SEATTLE – The Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association (WHSBLA) has named Eastlake Lacrosse in Sammamish, Wash. as its Division I recipient of the Evert Smith Sportsmanship Award. The high school lacrosse program is made of student-athletes from Eastlake High School and other Lake Washington School District high schools.

The annual sportsmanship award, named for the late Northwest lacrosse pioneer Evert Smith, recognizes a high school boys team in each of the two WHSBLA divisions that exemplifies the highest level of sportsmanship during the season. Second-year lacrosse program King’s Way High School in Vancouver, Wash. is the league’s Division Il recipient.

Smith, who in 2006 was a posthumously enshrined in the Washington State Lacrosse Hall of Fame, worked tirelessly in the 1970s and 80s to organize and promote the sport of the lacrosse in Washington state.

Other WHSBLA award recipients include King’s Way coach Dave Holler as the league’s Coach of the Year, longtime Issaquah assistant Jordan Bayly as Assistant Coach of the Year and Dr. Kevin Martin, Division II Lake Tapps Board President and member of the WHSBLA Board of Directors, as the league’s Person of the Year.

About High School Lacrosse in Washington State
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and in Washington State the sport has seen double-digit growth in five of the last seven years. In 2009, over 2,370 high school students representing 75 boys and 49 girls varsity and junior varsity teams in Washington state will compete in a nine-week season March – May with the annual Washington State High School Championships taking place May 16 (girls) and May 30 (boys). Varsity boys lacrosse is contested in the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association (http://www.whsbla.org/) with 14 Division I and 28 Division II teams. Varsity girls lacrosse is contested in The Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association (http://www.wslax.org/) with 15 Division I and 16 Division II teams. Most of the teams represent high schools throughout the Puget Sound area.

For daily high school lacrosse results or to receive results through an RSS feed, please visit http://www.uslax-wa.org/media.html

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Media Contact:
Mike McQuaid
McQuaid & Co. Strategic Communications
206-262-7301
mike@mcquaidcompany.com

Labels: Awards, Boys, Division I, Eastlake, Press Release