During the 2023 Riverhawks men’s lacrosse campaign, none of the players will wear No. 12. 

AACC Athletics retired the number, which belonged to midfielder Nick Barton, who died in a June boating accident.

The number was retired on Feb. 25 in a ceremony prior to the Riverhawks’ game against the Army Prep Knights. Barton’s friends and family attended the ceremony to honor him. 

I “think it’s well deserved,” men’s head lacrosse coach Jeremy Ross said. “It’s a tragic loss, but he embodied everything that this program is about. He worked hard on the field.” 

The Athletic Department also painted Barton’s number on the field at Siegert Stadium, where the Riverhawks play.

Barton scored 18 points in his final season, when he scored 15 goals and tallied three assists. During his three-year stint with the team, he played 29 games, scored 39 goals and assisted with nine. 

Athletic Director Duane Herr said Barton “loved to play [and] love to make people smile and laugh. [We] kind of always knew what to expect from Nick, which was always positive, always about bringing the best out of other people.” 

Attacker Payton Williams, a captain, said retiring Barton’s number is “the best way to remember him.”

“I think retiring his number was great,” Williams, a second-year communications student, noted “I think that he’s someone who everybody should look up to. He was everybody’s best friend.”

Goalie Jonathan Inkrote, also a captain, said Barton was like a “brother.” 

 “He was like a best friend,” Inkrote, a second-year business student, said. “If I needed anything, he was there. If I had a down day, he’s always there patting my back saying, ‘Look up, you have the next day, you’re going to be fine.’” 

Sports Editor Dan Elson contributed to this article.