Newsletter Signup
Join Us on Facebook! Follow Us on Twitter! Be Up-to-date

STX-WSL Boys High School Top 25

March 1st, 2010

WSL TOP 25: FINAL 2010 RANKINGS

1. Highland Park (TX): 16-2
Texas High School Lacrosse League Division I state champion

2. La Costa Canyon (CA): 23-0
CIF-San Diego Section champion

3. Cherry Creek (CO): 17-2
Colorado High School Activities Association state champion

4. St. Mark’s (TX): 17-3
Texas High School Lacrosse League Division I state finalist

5. St. Ignatius Prep (CA): 20-2
CIF-Central Coast Section WCAL champion

6. Bellevue (WA): 20-3
Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association Division I champion

7. Mercer Island (WA): 21-1
Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association Division I finalist

8. Regis Jesuit (CO): 12-7
Colorado High School Activities Association state finalist

9. Arapahoe (CO): 16-2
Colorado High School Activities Association state semifinalist

10. Foothill-Orange County (CA): 18-4
CIF-Southern Section champion for fourth consecutive year

11. De La Salle (CA): 18-6
CIF-North Coast Section champion for second straight season

12. Foothill-Pleasanton (CA): 18-5
CIF-North Coast Section finalist

13. San Ramon Valley (CA): 17-5
CIF-North Coast Section semifinalist

14. Brighton (UT): 14-0
Utah High School Lacrosse League Division I state champion

15. Kent Denver (CO): 10-7
Colorado High School Activities Association state semifinalist

16. Dallas Jesuit (TX): 14-7
Texas High School Lacrosse League Division I state semifinalist

17. Amador Valley (CA): 15-8
CIF-North Coast Section semifinalist

18. Centennial (NV): 14-4
Southern Nevada Lacrosse Association Division I champion

19. Palo Verde (NV): 20-2
Southern Nevada Lacrosse Association Division I finalist

20. Lincoln (OR): 21-3
Oregon High School Lacrosse Association state champion

21. Bellarmine Prep (CA): 16-5
CIF-Central Coast Section WCAL finalist

22. Colorado Academy (CO): 15-2
Colorado High School Activities Association state quarterfinalist

23. Rockhurst Jesuit (MO): 21-5
Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association Division I champion

24. Benilde-St. Margaret's (MN): 16-1
Minnesota State High School League champion

25. Brophy Prep (AZ): 18-2
Arizona Youth Lacrosse League Division I state champion

Lacrosse Season: 
2010



Now, we will introduce some

Now, we will introduce some Cheap Gucci Bags to you. According to your information, you can not miss any kinds of colors and styles in our Gucci Online Store. Besides, we have all famous bags` styles and features, like Long rounded handles, elegant buckle, fashionable pattern and textile lining and smooth leather trimmings . You can hand-held or carry it on your shoulder. Up to you!Wow, that must be cool and noble. Discount Gucci is a famous brand , which not only makes bags but also sunglasses and shoes. With the peculiar UV protection and the function of reducing the radiation of the sun, our Gucci Sale can ensure the safety of your eyes. In short, Gucci Outlet where you can get the Gucci Shoes which heel is top cow tendon to make possessed of absorption of perspiration and upper is made of cow leather. Once you wear it, you won`t take it off , it is amazingly comfortable.

 Cheapjerseysline.com supply

 Cheapjerseysline.com supply all kinds?puma online?for jerseysfanatics.com. I would say that this first: I have to take it crossed from the list of the things that I think even try to do if lockedPuma Ferrari III into the season,NFL New York Jets#21 Tomlinson GREEN jerseys ” Gerrard said he was referring to the?puma ferrari?National Football Leaguepuma shoes Labor disputes. “I always knew that it is difficult, there are a lot of respect for this guy get off here. This is definitely a gift and I do not have.The children want to collect the?mens puma shoes?the players puma storeusually worn. Both Matt and Vince had visited the hospital earlier this year, and has room for visits to the room with the patients.

