Becky Groves was a standout three-sport athlete at Liberty High School before continuing her athletic and academic career at Towson University.
Groves, a 2002 Liberty graduate, played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse and has amassed a number of accomplishments as an athlete and as a coach. Her leadership and success has landed Groves in the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame, and she is set to be recognized as a member of the Class of 2019 on April 26 at Carroll Community College at 6 p.m.
“It’s definitely an honor but I feel like there have been so many people who have contributed to my success and all the coaches I’ve had and all the teammates I’ve had,” Groves said. “It really is a recognition of everyone I grew up with and everyone that coached me and had an impact on my life so I just feel like it’s honoring everybody.”
Groves was a prolific athlete at Liberty — she was Becky Trumbo back then — and she earned back-to-back Times Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year honors in 2001 and 2002. She finished with 249 goals, the most in Carroll history at the time.
In 2002, she earned first team all-county honors in volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
Over her four years at Towson, Groves became one of the Tigers’ most decorated lacrosse players of all-time. She led the team in goals and points in 2003, goals, assists and points in 2004, and also led in assists in 2005 and 2006.
Her 178 career goals, 79 assists, 257 points and 135 ground balls ranks her among the all-time leaders at Towson.
Groves helped lead the Tigers to a 13-6 record in 2005 and the program’s first Colonial Athletic Association championship and the team’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Groves entered the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
"Going to Towson they really weren’t ranked at all and by the time I left, we were ranked 12th in the nation so I think as a program we really turned it around,” Groves said.
As a coach, Groves led Century’s volleyball team to regional and state championship victories in 2011, and she earned All-Metro Coach of the Year honors in volleyball that same year. Groves, who has been Century’s girls lacrosse coach for nine years, led the Knights to regional and state championships in 2012, 2015, and 2017.
Knights assistant coach Jaclyn Dragon said coaching has always been a passion of hers, and working with Groves has taught her how to be a positive role model on and off the field.
“A lot of what I’ve seen, especially with the kids who come and go who are in college now, you see them on the field, you see them being an active role as a member of their teams in college once they’ve gone through the Century program underneath Becky,” Dragon said. “They make these contributions to their team that are positive, not just on the field but off the field as well — it all comes from Becky. They learn so much and I’ve learned a lot because I didn’t know much about lacrosse coming in but Becky took me under her wing and we got along so well.”