Club Staff & Administration

Jenna Ries, Co-Founder & Executive Director

Coach Ries has more than 20 years of coaching and athlete development experience that has ignited change and impacted girls’ lacrosse in Montgomery County. In 2003, she founded the first travel lacrosse club in the county and is the co-founder of MC Elite.  Both were created to develop and mentor female youth athletes by raising the quality of performance and opportunities for female athletes.  She has tenured success in both Montgomery County Public Schools and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Ries has been recognized three times as a Washington Post All-Met selection, is the first person to be named All-Met as both a player (1988) and a coach (2001, 2012).  Through her relentless focus on guiding players to achieve athletic benchmarks and involvement in the coaching community, Ries has helped more than 250 athletes play lacrosse at the collegiate level. She is the current Head Coach for our 2027 Midnight team.

Shelby Samperton, Director of Recruiting & Director of Youth and Middle School Development

Shelby has been active in youth sports for 20+ years. Shelby played field hockey and lacrosse for Georgetown University and prior to that was 2-time All-Met athlete at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. As an athlete and a coach, Samperton brings a wealth of knowledge to the game of lacrosse as well as a keen sense of how to motivate and develop high school athletes. Shelby has intimate knowledge of the recruiting process and is connected to current college coaches across the country. She is committed to finding a holistic academic and athletic fit for all athletes and has fostered over 500 athletes – positioning them for success in the next phase of their lacrosse journey.

Lauren Burke, Operational Strategy Director

Lauren brings a wealth of coaching and playing experience to MC Elite.  She has been coaching teams at all levels for MC Elite since 2015 and is currently the Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Langley High School. Prior to that, she served as the Head Coach for Washington Liberty HS Varsity Lacrosse team.  Lauren played at the collegiate level for John Hopkins Women’s Lacrosse after graduating from Oakton High School.

Goalie Clinics provided by Coach Gary Morgan

Nicole Caffrey Lacey, Draw Control Specialist

Nicole has been coaching with MC Elite as a Head Coach and Draw Control Specialist since 2019. She has been featured at LaxCon multiple times, presenting sessions on “Coaching the Draw and Fast Break/Slow Break Offense”.  She played for George Washington University (2009-2013) as an Attacker & Draw Control Specialist.  Nicole was ranked 15^th in NCAA Division 1 for 3 years and led her team to the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament (2012, 2013) as well as being an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team Selection.  She set records for GW’s single season, single game, and career Draw Controls.  Prior to GW, she attended Marriotts Ridge HS where she was a 2009 US Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American and 2009 Lacrosse Academic All-American.  Nicole led Marriotts Ridge in goals and points for 2 seasons.  Nicole previously coached with Pride Lacrosse and played for Hero’s Lacrosse Club.

Claire Slabaugh, Club Administrator

Claire has served in this role since 2019 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the club.  Her daughter, Anne, played for MC Elite on the 2021 Midnight team and is a junior defender on the women’s lacrosse team at Denison University after graduating from Holy Child.  Her older daughter, Kate, played with Jackals Field Hockey, the sister club to MC Elite.  Claire played field hockey at National Cathedral School and attended Denison University.  Her husband, Jon, also played lacrosse for the Denison Big Red.  In addition to her role as Club Administrator, Claire currently serves on the Board of Directors at Connelly School of the Holy Child.

Coaching Staff (2023-2024 Season)

Caroline Blalock

Coach Caroline played Division I lacrosse at the University of Louisville and graduated in 2021.  She was a 5-year captain, a 2x USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American, a 3x ACC Second Team, has been on the Tewaaraton Watchlist twice, is a 2x IWLCA All Region Second Team member, Inside Lacrosse All Rookie Team member and tied for most games played in the history of women’s lacrosse at Louisville.  She was the 6th player in U of L history to achieve a career-high 200 points and the 10th player in U of L history to achieve a career-high 100 goals.  Caroline played club lacrosse in high school for M&D Black 2017.  She is currently coaching our 2028 Midnight team.

Olivia Boudreau

Coach Olivia played Division 1 lacrosse at George Washington University and graduated in 2016. She ranked fifth all-time at GW with 51 career assists, was selected to the All-Rookie Team Freshman year after helping GW to second straight conference championship appearance.  Olivia was a 2x captain (Junior & Senior Year) and a Marketing & Sports Management Major at GW.  She currently works for Deloitte in Project Management and is the Co-Head Coach for the 2029 midnight team.

Jaime Ballard

Coach Jaime was a three-sport varsity athlete at Springbrook High School where she played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. Jaime served as captain in both field hockey and lacrosse, was recognized as a first division all-county defender for lacrosse and named Student-Athlete of the year in 2019. During this time, she also played for the Jackals Field Hockey U16 team, learning techniques and skills that would prove instrumental in her future success.

She continued her athletic career in college playing three years (excluding the covid-year) of field hockey, two years of lacrosse, and one season of softball. She was collegiate captain her junior and senior seasons of field hockey and was recognized by the conference for sportsmanship. During her sophomore season, her team was the conference champions, and she was named conference MVP. She is currently the Head Coach for our 2030 Midnight team.