 Microsoft and Facebook to

 Microsoft and Facebook to reach the moon,(gucci outlet),in addition to its own search engine market share, gucci bags Product Key,cooperative agreements: If you use Microsoft development tools, Windows XP Product Key,Facebook is the Facebook Web search and paid search results, Windows Vista Product Key,Microsoft, Facebook, gucci on sale Product Key,Microsoft's API (application programming interface,gucci for sale Product Key,application programming interface) provides a network interface to the U.S. position. Under the agreement, gucci tote bags Product Key,Microsoft will be in the U.S. search giant has FACEBOOK. Clearly, the search market, gucci shoulder bags Key,Microsoft is to catch up.

 I still remembered the words

 I still remembered the words you have ever said to us when you retire you want to a?coach wallets?who sale jerseys to other teams and provide us the free nfl jerseys.Looking nicely put together MLB?coach claire bag?that contain the symbol of the most desired workforce frequently the label on your chosen player iscoach hobo bags often a specific great path to coach storepoint out ones fire to get snowboarding. Often times there are about fabricators that will show?coach outlet?to make sure you lots of lots of people. Assume you will have these types of jerseys; S.Nash Purplecheap coach Jersey you can actually wear them anyplace you will pay a visit to. You could utilize such guess you actually drop in the shopping center or maybe once you have fun with your chosen karate video game at hand peers at the pillowcoach online.

 christian louboutin shoes to

 christian louboutin shoes to go to school, when girls always buy twenty or thirty dollars to wear nice Cheap christian louboutin sale and not practical, often bad at halfway. christian louboutin discount is the first time that people came to get Air jordan 6 retro shoes. So the girls never worried about what will be so missed. Also enjoy leisurely in the sunshine waiting for him to hurry the process of being sent over the Air Jordan Shoes. What girl is still cheaper to buy a good-looking Discount cheap christian louboutin, there is one day in her shoes half way bad, it was her first day at work. However, Louboutin Boots can get her Nike shox nz shoes. She came to understand, lost love, blessing, she should learn to spoil yourself, Louboutin Evening is time for their expensive pair of Nike zoom kobe shoes the fit. After all, is a way to go, and Louboutin Pumps to wear in their feet.

私たちは今まで、語る春トレンドのハンドバッグの明らかなよう

私たちは今まで、語る春トレンドのハンドバッグの明らかなように、がたくさんあります。私たちを持った
コーチ アウトレットcoach バッグコーチ アウトレット、今日私はあなたに教えるのはもうひとつ傾向;花卉の模様が入っている。私たちは普段はこのコーチはコーチ バッグコーチの財布がなくて、しかし私はこのpurseblogの特徴がありす。コーチ 財布コーチ サングラス コーチ トート

feidujiang We are the best

feidujiang We are the best soccer jersey supplier, all the soccer jerseys on jerseybbs.com are REPLICA SOCCER JERSEYS, but their quality are good, because many soccer jersey shopping websites are selling our discount soccer jerseys, espcially the thailand quality cheap soccer jerseys, They are the same as the official jerseys
As a pioneer in the field of automatic wine machines, iTasting has developed the full range of wine dispenserwine dispenser products with one aim: to get the best possible glass of wine regardless of how long the wine had been opened.
We specialize in shower head andtowel rack of high quality and favorable price .The shower head that we provide has many advantages: 1. They quickly bring water; 2. The handles of environmental protection are in favour of our health;3.The color and style are wonderful. At the same time ,towel rack that we provide is durable and beautiful.We are sure that we will offer you satisfactory products and service

The school was a college

The school was a college preparatory program with high academic standards congressman emanuel celler described boys high in his autobiography went to boys high school naturally.Thanks for sharing informative post. Regards, pinatas casa

Cheap Monster headphones

Rankings

Arapahoe at #9, defeated 3 of the teams you have ranked in front of them last year. How do you explain that one?

2011 rankings have not been posted yet

2011 rankings have not been posted yet.

Rankings

Ill go with Inside Lacrosse, Under Armour and Westsidelax.

I like to say that This blog

I like to say that This blog again looking too interesting I got a nice and great read on this blog. this time I want to thank along with my whole team. We also like to thank to blogger for his best thinking. nike glasses

Team Dallas

 Just knocked off the CRABS at the Brine Shootout, 8-4, in front of a full sideline of college coaches.  

