A plan has been in motion since 2013 when Oasis Academy founded the Bighorns Lacrosse program with a grant from US Lacrosse.
Next season that plan comes to fruition as Bighorns Lacrosse steps up to the next level with two new boys and girls varsity teams.
Bighorns boys coach John Keitz announced the long awaited step up to the varsity level, particularly after the Oasis Academy High School boys team finished 7-8 and the two under-15 teams from the middle school finished undefeated, displaying promise in the players who will be moving up to the high-school level.
“We started the program in 2013 and we pretty much expanded the team every year since, but this year we had the biggest expansion,” Keitz said.
The program, relying on $8,000 for each team from player fees, fundraisers and school funding according to Keitz, is less pressure for the next school year because of the demand in Fallon for a major lacrosse presence.
Keitz’ high school boys team is a younger team with 15 freshmen, two juniors and four graduating seniors including Wyatt Hampton, Christian Cedeno, Blake Bradley and Caleb Lombard.
Though Keitz expressed optimism in the program’s continued growth he said it was still tough to be sending off four of his best at this juncture. “Caleb’s been with us almost since the start,” Keitz said. “He was just a little too old so he stuck around and helped coach our U15 team until this year and came back to play one more season at the high school year. The other guys were all here this year and they took to it so well.”
Keitz added he felt the seniors made a lasting impression on the younger players, given Bradley’s hockey experience and Hampton’s reputation with the Churchill County High School state champion football team.
“Obviously, there was some carryover from that, but most of our leadership was younger if you look since two freshmen were the team captains,” Keitz said. “These are guys who have been leaders from the start, so there was a nice balance and I liked how things worked out.”