Lenoir-Rhyne University Women's Lacrosse

Hired in August 22, 2009 to become the first-ever Director of Lacrosse at Lenoir-Rhyne Led Bears to first-ever National Championship in 2023 as well as National Runner Up in 2021 and 2023 and a NCAA Semifinal in 2018 Won the National Championship by winning three road games and one neutral site game. Became the first five-seed to ever win the National Championship Built the program from the ground up and has been the only coach in men's lacrosse history Named 2018, 2021 and 2023 USILA NCAA Divsion II National Coach of the Year Three-time South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year (2014, 2017, 2018) Six South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championships and four SAC Tournament titles Led the Bears to the NCAA Tournament in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and hosted the NCAA National Semifinal game in 2018 and 2021        Year: Overall, SAC, Postseason         2024: 17-2, 8-1, NCAA Tournament (National Runner Up)         2023: 18-3, 9-1, NCAA Tournament (National Champion)         2022: 15-4, 9-1, NCAA Tournament (National Quarterfinalist)         2021: 15-2, 9-1, NCAA Tournament (National Runner Up)         2020: 6-1, (0-0), N/A         2019: 8-8, 4-2         2018: 17-3, 8-0, NCAA Tournament (National Semifinalist)         2017: 12-3, 8-0, NCAA Tournament (First Round)         2016: 12-4, 8-0         2015: 9-7, 6-2         2014: 10-4, 6-1         2013: 8-8         2012: 5-10         2011: 4-10        TOTAL: 156-66, 75-9, six postseason appearances Became the first team in the history of LR athletics to be ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2024 and held that ranking for seven weeks.  Led team to third National Championship appearance in three years in 2024 and won the SAC Tournament by beating #1 Limestone 13-12 in title game.  Won 2023 National Championship as the first five seed to ever win it all. Won three road games and one neutral site game to earn the program's first National Championship. Went to a National Championship game in 2021 and achieved the highest ranking in program history as the No. 2 team in the nation (at the time). NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Have been nationally ranked 105 times since first appearing in the national poll in March, 2014. Earned back-to-back wins against top-five opponents in 2020 in a seven day span. Defeated No. 3 Adelphi 17-16 and No. 1 Limestone 18-16 Have twice defeated Limestone with the Saints being ranked No. 1 in the nation each time Had a stretch of 24 straight regular season wins against South Atlantic Conference opponents Bears hosted NCAA Tournaments in 2017 (Quarterfinal round), 2018 (Semifinal round), 2021 (Quarterfinal and Semifinal round), 2022 (First round) and 2023 (Quarterfinal) Coached four First Team All-Americans and has had 29 players selected as All-Americans 78 players have gone on to be selected as All-Conference performers, including a program-record 11 in 2023 Led Mike Hanlon (2017), Lett (2018) and Eric Dickinson (2021) to earn SAC Player of the Year honors Coached Victor Powell to SAC Defensive Player of the Year and William C. Schmeisser National Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024. His 2023 squad not only won a National Championship but also led all DII men's lacrosse programs in GPA.  Has had two players win league Freshman of the Year accolades  Academically, Paradine has had three players win SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, four named the SAC Elite 20 Award Winner and two NCAA Elite 90 Award winners Coached the first-ever Academic All-American in program history Myles Moffat would be named the SAC Man of the Year and earn the SAC President's Award two times in a row, two of the highest individual awards the league gives out to a student-athlete Program has consistently been ranked in the top 15 in the nation amongst DII men's lacrosse teams in community service hours and community service impact. Paradine came to Lenoir-Rhyne after serving as an assistant coach for seven years at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina Coached at Chapel Hill High School from 1998-2002 Spent two seasons coaching at Ohio State Played four years on the men’s lacrosse team at the University of North Carolina Played on four Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Teams and four NCAA Tournament squads Part of the 1991 NCAA National Championship team, 1993 national finalists and 1990 and 1992 semifinalists First Team All-American in 1993 and honorable mention All-American in 1992 Married to wife Fran Has three children Daughter Mason went on to also win a National Championship at the University of North Carolina in 2022, 31 years after her father did the same as a Tar Heel