That's nice

That's nice...and the BP oil leak appears to have been capped today.  Team Dallas has nothing to do with LaxPower National Coaches poll.  All Star teams are cobbled together every summer and travel with varying success.  Good job, Team Dallas. But it doesn't change the fact that LCC finished higher than any TX team in the LaxPower National Coaches poll.

This was refreshing. I wished

This was refreshing. I wished I could analyze every post, but i have to go back to work now… But I’ll be back.I am new to your blog and just spent about 1 hour and 30 minutes reading. I think I will frequently visit your blog from now on. I will definitely learn a lot from them.70-685 | 70-686 | 74-924 | 77-601 | 77-602 | 77-603 | 77-881 | 77-882

CA >> TX

sorry, but I'll take a LaxPower National Coaches poll over 3 guys that sit around and mull over this subject.

Laxpower

 Look at the Lax Guys final rankings on Laxpower. They have been one of the most respected group that ranks HS teams.  Their final rankings have HP at 26 and LCC at 28.  Laxpower has always been flawed, these guys try and bring some objectiveness to the rankings.

LaxPower 2010 National Coaches Poll

Do you want to watch WSL Editor and his TX minions flip their lids, then check out 2010 LaxPower National Coaches' Poll:

 

http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=20545&page=2

 

LaCosta Canyon is the only team in the 'west' in their top 25...even higher if looking at the NCR.

 

 

How bout dem mavs

Thanks for the heads up about IL.  HP ranked #23 and LCC ranked #25.  Looks like the experts got it right too. 

regional rankings

http://insidelacrosse.com/rankpoll/hsregional/2010-06-17

 

WSL is clearly not the benchmark if you have a look at these regional rankings. MN, OR, UT, NV don't even register teams on the radar. LaCosta Canyon is given its rightful place as #1 in the West.

Be Satisfied

You're #25 on IL. Take it and hush. Arapahoe CO and St. Andrew's FL weren't even listed and could beat LCC by 5 easily...any day

LCC is a candidate to be the

LCC is a candidate to be the number 1 team in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, yet they aren't even number one in the west.... come on

 

The Inside Lacrosse Story: http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2010/06/15/high-school-lacrosse-whos-no-1

HP #1

Right call Nate...

Maybe next year La Costa Canyon will not just play "Cream Puffs" out of state.  Lets be honest, the two they played were really bad... 

FINAL 2010 RANKINGS

Oh Nate, you got it wrong brother. You made your #1, a team that only played 14 different teams this season. LCC on the other hand went 23-0 by playing 21 different teams, then went on to the playoffs and beat 2 of the region's top teams again.  HP went 16-2 and played only 14 different teams during its season....that's a huge disparity and helps define the level of difficulty in that team's schedule. LCC deserved to be the #1 team in the West this year.

#1 Debate

The #1 debate will continue...

HP beat three WSL top 25 teams: St Marks, Arapahoe, & Dallas Jesuit.

LCC beat four WSL top 25 teams: St Ignatius, Foothill OC, De La Salle, & Amador Valley.

HP went 15-2.

LCC went 23-0.

 

 

CCR Ranking

Interesting that LaxPower's Coaches/Computer Rating (CCR) has La Costa Canyon ranked 13th in the country and Highland Park ranked #39.

Undefeated

Guys, wake up....

undefeated means something but not everything!!

So Lasalle Academy in RI, Haggersville in ON, Salmon River in NY, Brighton in UT, Ledyard in CT, etc should all be ranked higher than St Pauls in MD, West Islip in NY and Haverford in PA because they were undefeated!!!  Give me a break.  Thats not how rankings go!!! 

ONLY TWO of the TOP 10 in the country are undefeated!!  None are undefeated in the TOP 5.  WHY???  Because they play an out of state schedule thats incredibly tough and deserve a higher ranking than any of those other undefeated teams. 

You guys played two cream puffs and almost lost to one of them....

 

Huh.....????

What does "almost lost" mean?  You either win or lose and La Costa Canyon has 23 straight WINS!  I guess you boys must have another category down there in Texas...the "almost lost" column. Do ya all have an "almost won" column too?  So now I see why you guys are having such a hard time figuring the #1 ranking out.  Ok, by your way of thinking, Highland Park's season was: 12 wins, 2 losses, & 3 "almost losses"....I get it now!!  You guys are geniuses down there!

