Wayzata senior captains Grant Long and Charlie Chermak can carry a team, but only one can carry a tune.

Long finished with four goals and an assist and Chermak had three goals to score the bulk of the Trojans’ points in an 11-10 victory over White Bear Lake on Wednesday at Wayzata High School.

“They’re great leaders and great guys, we’re happy to have them,” Trojans coach Chad Herr said. 

And as it turns out, Chermak can also sing - although Long once gave it a shot.

The duo were members of same choir as ninth graders. Long’s singing days were short-lived, while Chermak continued making music with his voice and is a tenor in the Wayzata High School choir.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Chermak, who also nonchalantly added he was recently crowned Mr. Wayzata during a ceremony on Feb. 6. The event, in which 10 students competed for the title, is a benefit for the National Honor Society and its Cakes for Grace charity. 

Chermak showed off his singing prowess by performing several songs - such as Billy Joel's "The Longest Time" and the Four Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" during a skit that also featured his 11-year-old brother Robbie. (See the video of Chermak’s performance on this page.)

Chermak, however, rarely sings on the field.

“I think he saves it for the stage,” Herr said.

When he’s not hitting high and low notes on stage, Chermak is hitting the all the right notes on the lacrosse field.

Last year, Chermak was second on the team in goals (19), assists (12) and points (31) at the end of the regular season. He finished the season with 27 goals and 14 assist after helping Wayzata take third place in the state tournament.

Long wasn’t far off Chermak’s pace, tallying 18 goals and 26 points in the regular season. He finished with 25 goals and 11 assists after the postseason. 

Long opted long ago to give up singing and focus on sports, but Chermak said he would have a difficult time choosing to give up either activity.

“They’re both so fun for different reasons,” Chermak said. “I’ve been playing lacrosse since I was in third grade, but if you pinned me down and said I had to chose one, I’d have to go with lacrosse. Being with my boys, there’s nothing like it.”

And that’s music to the ears of Chermak’s teammates.

Wayzata junior midfielder Grant Long logged four goals and one assist as the Trojans held on to top White Bear Lake 11-10 in a nonconference matchup Wednesday at Wayzata High School.

Long’s final goal came with .1 seconds to play in the third quarter to give the Trojans an 11-8 lead. It was last point scored in the game for Wayzata (2-0), which withstood the Bears’ furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt. 

Junior attackman Joey Goudreau and senior attackman Matt Swanson each netted a goal in the final 12 minutes to bring White Bear Lake to within one score. However, Trojans senior goalie Aaron Peterson denied the Bears the rest of the way to seal the victory. Peterson finished with 10 saves in the game.

Senior attackman Charlie Chermak had three goals as Wayzata opened the game scoring six unanswered - a streak that was broken by senior Connor Dehnert, who put White Bear Lake on the board with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 

Dehnert finished with three goals and one assist, while Swanson and Goudreau each had two goals. Sophomore goalie Cody Squillace finished with nine saves.

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