Greg Danto

Greg has been coaching for MC Elite since 2020 and is currently the Head Coach for the 2025 Midnight team.  Coach Greg served as the Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Holy Cross from 2021-2022 and is a former Women’s Offensive Lacrosse Coach & Recruiting Coordinator at George Mason University.  Greg also served as a Head Coach at M&D Lacrosse and as an Asst Coach, Offensive Strategist & Scouting Coordinator at Mt. Hebron HS. He is a graduate of The Bullis School, where he was a top men’s lacrosse Midfielder.

Lindsey DiAntonio

Coach Lindsey has been coaching for MC Elite since 2019.  She also enjoys playing for the Baltimore-based Lady Bohs Lacrosse Team (Women’s Mid-Atlantic Club Lacrosse League) and is a Certified High School lacrosse official for the Central Maryland Officials Association. Lindsey played for George Washington University (2010-2014) where she was named the team’s most valuable midfielder for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  She graduated from Marriott Ridge HS where she was named 2010 First Team All-Howard County and a 2010 US Lacrosse Academic All-American.  She was also an All-County distance runner for Marriotts Ridge Cross County and Indoor Track & Field teams.

Ally Hall

Coach Ally played Division 1 Lacrosse at the University of Louisville.  She was the 11th player in U of L history to achieve a career-high 100 goals.  Ally was also a 4-year Varsity starter at Severn School, scoring 132 goals and 35 assists.  She was named Capital Gazette 2nd Team All-County 2015, 2016 and 2017, and selected to Washington DC Brine All- American Team 2014.  Ally played club lacrosse for MD United East.  She currently works as a Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton and is the Co-head Coach for the 2029 Midnight team.

Brianna Held

Coach Bri played attack for Salisbury University, helping them to win the D3 National Championship in 2021.  During her time at Salisbury, her team earned their Conference Championship twice and had 3 NCAA tournament appearances.  Bri was also name to the All-Academic Team for 4 years.  Prior to Salisbury, Bri played lacrosse, soccer and basketball at Marriotts Ridge High School.  Bri is the 2029 Carolina coach.

Shannon Holliday

Shannon is an MC Elite Alumna who was an impact player at Longwood University and has been coaching with MC Elite for over 8 years.  Coach Shannon graduated from Quince Orchard High School in 2007, where she was a State Champion Field Hockey player and All-County lacrosse player.  She began coaching youth lacrosse in 2012. Her former coaching experience includes Jackals Lacrosse, MC Elite Lacrosse 2018, 2023 and 2024 teams, Varsity Head Coach at Wootton High School (2014-2016), and Varsity coach at Wheaton High School (2017-2020). Shannon currently works as a High School Counselor at Wheaton High School.

Jill Marks

Coach Jill has been involved with lacrosse as a player, referee and coach for over 20 years and has spent much of that time as a coach with MC Elite.  She spent 10 years as a Varsity Coach and 2 years as a JV Coach at Stone Ridge.  She is also the former Stone Ridge Athletic Director and a former Coach for the Rockville Girls Lacrosse Club.  Coach Jill has also played for the Washington Women’s Club Lacrosse Team and played Club Lacrosse for Siena College.  She is currently an Upper School Math Teacher and Chair of Mathematics Department at Stone Ridge School.  Coach Jill is the current Head Coach for the 2028 Midnight team.

Paige Reese

Coach Paige is in her 2^nd year coaching for MC Elite. She was a standout Howard County athlete for the Glenelg Gladiators, helping them to become the 2017 Maryland State Champions.  She was also a Baltimore Sun Player of the year, a Regional Champion, First Team All-State selection, All State Player of the Year Finalist and 2017 Howard County Player of the Year. Paige was a First Team Mid-Atlantic honoree, First Team Baltimore All-Metro in 2016 and 2017 and a First Team All-County.  She previously played lacrosse for M&D and Hero’s and played field hockey at Towson University where she was a versatile powerhouse for the Tigers and served as Captain her senior year.

Shelby Samperton

Shelby has been active in youth sports for 20+ years and first began coaching for MC Elite in 2003. She is currently the Head Coach for our 2026 Midnight team and our 2033 Midnight team, in addition to serving as our Director of Recruiting.  Shelby played field hockey and lacrosse for Georgetown University and prior to that was a 2-time All-Met athlete at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. She has also served as the Head Lacrosse Coach at Connelly School of the Holy Child.  As an athlete and a coach, Samperton brings a wealth of knowledge to the game of lacrosse as well as a keen sense of how to motivate and develop high school athletes. Shelby has intimate knowledge of the recruiting process and is connected to current college coaches across the country. She is committed to finding a holistic academic and athletic fit for all athletes and has fostered over 500 athletes – positioning them for success in the next phase of their lacrosse journey.

Abby Wolk

Abby graduated from Wesleyan University in 2023. During her five year career at Wesleyan, Abby started in every game of Wesleyan’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. She helped the Cardinals go to the programs first ever final four (2019), as well as win three Little Three Championships and earn a bid to four NCAA tournaments. She has been awarded Second Team Region (2023) and has been named to the NESCAC All-Academic team four times. Prior to Wesleyan, Abby played goalie at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and played club for Lax Maniax. Abby is now working as a Public Health Research Associate at NORC at the University of Chicago in Bethesda and coaching with our 2027 age group.