Oh yeah, I love how HP only played 14 different teams this year too... I guess this lowers the chances of incurring more losses and "almost losses"...brilliant!

 

So you fault Highland Park

So you fault Highland Park for not having as much local competition as a California school and therefore not being able to schedule as many games?

No Fault

I am just trying to point out the differences of two teams: one team goes 23-0 by playing 21 different teams & goes on to the playoffs and beats 2 of the region's top teams again.  The other team goes 16-2 and plays only 14 different teams during its season....that's a huge disparity and helps define the level of difficulty in that team's schedule.  If Highland Park wants to be the undisputed #1 team in the West, then they need to schedule more games during their season and play more than 14 different teams. LCC traveled to Long Island in 2008 and Colorado in 2009 and traditionally plays 20+ games a year. That's how you gain respect (along with winning all of your games) in the lacrosse community.

you guys are stoopid

Highland Park is a club team. LCC would formally invite anyone to Encitown and give yall a shot at the true champz. We would have loved to come and merk on yall fools but da budget kutz left us hanging. get off the polls cuz nathan max does not deserve the respect you guys are giving him. Why don't we get a coaches poll or AP poll or use laxpower's statistical ranking. Any alternative is better than listening to one mans biased opinion. And nathan if your research is more in depth than just looking at scores than be a big boy and tell us about where the rankings actually come from.

yours truly,

Alex Pardieu

get at me

 

Dear Nathan Max...

You seem to have been very biased against LCC all year long. You have also seemingly tried to justify your rankings of the top teams before Tuesday which was your deadline for the new rankings. i just need to know if your dislike of LCC is going to out weigh the argument of an undefeated season of 23 straight wins. A record of 16-2 just does not compare. Look; if Highland Park was 23-0 and LCC was 16-2, it would be a no brainer...the undefeated team gets the #1 ranking. So why are you even contemplating the outcome....clearly LCC deserves the #1 ranking in the West.  

Biased?

To make the claim that WSL or myself has any bias toward La Costa Canyon is one of the most ridiculous assertions I have ever read. If you go back to the 2006 season, when WSL started, I would bet that WSL has written more stories about La Costa Canyon boys lacrosse than any other program in the Western United States. This year, WSL paid out of its miniscule budget to have a reporter on site for 3 La Costa Canyon boys games. No other team in the entire Western U.S. had a reporter at its games more. Furthermore, for the vast majority of the season LCC and Mercer Island were both undefeated with similar records. Mercer Island had even gone to New York and won all its games there, yet La Costa Canyon was ranked higher. I think a lot of people up in Washington would have had a legitimate argument about Mercer Island possibly deserving the No. 2 spot over LCC before the upset loss to Bellevue.

The fact is, WSL has bent over backward for 5 straight seasons to give La Costa Canyon boys lacrosse a ton of publicity. Claiming that we or I are biased against you is a complete and total joke. If you don't believe me, why don't go into the search box underneath the STX ad and type in "La Costa Canyon" or the names of any number of different players who have played in the program over the years. Then, you will see what I'm talking about.

And, to Mr. Pardieu. The reason why so many people respect WSL, myself and the work that I do is because I have EARNED it through five years of tireless work and an unprecedented commitment to the Western lacrosse community. According to a quick search, your name has appeared in 19 WSL stories. How many times was your named mentioned in articles written by the San Diego Union-Tribune or North County Times? (and box scores don't count).

Maybe you should think about that before you come on here and publicly bash the one man who is responsible for making sure you get recognition for your accomplishments.

Don't be Maxed-out

Nate, you gotta have thicker skin brother. You are a journalist and people are going to disagree with your opinions, your articles and your rankings. You should encourage the discussion whether or not the reader agrees or disagrees. Embrace controversy; it is good for business.  Regarding your comments: You wrote about all the coverage you have given LCC through the years....the fact of the matter is that they are a high school lacrosse powerhouse.  I was just looking at their win-lose record since 2005; they are 116-20...how can you not write about them? That would be like a baseball writer not talking about the NY Yankees. You also have to report on the players, but please don't take credit for being responsible for all their recognition. The top players on the West Coast have earned their right to be recognized by playing back east in numerous games, development camps, and invitationals. Nate, you are a journalist who has a great lacrosse site...lets leave it at that. Keep doing what you do best and let the lacrosse fans continue to write in without bashing them for it.

