Hale Prep continued their magnificent record at the national finals to once again be crowned winners of the 2018 Rathbones National POP Lacrosse Championships.
Hale Prep from Altrincham, defeated Harris Junior Academy from Carshalton 5-2 in the final to win their fifth National POP title in the last six years.
19 teams travelled to Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport on Sunday 24 June for the Rathbones National POP Championships after qualifying through their respective regional tournaments earlier in the year.
In the morning session, the teams competed in the pool stages with the aim of finishing in the top 2 in their pool to progress to the Trophy knockout stages.
Based on the teams’ pool stage rankings, the schools were then split into the main Trophy competition and Plate and Bowl competitions for the afternoon’s games.
Throughout the day, the games were all played in exemplary spirit and was a pleasure for the watching parents to experience over 150 children competing to their best abilities.
The knockout stages in particular provided some exceptionally competitive and nerve-wracking games with both semi-finals being won by just a single goal.
It was eventually Hale Prep and Harris Junior Academy who prevailed, coming through their tense semi-finals to meet in the climax to the championships and Hale used their previous final experience to produce a composed performance and win a low-scoring final 5-2.
In the Plate Final, Holy Trinity of Rochdale, beat East Bridgford of Nottingham 11-3, while in the Bowl Final, Evenlode from Penarth were victorious, 11-6, against Valley Invicta from Maidstone.
Congratulations to all players at the Championships for making the National Finals and thanks to Rathbones Investment Management for sponsoring the finals day, once again supporting lacrosse in the UK.
Rathbones National POP Lacrosse Championships Standings
Pool 1
Hale Prep 20
Gawsworth 15
St Hugh’s 11
Oldfield Park 6
St Aidan’s 1
Pool 2
St James, Wardle 14
St Paul’s 14
Liverpool College 13
East Bridgford 10
Evenlode 5
Pool 3
Whitehill 18
Sparsholt 16
Strathblane 14
Holy Trinity 8
Our Lady’s Bishop 1
Pool 4
Harris 16
Bollin 16
Milnthorpe 15
Valley Invicta 7
BYE x
Trophy Competition
QFs
Hale Prep 11 – 1 Bollin
St James 7 – 6 Sparsholt
Whitehill 8 – 3 St Paul’s
Harris 10 – 8 Gawsworth
SFs
Hale Prep 8 – 7 Whitehill
Harris 8 – 7 St James
F
Hale Prep 5 – 2 Harris
1st – Hale Prep
2nd – Harris
3rd = St James & Whitehill
5th = Bollin, Gawsworth, Sparsholt, St Paul’s
Plate Competition
Play-ins
Holy Trinity 9 – 4 Liverpool College
East Bridgford 6 – 5 St Hugh’s
SFs
East Bridgford 9 – 4 Milnthorpe
Holy Trinity 8 – 4 Strathblane
F
Holy Trinity 11 – 3 East Bridgford
1st – Holy Trinity
2nd – East Bridgford
3rd = Milnthorpe & Strathblane
5th = Liverpool College & St Hugh’s
Bowl Competition
Play-in
St Aidan’s 9 – 7 Our Lady’s Bishop
SFs
Valley Invicta 8 – 4 St Aidan’s
Evenlode 5 – 3 Oldfield Park
F
Evenlode 11 – 6 Valley Invicta
1st – Evenlode
2nd – Valley Invicta
3rd = Oldfield Park & St Aidan’s
5th – Our Lady’s Bishop