Inaugural High School Lacrosse Nationals To Take Place Memorial Day Weekend In Washington, D.C.; GEICO Named Title Sponsor

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GEICO has been named title sponsor of the inaugural High School Lacrosse Nationals. This unique event will allow the best high school lacrosse teams across the United States and Canada to face one another in a post-season tournament, which will be televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.

Eight participating teams will play in a single-elimination tournament, with a total of seven games, taking place at Catholic University's Cardinal Stadium in Washington, D.C. The quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, May 28, at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on ESPN3. Semifinals will take place Monday, May 29, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. (ESPNU), with the winners advancing to play in the championship game on Tuesday, May 30, at 7 p.m., also on ESPNU. Tickets are available at www.geicolax.com

All games will be available through WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The 2017 GEICO HIGH School Lacrosse Nationals participating field includes:
*All team rankings are according to the USA TODAY SPORTS SUPER 25 Expert Rankings
**All player rankings are according to recruitingrundown.com

IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Head Coach: Jason Basso
Players to Watch: Class of 2017 - No. 30 Cam Badour (M); Class of 2018 - No. 55 Chase Scanlan (M)
IMG Academy's lacrosse program has continued to establish itself as a national power over the last couple of years. The 11-1 Ascenders are the No. 2 ranked team nationally, having only lost once to the previously undefeated and prior No. 2 ranked Hill Academy. They have key wins over tournament participants in No. 8 St. Sebastian (Mass.) and Lawrenceville (N.J.) and well as nationally ranked No. 10 Taft (Conn.).

Hill Academy (Ontario, Canada)
Head Coach: Brodie Merrill
Players to Watch: Class of 2017 - No. 15 Justin Inacio (F/O), No. 20 Riley Curtis (A), No. 34 Thomas Tenney (A); Class of 2019 - No. 12 Dyson Williams (A)
The Hill is the defending USA Today Super 25 Champion, having completed a perfect season and defeating numerous nationally ranked schools.  This year's team is not much different.  The Hill currently sits at 12-1 with a No. 4 national ranking, with key victories against No. 2 IMG Academy (Fla.), No. 10 Taft (Conn.), and No. 12 Boys' Latin (Md.). Their lone loss came from No. 3 Culver (Ind.).

St. Sebastian's Country Day (Needham, Mass.)
Head Coach: Adam White
Players to Watch: Class of 2017 - No. 63 Jack Frisoli (M); Class of 2018: No. 60 Will Plansky (M); Class of 2019- No. 2 Will Frisoli (LSM)
After dropping their first game of the year to No. 2 IMG Academy (Fla.), St. Sebastian's rattled off 11 straight wins before stumbling last weekend. One of their key wins was over No. 10 Taft School (Conn.). Sitting at No. 8 nationally, the Arrows will look to start a new winning streak heading into the GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals.  

The Woodlands High School (The Woodlands, Texas.)
Head Coach: Keith Tintle
Player to Watch: Class of 2018 - No. 79 Ramsey McCreary (A)
The Woodlands is ranked No. 18 nationally with an impressive undefeated record of 23-0 which includes wins over many of the top teams in Texas, as well as La Costa Canyon and Palos Verdes from California. Woodlands will compete for the Texas High School Lacrosse League State Championship on May 13 & 14. 

Georgetown Preparatory School (North Bethesda, Md.)
Head Coach: Scott Urick
Players to Watch: Class of 2018 - No. 40 Kaleb Fernandez (A); Class of 2019 - No. 8 Clay Lanham (LSM), No. 22 Connor Humiston (A), No. 37 Jake Giulieri (D)
The Hoyas add a strong local team to the field, having won 5 of the last 9 titles in the prestigious IAC conference.  Under former Georgetown University assistant coach Scott Urick, this year's squad features a strong group of underclassmen led by the No. 8 player in the sophomore class – Clay Lanham, a University North Carolina commit.