Eric

Love how you dont add in your blog the RECORD of the teams like Wheatridge (11-6) who didnt make it past the 2nd round in CO, and you disparage Arapahoe (16-2)who went to the semis and got upset in OT.  If you are even arguing those two teams are close in talent you are LARGELY mistaken. I mean WR lost to FOCO by 6!!  In my eyes FOCO would beat you too!!!  Ask any CO player or coach.  Arapahoe beats WR by 10.  So you said you had a bad game, OK.  But thats your word against anyone elses.  To most of us, if Mullen beats WR by 7 and loses to Arapahoe by 7 then 99% of people feel that Arapahoe is better than WR.  Its as simple as this:  You might have had a bad day but you beat a WR team by one that would lose to Arapahoe by 10.  Or a MUllen by 7, which it did, or to cheery creek by 10.  HP would crush WR on its worst day, end of story.  In fact HP had a really bad day against Arapahoe and still won by 2.  What does that say to you having a bad day against WR and winning by 1??

And shockingly, you left out the record of Good Counsel who was 10-9, barely .500, and not a good team at all.  You can say anything you want about wins in CA, but anyone who follows lacrosse knows, you have to gage the wins and losses you have out of state against another team from a different state.  The fact you beat Coranado or Torry Pines doesnt mean squat to HP or St Marks. Just like HP beating ESD doesnt mean anything to you.

Let the guys who follow lacrosse religiously make the call, they will get it right.  HP #1

To Clarify:

 

To Clarify:
1. I did not compare Arapahoe to Wheatridge anywhere in my piece! I feel that you may have misread something along the way, as it was a long piece.
2. Arapahoe is clearly the better opponent and I believe I credited HP with the win against them in my last post with the line, “Arapahoe and St. Mark’s are HP’s best wins.” Again, I did not compare our win over Wheat Ridge to HP’s over Arapahoe.
3. I did not include the records for many of the teams in my piece. Please do not think that I am in anyway “hiding” our poor performance against Wheatridge. Why would I even have mentioned it?
Here are the final records I left out for most of the teams (In order of the piece):
-       De La Salle (CA): 18-6
-       Coronado (CA): 14-7
-       St. Ignatius Prep (CA): 20-2
-       Corona Del Mar (CA): 18-3
-       Our Lady-Good Counsel (MD): 10-9
-       Amador Valley (CA): 15-8
-       Los Alamitos (CA): 14-5
-       Foothill-Orange County (CA): 18-4
-       Poway (CA): 15-3
-       Torrey Pines (CA): 17-3
-       Wheat Ridge (CO): 11-6
I believe those are all the teams I named in my piece. I have nothing to hide.
Respectfully yours,
Eric Sanschagrin
Goalie #18, La Costa Canyon

People are quick to turn to

People are quick to turn to the few negatives of our season and make them into much more than they should be. Thanks. Regards, Sell Iphone 3g

 He left out Good Counsel

 He left out Good Counsel because although we crushed them, he did not think it was a significant win for us. 

 

And you say in-state does not matter, so according to your logic Highland Parks win over St Marks is not significant and their only significant win is to Arapahoe who did not even get to the Colorado State championship much less win it.

My Long Winded Argument

 

I have avoided commenting on this all year because I feel that rankings are worthless until the season is over. As the starting goalie for LCC, I realize my considerable bias. People are quick to turn to the few negatives of our season and make them into much more than they should be. In defense of those who commented earlier about LCC, including one who is admittedly a rival school’s supporter, let's look at the positives of LCC:
 
1. Beat CIF-North Coast Section champion De La Salle (#10).
 
2. Beat a motivated Defending CIF champion Coronado team to end their winning streak.
 
3. Beat CIF-Central Coast Section WCAL champion St. Ignatius Prep (#5) by a score of 7-1. This was SI's WORST loss, meaning by 6 goals, since a very good South Side (NY) team beat them by 7 back in 2006! Also, LCC is the ONLY team in Laxpower's records, which go back to 2005, to hold SI to less than 3 goals. This is pretty impressive seeing as they’ve have a 94-6 record over the last five seasons!
 
