ST. GEORGE — Student-athletes, community league organizers and parents continue to voice their pleas for lacrosse to be fully sanctioned by the local school board.

As previously reported in St. George News, the Utah High School Activities Association sanctioned lacrosse as an official sport, but rapid growth at the high school level has been confined to large Salt Lake-area high schools like American Fork and Corner Canyon.

In Southern Utah, lacrosse teams participate as clubs, but the push has continued for full sanctioning. As recently as last March, local school boards heard public comments and are weighing the pros and cons of sanctioning lacrosse.

“Keeping the heat on and pressure on will help them realize how important this is to us,” said Lelia Karmeli, a former Cedar lacrosse player.

St. George News interviewed four student lacrosse athletes who spoke at board meetings: Aidan Johnson, Bronson Plumb, Karmeli and Xander Weaver.

Aidan Johnson, Graduate, Midfielder/Attack for Desert Hills

“One of the biggest things is being equal as other sports like volleyball and football,” said Johnson said, a 10-year lacrosse athlete. “I wish I had the opportunity to play for a state title. I will fight for others to have that opportunity.”

As a 2023 Desert Hills graduate, he will not have that opportunity but knows he will continue to speak out at the meetings and voice support for those who follow in his footsteps.

Johnson was young when the sport was just starting out in Southern Utah. Now as a graduate, he plans to play lacrosse at Southern Virginia University after his LDS mission to Sapporo, Japan.

Talking about the recent increase in interest in the sport, Johnson mentioned the celebrities from other sports who are involved with lacrosse, including Wayne Gretzky, Dustin Johnson and Steve Nash –the owners of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs of the National Lacrosse League.

He told the story of Atlanta Falcons athlete Jared Bernhardt who was a two-sport national champion in lacrosse at the University of Maryland and football at Division II Feris State.

“Lacrosse can help an athlete in a second sport such as football or basketball,” Johnson said. “The physicality in football, the stick play in hockey and baseball, the offensive and defensive plays in basketball and so many skills for other sports.”

Bronson Plumb, Senior, Midfielder for Crimson Cliffs

“There are lost scholarship opportunities for us,” Plumb said about why the sport needs to be sanctioned.

Plum plays football and swims for the Mustangs as well. He said by having lacrosse sanctioned, more students can have the opportunity to gain collegiate interest as multi-sport athletes.

He says he plans to play in college at Brigham Young University after serving an LDS mission.

He currently works and loves helping kids during day camps for the city of St. George.

“We are setting an example of leadership for kids below us and other to players,” Plumb said.

He maintains a 4.0 cumulative GPA and says lacrosse promotes excellence in academics.

“It draws so many people from diverse backgrounds,” Plumb said as the one difference between other sports.

Plumb and his father added that lacrosse has “nothing but benefits for the community.”

Lelia Karmeli, Graduate, Midfielder/Attack for Cedar 

Karmeli said her passion comes from her diverse background and and an implausible situation.

“As a girl growing up, I wanted to do wrestling, but my parents said no,” she said.

The reasoning was the contact of the sport and “playing with boys.” However, as she got going into lacrosse in high school, her parents allowed her, not knowing fully about it being a sport full of contact.

“They freaked out a little bit when they came and saw me play,” said Karmeli, who was one of two girls on Cedar’s team.

However, Karmeli said it provided her the opportunity to be considered equal with her male teammates. She added her parents saw how well she did and gave her more freedom to be herself.

She currently is working in Japan, teaching English to kids.

She said lacrosse is not just for the “jocks” but also for “nerds” such as herself.

“It provides a sport that draws students in from the non-traditional athletic stereotype,” she said. “It is more a team sport than most sports, teaching about teamwork and acceptance of each other.”

Xander Weaver, Graduate, Defenseman for Cedar

Weaver started playing his freshman year right before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Influenced by his cousins who played for Canyon View, he left baseball and started lacrosse.

“The thing is if they say yes, Iron County would have to say yes,” Weaver said about Cedar and Canyon View athletes speaking at the school board meeting for Washington County.

Weaver said they realize up in Cedar the teams rely on Washington County for competition.

He said that approval of high school competition would add a lot of variety to the sport, allowing them to compete against over 60 high school lacrosse teams up north.

Weaver said it’s all about money right now for the sanction to happen.

After an LDS mission, he will resume his Southern Utah University scholarship and hopes to join the lacrosse team.

Sport sanction by a ‘tenacious attitude’

All four athletes said the main reason the growing interest in the sport is at its highest ever is due to the family atmosphere for the sport.

A 2018 study by the Sport and Fitness Industry Association said youth lacrosse participation had grown 25 percent since 2012 while baseball’s participation levels grew 2 percent and football’s fell almost 16 percent.

In May, the National Lacrosse League reported an increase of 25% in attendance from its first post-COVID season. Similarly, the local lacrosse leagues have reported results of growth.

All four athletes said they realize sanctioning of lacrosse will most likely not happen for a couple of years, but it will be worth it.

“The thing they realize is we are going to bring that tenacious attitude,” Weaver said. “We are not going to stop until we get it done.”

The Washington County School District Board Meetings resume on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 4:30 p.m.

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