Utah Youth Lacrosse Tournaments: Park City “Ski Town Shoot-Out” On June 18-19 Featured 84 Boys And Girls Lacrosse Teams From Western U.S.

Last Friday and Saturday, the Ski Town Shoot-Out lacrosse tournament spread hordes of youth players across one of Utah’s premier lacrosse hotbeds: Summit County.

In its sixth year, the event drew 84 teams from around the Western U.S. and some of the nation’s most respected youth referees, said organizer Niki Harding. Teams came from Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona and California, as well as right down the road in Park City. The boys’ ranks were limited to eighth grade and lower, while girls of all ages were invited to compete for the first time.

“It’s a celebration of the end of the season,” Harding said. “Last year, we had a downpour out here, but you couldn’t have paid for better weather this year.”

The event kicked off with opening ceremonies Friday morning at the central plaza at The Canyons, paying a tribute to the Spirit of the Game with Tribal West Lacrosse’s Chief Burning Squirrel, who lit a ceremonial torch.

For more:   http://www.parkrecord.com/summit_county-sports/ci_15352130

Utah High School Boys Lacrosse: Brighton High School Boys Lacrosse Plays Park City In Division I Championship May 15

The fastest growing sport in the country will crown its top High School Programs on Saturday at the High School State Championships.

The Utah Lacrosse Association, the Utah Chapter of the national governing body US Lacrosse, will host the high schools state lacrosse championships at Viewmont High School this weekend. In the Division 1, Brighton High School will take on the Park City Miners at 7:00pm on Saturday. In the Boys Division II, Spanish Fork and Timpanogos will play at 1:00pm.

“It is a first showing for many of these teams at the state championships which just adds to the excitement,” said Bryan Frates, Boys Program Coordinator for the Utah Lacrosse Association. ” We have had an exciting round of play-offs and seen some amazing upsets. These teams have fought hard to play on the main stage this weekend.”

The girls divisional games will have match-ups between Lone Peak and Cache Valley in Division II and Riverton and Alta in Division I. The Alta girls, so far undefeated, are looking forward to the most important game of the season. The Hawks are the defending champions and are excited about the prospect of a repeat season.

“We are thrilled about the growth of the sport in Utah,” said Lisa Schmidt, Executive Director of the Utah Lacrosse Association. “We have over 40 high schools with affiliated lacrosse teams and are seeing new high school programs each year.” Lacrosse player numbers have topped 6,000 in the state of Utah with the youth growing at over 25% this year. Despite these numbers, lacrosse is not a recognized sport by the Utah High School Activities Association and many teams have no access to fields to play on. In some cases, districts have forbidden the teams from displaying their State Championship trophies on school property.

“It is disappointing to see that some schools of our championship teams are unwilling to support their students successes,” stated Schmidt. “The ULA is very proud of the sports development here in Utah and is committed to its growth. We hope to continue to build positive relationships with Athletic Directors and principals and gain even more new fans to this incredible sport.”

The State Championships are being held at Viewmont High School on their turf field. “They have been incredibly supportive and great to work with,” stated Schmidt. The field location was selected by the ULA based on the their support of lacrosse and the fact that they could host both boys and girls this Saturday. The two games use different measurements and it requires two sets of lines which need to be painted with temporary paint. With over 3,000 in attendance this weekend, the Viewmont stadium will no doubt be near capacity as lacrosse lovers all over the state make the trip to watch the four championship games.

The Utah Lacrosse Association, founded in 1994, is a chapter of US Lacrosse and is focused on expanding and supporting the game of lacrosse throughout the state. As the fastest growing sport in Utah, the organization has focused much of its time helping to establish new programs and provide support for existing programs. For more information, visit www.utahlax.org.

Championship Games, May 15th Viewmont High School
Division II Girls 10:00am
Division II Boys 1:00pm
Division I Girls 4:00pm
Division I Boys 7:00pm

Semi Final Game Details

 

Boys Division II

Spanish Fork v Northridge- was highly contested and the score did not reflect how closely it was played. Spanish Fork is only in their second season as a high school and have been able develop quickly to find themselves in the championship game this year.

Timpanogos v Lehi- Timpanogos dominated from the start and didn’t look back. Braden Lanham dominated the face-offs and goal scoring and demonstrated why he has been named First Team All State and the state MVP as a midfielder.

Boys Division I

Brighton v Waterford- Waterford surprised many by making it so far in the tournament. As the smallest program, they were well coached and had the drive. However, after beating Juan Diego and the 2 time defending champions, Bountiful, they were no match for Brighton. All American, Jayden Haws, led the Bengals this season as an outstanding attackman.

Park City v Jordan- Jordan’s Cinderella showing came to an end as they lost to Park City in overtime. Seeding at the number 4 position in their conference, Jordan gave fans an exciting play-off series beating number 1 ranked Alta in the first round. Park City’s Griffin Pierkel made the game winning goal on Park City’s home field.

Girls Division II

Bountiful v Lone Peak- Lone Peak played a great game against Bountiful beating them overtime 10-8. Bountiful led most of the game but were able to pull away in overtime.

Cache Valley v Copper Hills- This game was rough game complete with 3 red cards including one the Copper Hills coach. Corbett, the Midfielder from Copper Hills, played a great game and controlled by ball for her team giving them several chances to catch up with Cache Valley, but CH was just not able to compete with Cache Valley.

Girls Division I

Alta v Park City- Alta added another game to their undefeated season by beating Park City 17-2. Goalie, Dacia Morgan, was able to fend off several shots on goal for Park City, but Alta control of the ball for the majority of the game ensured them a victory.