4. Beat a previously undefeated Corona Del Mar team 16-4, ending their hopes of a high ranking.
 
5. Beat Our Lady-Good Counsel (DC) 9-2. This loss was their third worst of the year, behind only east coast power Georgetown Prep (10 goals) and Torrey Pines (CA) (8 goals).
 
6. Beat Amador Valley (CA) 10-3 at a neutral site. This was equal to their worst loss of the year.
 
7. Beat Los Alamitos (CA) 17-5. This 11 goal loss was 7 greater than their next biggest loss margin.
 
8. Beat Foothill-Orange County (CA) (#10) in probably our closest game of the year, 9-8 (OT). Still, we were the only team to beat this CIF Champion team at Foothill.
 
9. Beat Poway (CA) in Poway 12-4. Poway finished the season 15-3, losing only to Coronado 5-3 and LCC 12-4 and 12-1 in the playoffs.
 
10. Beat our rival Torrey Pines (CA) 7-6 on their home field, the only team to do so. I had mentioned them previously as the team second behind Georgetown Prep in margin of victory over Good Counsel. Torrey Pines also beat Wheat Ridge (CO) 12-5, a score much closer to what our team is capable of doing. Yet, I am not letting my team and myself off the hook for the Wheat Ridge game. This just helps prove that our WIN against Wheat Ridge was our worst game and we are capable of doing much better. Torrey's defeat of Wheat Ridge was only bested by Cherry Creek, the Colorado State Champion. If all the Colorado teams think they can crush LCC, I must point them toward my team’s trip to Colorado last year as a frame of reference. Here’s some background: Last year our team (17-4) finished decently as the San Diego section CIF runner up to last year’s number two ranked team in the west, Coronado. We played Kent Denver over Spring Break, while they were ranked number one in the west, and narrowly lost 10-9. We impressively held last year’s top player in the West, Patrick Murray (Georgetown), to one assist. Then, we played this year’s Colorado State Champions, Cherry Creek, and won 11-10 on their home turf.
 
11. We played well as a team through the first three rounds of the playoffs with victories of 18-2, 13-3, and the previously mentioned 12-1 score over Poway.
 
12. Beat Torrey Pines 12-6 in the San Diego CIF Championship game. For a team that finished 17-3, with two previous one goal losses, this 6 goal defeat was especially large.
 
13. 23-0. This deserves a bullet point.
 
14. As a testament to our defense, we let up the least goals in a season in our school's history, beating the record held by LCC's 24-0 team from 2005 by 5 goals. For a program that has made the championship 8 years in a row and played top competition all year, this is quite an accomplishment. 
 
15. You will be hard pressed to find a more balanced team-oriented program in the west. As the Defending California State Academic Champions, we took our winning non-weighted team GPA of 3.49 and brought it up to a 3.6 this year. It’s extremely rare to find a team that is the best in the state both on and off the field.
 
All LCC matters aside, let’s move on to the matter of Highland Park. I watched the Texas State Championship game online and would like to congratulate Highland Park on a fine ending to a great season. Yet, the phrase “The undisputed #1 is HP” does not sit well with me.
 
1. Clearly, HP lost twice.
 
2. It’s tough to lose an instate game and still claim to have a rock solid resume.
 
3. The win against Loomis Chaffee, which is oddly not listed on Laxpower, loses strength due to the fact that they finished 6-9. Remember, they were 6-9 without any of the Texas losses included!
 
4. Lawrenceville, which finished 12-8 for the season, is clearly not as good as they once were. Their past two teams (12-8 and 13-6) cannot compare with the 17-2 team (2008), 17-1 team (2007), 20-0 team (2006), and 21-1 team (2005). This is still an impressive win, partly due to the fact it was at the New Meadowlands stadium and highly hyped. My point is, don’t hold their win over Lawrenceville in the same class as a win during the years they had 3 total losses (2006-2008).
 
5. HP’s win over Arapahoe lost some punch after Arapahoe failed to make the Colorado State finals. Still Arapahoe and St. Mark’s are HP’s best wins.
 
6. What are people drawing upon to make these claims? One commenter stated that HP has “way too much speed for LCC,” this clearly falls under TxLax’s “not doing the research” category. Statements such as those take away all credibility from an argument.
 
