UTAH HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE LEAGUE DIVISION II

The Team to Beat: Highland

Not many people seem to know what to expect in Division II this season after eight teams were promoted to Division I. Of the 20 remaining programs, only three had winning records last year. One of those, Highland, appears to have the most coming back.

The Rams graduated 11 seniors and have five returning starters, including two attackmen and three defensemen. Most importantly, they have four returning players who garnered postseason honors and one key transfer. Senior attackman MacLean Piper and senior defenseman Alex Olsen were both second-team All-State selections in Division B last season, making Highland the only team with two returning All-State players.

Piper and Olsen were also named first-team All-Conference, along with senior defenseman Peter Ferrin. Senior middie Bob Ferrell made the second-team All-Conference list as a second-line middie. On top of all that, Highland will get a boost from senior middie Malcolm Peck, who transferred from Division I Olympus.

Contenders: Box Elder, Fremont, East, Pocatello, Mountain Crest

Box Elder had the best record of all returning Division II teams. The Bees graduated seven seniors and bring back half their starters, including all three on attack and two first-line middies. But Box Elder has some needs in the back, where it must replace its entire defense and a standout goalie. Returning All-State senior attackman Chase Peterson is one of Division II’s top players. He’ll be joined by junior attackman Brady Nelson and junior middie Brian Christensen, and the Bees will be fortified by two transfers from Viewmont.

Fremont graduated a whopping 22 seniors off its 2009 team, but the Silverwolves have a few standouts coming back. Fremont returns four starters, one on attack, two in the midfield and a top goalie. Junior middie Brad Marsh, senior middie Keaton Maguire, senior goalie Cameron Loftus and senior attackman Randal Woolsey will keep Fremont in the hunt for the state title.

East returns six starters and will be particularly strong defensively, where it has its entire back line returning. East also has two returning All-Conference middies in seniors Thayne Rich and Brent Poulson. Two other players to watch will be junior defensemen Warren Porter and Sam O’Brien.

Pocatello lost to Box Elder by just a goal last season, and the Indians bring back three players who took home All-Conference honors as underclassmen. Junior attackman Nathan Wall, senior middie Mark Krumwiede and junior goalie Devon Axelson are three players to watch for a team that only graduated a handful of seniors.

Mountain Crest should be a much-improved team after it struggled last season. The Mustangs return seven starters, including two on attack, two first-line middies, two defensemen and their goalie. Junior attackman Chris McKee and junior middie Alex Boswell will lead the team, along with senior defenseman Nathan Newman.

Sleeper: Davis

This will be the second year of varsity lacrosse at Davis, which is well known in the state for having a huge pool of players. Most everyone believes the Dashers will be vastly improved from last year’s 2-11 record. Davis has five returning starters and will be led by sophomore defenseman Rossiter Potter and senior middie Brandon Estoque.

Top Players: Devon Axelson, G, Pocatello; Ty Bate, Def., Timpview Alex Boswell, MF, Mountain Crest; Andrew Chanthalyx, MF, Northridge; Brian Christensen, MF, Box Elder; Zac Cook, Att., Northridge; Brandon Estoque, MF, Davis; Bob Ferrell, MF, Highland; Peter Ferrin, Def., Highland; Jordan Gunther, Att., Timpanogos; Alex Jensen, MF, Mountain View; Mark Krumwiede, MF, Pocatello; Braden Lanham, MF, Timpanogos; Cameron Loftus, G, Fremont; Keaton Maguire, MF, Fremont; Brad Marsh, MF, Fremont; Tanner Marsh, Att., Timpanogos; Chris McKee, Att., Mountain Crest; Brady Nelson, Att., Box Elder; Nathan Newman, Def., Mountain Crest; Sam O’Brien, Def., East; Alex Olsen, Def., Highland; Malcolm Peck, MF, Highland; Chase Peterson, Att., Box Elder; MacLean Piper, Att., Highland; Tanner Porter, MF, Spanish Fork; Warren Porter, Def., East; Rossiter Potter, Def., Davis; Brent Poulson, MF, East; Austyn Price, MF, Bear River; Thayne Rich, MF, East; Christian Schlichte, Att., Northridge; Kory Schlichte, Att., Northridge; Nathan Wall, Att., Pocatello; Randal Woolsey, Att., Fremont.

Preseason Top 10: 1. Highland, 2. Box Elder, 3. Fremont, 4. East, 5. Pocatello, 6. Mountain Crest, 7. Davis, 8. Northridge, 9. Lehi, 10. Timpanogos.

Notes: What had been known, heretofore, as Division B is now called Division II, and there will be 20 teams competing in the state’s lower flight this season, down from 27 in 2009. The top eight teams from last year: American Fork, Copper Hills, Lone Peak, Skyline, Sky View, Orem, West Jordan and Woods Cross, have all been promoted into Division I. There will be four five-team conferences in the new alignment....Of the 20 teams remaining in Division II, only Box Elder (10-3), Fremont (8-5) and Highland (7-6) posted a winning record last season....Northridge returns four starters and will be led on attack by the brother tandem of senior Kory Schlichte and sophomore Christian Schlichte. Junior middie Andrew Chanthalyx and senior attackman Zac Cook will also contribute....Timpanogos brings back five starters from last year’s team and will be led by senior attackman Jordan Gunther, senior middie Braden Lanham and sophomore attackman Tanner Marsh....Timpview has five starters returning and will be led by senior defenseman Ty Bate....West will have an entirely new coaching staff that hopes to turn the program around this season, but there are few players in the program with much experience. Junior attackman Benito Quinonez will be West’s top player.