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Lax players return to Placid tournament | News, Sports, Jobs
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Lax players return to Placid tournament | News, Sports, Jobs

A Jamesville DeWitt Nationals player runs with the ball as an Ithaca Lacrosse Club player defends during Monday’s game at the North Elba Show Grounds. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — Some of the top high school lacrosse players from across the country have traveled to this town for the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic lacrosse tournament, which kicked off Monday.

The Summit Classic essentially folds two tournaments into one big event. It started first with the scholastic side — made up of youth, high school and future college athletes — and will follow with the adult group. The event runs through Sunday.

The high school tournament features a total of 95 teams from nine different divisions: five boys and four girls, according to Kevin Leveille, event director of the Lake Placid Summit Classic.

“This year we have 60 girls’ teams and 35 boys’ teams (in the school tournament),” he said. “So the girls are really hyped up compared to the boys’ teams.”

Most of the girls play in the top division — the Northstars — which is made up of NCAA Division I dedicated lacrosse players from across the country who represent their prospective universities before officially playing for their college teams. It’s the first time some of these players will have the chance to play together.

A player from Team Sexy Potato makes a pass during a lacrosse game against the Prime Time Misfits on Monday at North Elba Athletic Fields. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“What happens is the team that wins here, three to four years from now, is going to be one of the teams in the final four of the NCAA (tournament),” said Leveille. “It’s kind of a happy situation, and that’s cool.”

Some of the participating universities include Boston College, Cornell, Colorado, Dartmouth, Denver, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Louisville, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, Southern California, Stanford, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Vermont, Virginia, and Yale.

On the boys side of the scholastic tournament, there is a similar division called the Summit Division, which features some of the best high school boys teams. The Scholastic Division is not tied to one school per se, however.

“Those matches are ultra-competitive, with the best players from all over the world,” said Leveille.

Earlier this month, the Summit Lacrosse Society hosted the Lake Placid Summit Youth Classic lacrosse tournament, but Leveille said this tournament is more competitive.

“The other youth event is now mainly intended for high school students,” he said. “This is a high school and the talent level is really good. We had limited spots with our capacity, the demand is high, so we are getting really elite level players.”

The adult tournament, which begins Wednesday, has 117 teams divided into 16 divisions — 12 men’s and four women’s — largely the same number of teams as last year.

“We had a number of 50 and 55 year old men’s teams that couldn’t do it,” said Leveille. “But we still have three or four women’s teams, I think in the 35-plus (division), which we never really have.”

During the Summit Classic adult tournament on Thursday, the organization will induct five individuals and one team into the Legends of Placid Lax (a Hall of Fame group) at the North Elba Horse Show Grounds Pavilion. The ceremony will highlight this year’s inductees: Mick Dyer, Mickey Blanchfield, Elizabeth Beville, Pat Lally, Tera Larson and Brown State.

The Legends of Placid Lax event kicks off with a 70s-plus game. The game starts at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, with the ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m.


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