Olympus v Riverton- Payton Evans, Riverton, had several interceptions which led to Riverton dominating the ball most of the game. Olympus was unable to keep up with Riverton’s fast paced play losing the game 16-6.

Utah High School Girls Lacrosse: Park City Girls Lacrosse (8-2) Looks To Play Deep Into State Playoffs

In a reversal of fortunes from the week before, the Park City High School girls’ lacrosse team scored four answered goals to snatch victory from Brighton at home on Monday.

“It was a very intense game,” said PCHS head coach Amy Hafets. “We pulled out the win with about 45 seconds remaining. They were certainly up for the rematch.”

Down 7-4 in the third quarter, Park City responded to their coach’s call for control with a prolonged offensive flurry at Brighton’s end.

“We just came out a little bit flat,” Hafets said. “Their goalie is pretty talented, and we just didn’t get back on transition enough.”

After Hafets called for a timeout, the team went to a man-to-man defense and committed to winning every draw control thereafter. The strategy was executed to perfection by PCHS, which moved to 8-2 on the season.

Sophomore midfielder Sam Meyer scored two big goals for the Miners, while junior Meghan Kellner netted the winning goal in the final minute on an 8-meter free position shot – fitting because Park City lost in similar circumstances in their first-ever meeting with the Division I newbies. On Thursday, April 22, Brighton won 9-8 in the last 15 seconds on a free-position shot.

Date	Opponent	Result
3/09	at Judge Memorial CS	W, 6-3
3/11	at Olympus	L,  9-3
3/16	at Skyline	W, 13-6
3/18	at Murray	W, 10-4
4/01	at Woods Cross	W, 15-9
4/13	vs. Judge Memorial CS	W, 13-9
4/15	OLYMPUS	L,  9-8
4/20	WOODS CROSS	W, 17-4
4/22	BRIGHTON, UT	W, 9-5
4/26	at Brighton, UT	W, 8-7
4/27	SKYLINE
4/29	MURRAY

Coach: Amy Hafets

Hafets said Traci Shurtleff controlled the game from the midfield, and goalie Dacia Morgan was strong again in goal.

The Miners played Skyline at home on Tuesday after The Record went to press. As things stood Tuesday morning, Park division and would likely play Riverton or Bingham in the first round of the state playoffs, Hafets said. The first two rounds will be held at Olympus, with the semifinals hosted by Juan Diego.

“We’re excited,” Hafets said. “The girls are really coming into their stride right now.”Their final home game and Senior Night will come on Thursday against Murray at 5:15 p.m. on Dozier Field. http://www.parkrecord.com/summit_county-sports/ci_14969866

“2009 Ski Town Lacrosse Shoot Out” In Park City, UT, Draws 65 Lacrosse Teams From Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, California, Washington and Utah

A record number of teams from all over the West kicked off the fifth annual Park City Ski Town Lacrosse Shoot-Out Thursday night.

“We’re growing between 10 and 15 percent a year in terms of overall player numbers,” Michael O’Malley, tournament director, said. And this year is no exception.

Boys’, girls’, men’s and women’s club teams come to Park City year after year for the chance to play out-of-state teams that they don’t face during the season.

O’Malley said Park City offers three key things that allow the tournament to continue growing as it enters its fifth year. Unlike most summer youth tournaments which are in the East, “we thought we could have a tournament central to the Western states.” He said Park City is “easy for people to travel to from all over the West. So first of all we had the location.” Next, as a resort town, Park City provides all the necessary lodging, food and entertainment for team members and their families. Third, the fields at North 40 at Treasure Mountain, Ecker Hill Middle School and Dozier Field at Park City High School provide quality playing space for youth.

Orange County (CA) Crush Boys 7th/8th defeated Team Utah 5-2 on Thursday, June 18, in first day of Ski Town Shootout in Park City, UT. (David Ryder/Park Record)

“When [players] see the quality of those venues, they’re really very pleasantly surprised,” O’Malley said. “The folks at Park City Recreation and Basin Recreation really put out a good product there in terms of playing surface and the venues.” These three ingredients were enough to draw 65 teams from Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, California, Washington and Utah between the seven divisions.

O’Malley contributes the growth of the tournament partially to the growth of lacrosse all over the country. “It’s a really cool game, and so the appeal of the game has really promoted its growth across the country and Utah’s no different,” he said.

With more than 10 teams from Utah, including players from Park City, O’Malley said local teams “use this tournament to gauge how Utah lacrosse is improving” in comparison to other teams from around the West.

The tournament is organized in a “jamboree” format for boys in divisions for third and fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade, and seventh and eighth grade and for girls in divisions for seventh and eighth grade and ninth through eleventh grade, as well as a smaller men’s and women’s division. But kids don’t only play one another; they learn about the history and spirit of the sport.

“The last thing we do at this tournament is really infuse our participants with a feeling for the spirit of the game,” O’Malley said. Based on an American Indian sport, lacrosse has “great spiritual underpinnings” that emphasize respect for other individuals involved with the game, including players and referees, he said.

O’Malley is hopeful about the continued growth of lacrosse, especially within the girls’ division, and plans to expand the divisions to include younger grades as the tournament grows and interest in the sport expands.

“We had to turn teams away, mainly because of booking out our available field space,” he said. “So we think we’ll be able to expand in future years as we add more playing fields.”

Teams are scheduled to play all day on Saturday, June 20, at the three locations. Games are free and open to the public.

For full schedules or more information on the Ski Town Lacrosse Shoot-Out or lacrosse in Utah, visit utahlax.org.

http://www.parkrecord.com/summit_county-sports/ci_12648879