Thank you for your time,
Eric Sanschagrin
Goalie #18, La Costa Canyon

this is true...

Im not biased in trying to make Foothill OC look better, but LCC had probablly the best season in California's history.  I mean, they beat the best teams by margins of 6-7 goals on average.  Even their playoff games werent that close.  I think you definitly have a point here with the undeafeted record.  However, in Nathans defense, I think i speak for all of us when I say that none of us have really seen this Texas team play.  Nathan spends hours upon hours collecting scores and stuff, so it seems to me he knows these teams very well, and he weights the wins based on quality not quantity. Like I said earlier, this season its hard to imagine a team better than LCC, and im not sure if one exsists, but we have never seen this HP team play. Lets see if next year we can get some Texas-SoCal games going to compare.

PS

That Foothill -LCC game was a good one.  We love the games on the Durf (dirt/turf)

Scots

WSL gets it right again in 2010. In addition to a tougher SOS, Highland Park has way too much speed for LCC and featured the best team defense in the West. I doubt LCC could beat St. Mark's or any of the top 3 CO teams, but maybe next year things will be different.

Any alternative is better

Any alternative is better than listening to one mans biased opinion. And nathan if your research is more in depth than just looking at scores than be a big boy and tell us about where the rankings actually come from. Thanks. Regards, margaritaville frozen concoction maker

WSL Top 25

There are two weeks remaining in the high school lacrosse season, with only Oregon and Minnesota left to finish things off. But with most of our coverage area done and the rankings close to being complete, in an effort to be transparent, I wanted to give a brief explanation to the public about why our rankings are the way they are.

There have been more upsets and parity in some areas than ever before, making the rankings an extremely difficult task. The biggest debate comes down to who is No. 1? Highland Park or La Costa Canyon. Both teams have a legitimate argument. Both teams played a strong schedule. Both teams beat East Coast programs.

WSL's pick for No. 1 is Highland Park. Although it didn't go undefeated, our view is Highland Park played a tougher schedule and beating Lawrenceville (N.J.) on the road is a higher quality victory than beating Good Counsel (Md.) at home. Highland Park also beat Arapahoe and Loomis Chaffee and St. Mark's twice.

La Costa Canyon has a strong argument, with numerous quality wins over top California competition. Our view is just that Highland Park's resume is slightly better.

At the bottom of the rankings, we have heard the most complaining from Brophy Prep, which feels it deserves to be ranked higher than No. 25. Our response to that is...how? Inside Lacrosse has had Brophy Prep ranked No. 9 in its Western regional rankings, and our view is that is completely ridiculous. Brophy Prep has no quality wins and even lost to Arizona semifinalist Chaparral. It went 2-1 at the Jerry Langkammerer Tournament, but its two wins were over Menlo (unranked in California) and Oregon Episcopal School (No. 6 in Oregon). Not exactly the kinds of victories that merit being ranked No. 9 in the West. Brophy played a soft schedule and should consider itself fortunate to be ranked at all.

Feel free to share your opinion. I'm sure you will.

Best regards,

Nathan Max
WSL Executive Editor

My opinion

Nate,

First I need to thank you for even taking the time to explain your reasoning behind the rankings, a first class move on your part.

Additionally, thanks for providing a forum for all our disgruntled comments.  Sometimes we just need to vent.

Of course the only real way to settle this would be a Westside Showdown between LCC and HP, which I'm sure won't happen anytime soon.

My argument for LCC is based on their undefeated season and getting to watch them in action as well.  Their defense this year was was phenomenal and they completely shut down Emery and Englehart and many other talented players.  

I was wondering if your rankings are based on stats or do you get a chance to get out and observe some of the top teams?  I know it is not possible to get a look at more than a couple of teams, but as the season draws to a close and you have some clear front runners, maybe then you could sneak out and get a look.  No, I am not paying for your trip, it's only a suggestion.

Thanks again for all the great one liners and coverage of our west coast players.

R/

Ken Englehart 

HP easily #1

It really isnt very hard to see that HP is #1 when you look at the whole body of work.  Westside definitely does its research and I feel LCC supporters have not done any.

