In the 2014-2015 school year, Trevor Etnyre (Class of 2016) and Nolan Wise (Class of 2016) began the crusade to get lacrosse at Mission Hills High School, but to no avail, so Trevor, Nolan, and Nicholas Wong (Class of 2017) played club lacrosse with The Panthers Lacrosse club based out of Vista.

The 2015-2016 school year saw more students interested in lacrosse from MHHS but another push ended with similar results and several new players joined Nicholas in Vista to play lacrosse. Kamryn Sandavol (Class of 2017), Dylan Coopman (Class of 2017) and Jaks Salo (Class of 2019) made the nightly trek to Vista.

The 2016 -2017 school year saw a new push lead by Nick, Jaks, Dylan, and Kam aided by some parents and a newly identified head coach Randy Amos (MHHS Faculty).  With support from the school board, we were able to get a club team at MHHS.  This club team came in 2nd in the conference, and 4th in Southern California.

Bolstered by the success of the previous club season, and with the support of the school board and parents, we were able to successfully field a CIF Varsity Boy’s Lacrosse team lead by Coach Taner Onor for the 2017-2018 school year. The CIF schedule was much tougher than the club experience, but the team proved resilient. It was a fun season that honored the legacy of the upperclassmen that persevered in bringing lacrosse to Mission Hills. And a young core started to build among the underclassmen to carry the team into the future.

Along the way, David Wong (father of Nicholas Wong) played an integral role in recruiting raw players, teaching the game to newbies, leading the club team, and advocating for the sport at Mission Hills. The team owes a debt of gratitude for David’s dedication and patience as he kept the cause alive until it reached fruition.

In addition, the 2018 season saw the formation of the Boys Lacrosse Booster Club as part of the broader Grizzlies Booster Educational Foundation. Dave Craig and Suzanne Kongkeo stepped up to lead the booster board and successfully organized fundraising that paid for team needs like lacrosse balls, spirit packs, senior night, and the team banquet. The current booster board consists of Dave Craig (President), Jason Loftis (Vice President), and Michelle Friedrich (Secretary).

As the 2019 season approached, the search was on for our next head coach. The school was fortunate to find and hire Coach Isaac Mier. Under his leadership, our young team is steadily developing into a contender.

The team is blessed to have assistant coaches that volunteer a considerable amount of time mentoring our players. Special thanks to David Wong, Terry Flynn, Matt Franz, and Ivan Mier.

We are confident that all of the leadership and effort directed at the Grizzzlies boys lacrosse team will expand the program and enable it to thrive for years to come.