Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association play got underway yesterday, March 13, with last year’s state runner-up Issaquah taking on Tahoma in a home-start at Issaquah High School at 8 p.m.
The growth of lacrosse continues in Washington state as nine new boys and three girls high school programs take the field for the first time as the 2015 season kicks off.
For the state’s 37th year of organized play at the prep level, the South Sound is experiencing the highest level of growth with four boys and two girls programs coming online in 2015. New South Sound boys programs include Bethel High School, Bonney Lake High School, White River High School and Sumner High School, while new girls program include Auburn Riverside and Sumner High Schools.
Other new boys programs include Everett’s Archbishop Murphy High School in the North Sound along with Inglemoor and Juanita High Schools on the Eastside. San Juan High School and Seattle’s Garfield High School will rejoin play after not fielding teams in 2014.
New girls programs include Auburn Riverside and Sumner High Schools in the South Sound and Bellingham in Whatcom County.
More than 4,000 student-athletes attending some 200 high schools state-wide play prep lacrosse in Washington state.
Auburn-Riverside High School’s program has been elevated to formal ASB status with long-time South Sound prep lacrosse coach Louis Lucchesi continuing at the helm of the Ravens’ program. The five will play in the Division II, SPSL Conference along with Peninsula, which migrated to the SPSL from the Olympic. For the girls, Auburn Riverside and Sumner High Schools will field varsity squads for the first time in 2015.
Washington State High School scheduled for March 14:
Boys Games:
Providence at Juanita (1:15 p.m. / Juanita HS – Kirkland)
Bellarmine Prep at Liberty (3 p.m. / Maywood MS – Renton)
Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) at Newport (5 p.m. / Newport HS – Bellevue)
Sehome-Bellingham at Woodinville (6 p.m. / Woodinville HS – Woodinville)
Franklin at Garfield (7 p.m. / Lower Woodland #7 – Seattle)
Klahowya at Peninsula (7:30 p.m. / Peninsula HS – Gig Harbor)
Girls Games:
Klahowya at Wenatchee (4 p.m. / Wenatchee Valley College – Wenatchee)
About Lacrosse in Washington state: Lacrosse has more than 100 years of history in Washington state with clubs playing in the early 1900s and high schools now in their fourth decade of state competition. With Native American origins, lacrosse is one of the oldest organized sports on the continent and today is considered the fastest growing sport in America. In Washington, some 4,000 student-athletes attending more than 200 high schools play prep lacrosse, while another 6,000 play lacrosse at the youth, adult and collegiate club levels throughout the state. For more information on high school lacrosse in Washington visit http://www.WashingtonHSLAX.com.
