LaxPower's combined Coaches & Computer ranking year-end results are in. I've long believed that this combined ranking is the gold standard of ranking systems. St. Ignatius, with its 21-1 record, ranked 12th in the nation for 2013. Congratulations to the Wildcats!
Ranking 12th in the nation, out of 3,484 teams is exceptional. It also happens to be the highest ranking ever achieved by a Western High School Lacrosse team since LaxPower began keeping the combined rankings in 2005. Here is a compilation of the top Western Boys' High School lacrosse teams from 2005-2013:
Year Rank Team
2005 27th La Costa Canyon CA
2006 37th Monte Vista Danville CA
2007 27th St. Ignatius CA
2008 13th Kent Denver CO
2009 20th Highland Park TX
2010 15th La Costa Canyon CA
2011 21st Regis Jesuit CO
2012 19th Arapahoe CO
2013 12th St. Ignatius CA
Factoids:
Only two schools have been the top Western team more than once: La Costa Canyon in 2005 and 2010, and St. Ignatius in 2007 and 2013. California has been home to the top Western team 5 times, Colorado three times, and Texas once. Even better, li'l ole NorCal, all by its lonesome, has as many top Western rankings as the whole State of Colorado!
I have been lucky enough to see six of the nine top teams play during the season in which they ranked Best in the West. I missed seeing Highland Park, Regis Jesuit and Arapahoe play during their top-ranked seasons.
Slowly but surely, the West is taking a prominent place in Boys' High School Lacrosse. And the trend looks like it will keep going. In the recently completed US Lacrosse U-15 National Championships, 3D Select (a mixed team from Colorado and California) won the National Championship for that age group!
