, a starter on St. Paul's team, applied early decision to Penn last fall and was accepted. Quakers men's lacrosse coach Marc van Arsdale said that he has also recruited another player from St. Paul's who, pending acceptance, may choose to attend Penn next fall. Van Arsdale said, however, that neither player was "directly involved or implicated" in the incident, and that this would not affect either's acceptance to Penn. Bouchelle's mother said that Bouchelle would not speak with reporters. The Baltimore Sun reported that the incident began when a 16-year-old sophomore on the St. Paul's team videotaped himself having sex with a 15-year-old girl from another school without her knowledge. The St. Paul's player then showed the tape to several junior varsity teammates. Later, a varsity player showed it to more than 20 St. Paul's players. According to a written statement released by St. Paul's headmaster Robert Hallett, the tape was also seen by boys not on the St. Paul's lacrosse team and a boy from another school, while "some varsity lacrosse players knowing of the tape's existence elected not to see it." Van Arsdale did not comment on whether Bouchelle or the other recruit had or had not seen the tape. Hallett said, in his statement, that the boy who created the videotaped was expelled, the JV players who viewed the tape were removed from the team for the remainder of the season and "further disciplinary action for three other students is pending." Additionally, all St. Paul's players who viewed the tape were suspended for three days and were required to meet with the school chaplain and school psychologist. But although this incident took place a full 93 miles from Philadelphia, the Quakers still felt its impact. Four members of Penn's lacrosse team -- junior Scott Marinow, sophomore Alex Kopicki and freshmen Patrick Connelly and Ethan Haire -- are St. Paul's graduates. And van Arsdale, who was an assistant coach at Virginia for six years, is quite familiar with the St. Paul's program. He often recruits players from the Maryland-based private school. "I've had some communications with the coach down there," van Arsdale said. "Obviously, it's a horrific incident. People made some bad decisions." Van Arsdale, however, does not believe that this incident is typical of St. Paul's athletes. "It's typically held true that the guys from [St. Paul's] are really top quality guys," van Arsdale said. "You don't typically worry about them in behavorial matters." Connelly and Haire declined to comment for this article. Kopicki and Marimow could not be reached for comment.

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