Lawrenceville High School (Lawrenceville, N.J.)
Head Coach: Allen Fitzpatrick
Lawrenceville is 14-5 with three losses coming from ranked teams: No. 2 IMG Academy (Fla.) and No. 5 Brunswick-Greenwich (Conn.) both by 1 point and No. 20 Deerfield Academy (Mass.). Led by a talented sophomore class, the Big Red won the NJISAA Prep A Championship 11-5 over the Hun School for their second consecutive title.

St. Anne's-Belfield School (Charlottesville, Va.)
Head Coach: Bo Perriello
Players to Watch: Class of 2017 - No. 99 Joe Robertson (A); Class of 2019 - No. 1 Connor Shellenberger (A), No. 28 Emmett Barger (A/M)
With a record of 15-3, the Saints have arguably the strongest Attack group on the East Coast, led by the No. 1 player in the 2019 class Connor Shellenberger. Bo Perriello's squad is looking to end their regular season with a Virginia Independent School title and carry that momentum into the GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals.

Christ School (Asheville, N.C.)
Head Coach: Jeff Miles
The Greenies sit at 12-4 with a perfect 7-0 record against divisional opponents. They have had the No. 1 state ranking for the entirety of the spring season and are not looking to give it up with just two weeks remaining in the season. With a win over their final regular season opponent, Christ School would earn the right to host their entire playoff run. The Greenies look to take home the NCISAA State Title prior to competing on the National stage.

"This tournament is going to be great for these young athletes to showcase their talents on a national level," commented GEICO's Assistant Vice President of Marketing Bill Brower. "GEICO couldn't be happier to continue to support lacrosse, as the title sponsor for the High School Lacrosse Nationals inaugural year along with sponsoring Major League Lacrosse."

"With the popularity of lacrosse growing nationwide, we are excited to introduce this prestigious post-season event in the tradition of the DICK'S Nationals (basketball) and the GEICO Bowl Series (football)," said Rashid Ghazi, Partner Paragon Marketing Group.  "The beauty of this tournament is that it provides players, coaches and fans the opportunity to end their season against top-ranked teams from across the country on a nationally televised stage."

"The GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals, created by Paragon Marketing Group, gives ESPNU another opportunity to continue showcasing the next generation of athletes and further enhancing our overall commitment to the sport of lacrosse," said Dan Margulis, senior director of college sports programming. "With this event and the NCAA Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships, fans will get the chance to watch the sport at the high school and college level during Memorial Day weekend."

Additional information and is available at www.geicolax.com

About GEICO
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and is the second-largest private passenger auto insurance company in the United States. GEICO, which was founded in 1936, provides millions of auto insurance quotes to U.S. drivers annually. The company is pleased to serve more than 15 million private passenger customers, insuring more than 24 million vehicles (auto & cycle). Using GEICO's online service center, policyholders can purchase policies, make policy changes, report claims and print insurance ID cards. Policyholders can also connect to GEICO through the GEICO App, reach a representative over the phone or visit a GEICO local agent. GEICO also provides insurance quotes on motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), boats, travel trailers and motorhomes (RVs). Coverage for life, homes and apartments is written by non-affiliated insurance companies and is secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection are also available. For more information, go to www.geico.com.

About Paragon Marketing Group
Paragon Marketing Group is a corporate consulting agency specializing in sports, entertainment and cause related sponsorships. Paragon, owns and operates the GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals and has partnered with ESPN over the past 14 years to deliver over 500 live high school football and basketball telecasts featuring many of the top teams and players in the nation. Paragon's consulting clients include Bayer, Gatorade, PNC Bank, Yokohama and UCHealth.

About ESPN
ESPN, Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of eight U.S. 24-hour television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network and SEC Network) and five HD simulcast services (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include ESPN Events, ESPN International (24 networks, syndication, radio, digital), ESPN Radio (broadcast, satellite, digital, a growing category led by ScoreCenter), digital services (ESPN.com plus a variety of sport-, college-, and market-specific sites; multi-screen WatchESPN and ESPN3; plus mobile TV and video, apps, alerts and messaging), ESPN The Magazine, consumer products and espnW. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

SOURCE GEICO

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