LCC did not play ONE decent team out of state.  They beat a very marginal Good Counsel team who were 10-9, barely 500.  Then the worst game for them they only beat Wheatridge by ONE goal.  The same Wheatrdige that lost to Cherry creek 13-3 and Mullen, 11-4.  WheatRidge lost to Mullen by 7 and HP beat Mullen 10-3.  And LCC can only beat Wheatridge by ONE!!!  Come on.  I know its hard to use the whole, this team beat that one by 5 and this team beat that one, but when the numbers are so large like this, its obvious. 

Wheatridge definitely belonged on the same field as LCC only losing 4-3.  Wheatridge was obviously over their head playing against Mullen and losing 11-4.  Mullen was obviously over their heads playing HP and losing 10-3 and it wasnt even that close, 4th quarter the reserves came in.  And LCC fans have the gaul to say they would beat HP???  Thats just not logical or even fair to say.  HP beats LCC by 5-10. 

HP beats Arapahoe (16-2) CO state semifinalist, Arapahoe also beat Cherry Creek, CO Champion and a team that beat Wheatridge by TEN!!!  TEN!!!  As stated above, HP beats Mullen 10-3 and it wasnt even that close.  They dominate Loomis Chafee 11-3 and beat Lawrenceville in NJ by 4. 

Yes LCC is undefeated but you have to play somebody out of state dont you??  HP had two losses, one against Haverford 11-3 and one in OT to St Marks who was 17-3 this year with two losses to HP and an OT loss to Arapahoe.  In fact, St Marks was 17-3 this year only losing to HP twice and Arapahoe, and last year they were 17-4 only losing to HP 3 times and ST Marys of Anapolis 12-8.  Pretty impressive. 

Finally, there is even an arguement about LCC being #2.  The is no question HP is #1, but do you really think LCC beats Cherry Creek, Arapahoe, or even St Marks???  All three of those teams handily beats Wheatridge by 8-10.  Wheatridge also only made it to RD 2 in the CO playoffs.  Do you know how many CO teams think they can beat LCC because they struggled against Wheatridge.  FOCO, Regis, Chatfield, Mullen (who beat WR by 7), and Kent all have good arguements.  None of these teams have an arguement against HP. 

I think LCC is a very very good team, but they do not deserve #1.  The undisputed #1 is HP.

LCC easily played their worst

LCC easily played their worst game against Wheat Ridge, look at the score when they played Torrey, 12-5, and then La Costa Canyon went and beat Torrey Pines in the CIF Championship game 12-6. 

And regarding the argument that LCC has no out of state games, look at the population of California. We have 30 million people in this state, in San Diego county we have near the population of Colorado. LCC played and beat St. Ignatius Prep, the WCAL champion, Foothill, the Southern Section champion,and  De La Salle, the Eastbay champion. Each of these conferences has close to the population of Colorado, so when California teams don't go out of state, it has to be looked at with a different perspective. Just because LCC had an off day and did not cross state lines does not mean they should be looked down upon at all.

The #1 Debate

Wait a minute, you are going to make one 1 point game the basis of your argument? The core group of players on this year's LCC team are the same kids that traveled to Long Island, NY in 2008 and won 2 out of 3 games in the "Cradle of Lacrosse". They are the same kids that traveled to Denver last year and took it to Kent Denver and beat Cherry Creek. This year LCC has beat everyone that has suited up against them...11 of those teams lost by more then 10 goals.  So, don't make the Wheatridge game your primary argument.  I say if Highland Park had traveled to Southern California this year they would have been beat not only by LCC but by Torrey Pines and Coronado too.

LCC #1

WestSide,  

As much as I dislike the very ground that LCC walks on, you have to give them the credit that is due.  An undefeated season, victories over all in state and out of state competition.  I know that the rankings come out tomorrow, so do the right thing and crown LCC #1 in the west.  LCC, congrats on another great season.  

LCC #1 in the West???

LCC wins another CIF Championship and does it by winning 23 straight games!  Those wins include wins over all the San Diego area lacrosse powers, Orange County, CA teams, east coast teams, Northern California teams, and a Colorado team. I believe that if LCC had played Highland Park, TX this season the Mavericks would still be undefeated.  LCC deserves to be named the #1 team in the West.