Entering her third season at the helm in 2026, Coach Shannon McHale has continued to build the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s lacrosse program into a competitive force in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and NCAA Division II. Under her leadership, the Bears posted an 11-8 overall record and an 8-3 mark in SAC play in 2025, highlighted by a conference semifinal appearance, a mid-season six-game winning streak and the most wins for the program since 2019.   McHale joined LR in 2024, bringing 27 years of collegiate coaching experience spanning NCAA Divisions II and III and a career head coaching record that includes 196-158 overall success. Prior to coming to Hickory, she served as head coach at Colorado Mesa University, where she guided the Mavericks to a 31-17 record in three seasons, including a share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Regular Season Championship and the program’s first RMAC Tournament title.   Throughout her career, McHale has earned recognition for both team and individual player development. At Colorado Mesa, her players collected multiple RMAC individual honors, including Midfielder, Defender and Freshman of the Year awards, and she coached the program’s third-ever IWLCA All-American.   Before her tenure in Colorado, McHale was an assistant coach at Florida Southern College, playing a key role in the Mocs’ run to the NCAA Division II National Championship game, while helping produce six IWLCA All-Americans.   McHale’s two decades of head coaching experience at the Division III level include stops at SUNY Potsdam, St. John Fisher College and Ithaca College, where she accumulated numerous wins and was a multi-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year.   In addition to her on-field success, she is active in the lacrosse community, serving on the IWLCA Division II Board of Directors and the NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Committee as Midwest Region Chair. McHale also holds a master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Sciences with a focus in Sport Psychology from Ithaca College and was inducted into the SUNY Brockport Athletics Hall of Fame as a student-athlete.

Ryan Crompton has made a huge impact on the Lenoir-Rhyne lacrosse team on the field and on the sidelines. A record-breaking goalie during his four years, Crompton led the program to higher heights as an Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator and led the Bears to a National Championship in 2023. In 2024, Crompton led the Bears to a 17-2 overall record including 8-1 in the SAC conference. Lenoir-Rhyne opened up the season on a 6-game win streak and ended the regular season on a 7-game win streak. During the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, the Bears defeated Wingate in the SAC Semifinals at home 11-10 to advance to the SAC Championship. Bears would go on to win the SAC Championship against Limestone 13-12 in Mathews, NC on 4/28/2024. In the NCAA Division ll Tournament, Lenoir Rhyne hosted and won the NCAA Quarterfinals in a rematch against Limestone. Bears would then travel to Tampa, FL for the NCAA Semifinals to face off against #1 ranked Tampa and escape with a 15-14 victory to advance to the NCAA Championship. The season would come to an end in the NCAA Championship against #4 Adelphi with a 12-10 loss to finish runner-up in the NCAA Division ll Tournament.  In that National Championship, Crompton's defense suffocated Mercyhurst and allowed five goals, the third-fewest in a National Championship game in DII history. It wrapped up a standout season for Crompton's defense that saw the unit finish fourth in the nation in goals allowed per game at 8.10 and allowed opponents to score just 33 goals in four NCAA Tournament games. In total, the 2023 Bears allowed just seven teams to reach double digits in the scoring column in their 23 games. Crompton's defense produced All-Americans in Victor Powell (Third Team) and Nate Ashley (Honorable Mention) and saw the rapid ascent of goalie Rob Pensabene who came off the bench to lead LR to a 10-1 record and a National Championship victory. Pensabene recorded a program-record 22 saves in a win over Limestone in the regular season and made 56 saves in four NCAA Tournament games, one shy of a DII record which has stood since 1977. Additionally, SSDM Colten McCracken was a Second Team All-American while LSM Liam Farrell would earn the South Atlantic Conference's prestigious Elite 23 Award given to one student-athlete in the conference with the highest GPA.  Crompton also helped the program to a National Quarterfinal appearance in 2022 before falling to eventual National Champion Tampa. The Bears went to a National Championship game in 2021 under Crompton's leadership as well before falling to Le Moyne 12-6.  In his second season, the Bears started 6-1 and posted back-to-back wins over the No. 3 (Adelphi) and No. 1 (Limestone) teams in the nation before the season was shut down due to COVID.  As a goalie for the Bears, Crompton led the Bears to a 2018 National Semifinal appearance and a 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance. Crompton finished his esteemed career as the program’s all-time leader in saves with 616 but was surpassed by Noah Johnson. The Frederick, MD native posted a 40-10 career record in goal for the Bears and a 56.3 career save percentage. Crompton was named First Team All-SAC as a senior and also earned the SAC Men’s Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Additionally, he was a four-time SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection, a Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Director’s Honor Roll honoree, a two-time member of the LR Dean’s and President’s Lists and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta. In his career, Crompton saw action in 50 career games and played over 2,700 minutes. He graduated with a bachelor’s in sports management.  Crompton helped coach Noah Johnson to become one of the premier goalies in the nation over his final three seasons as Johnson would go on to win SAC Tournament MVP honors in 2022 and become the program's all-time leader in saves and wins.