The Valhalla High School boys lacrosse team ended the 2024 season with a string of meaningful games. The Norsemen hope to do it again this spring.
Seeded fourth in last year’s San Diego Section Division III bracket, Valhalla defeated fifth-seeded Sage Creek, 10-3, in the quarterfinals to advance to meet top-seeded West Hills in an all-East County semifinal contest.
West Hills eliminated the Norsemen by a 16-5 score en route to claiming the division championship with a 17-7 win over the second-seeded San Diego Cavers.
The Wolf Pack finished the 2024 season with an overall 15-6 record and No. 30 ranking among section teams.
Valhalla ended last season 10-9 and is out of the gate this spring with a 12-4 record and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Division III section playoffs.
“We’re definitely growing,” VHS coach Isaac Merfalen said. “We didn’t have the team last year to make it to the championship game, but now we have the team to win it this year.”
The Norsemen will play the winner of Tuesday’s first-round winner between No. 7 Del Lago Academy and No. 10 Mission Bay in the quarterfinal round on Friday, May 9.
The semifinals are scheduled Tuesday, May 13. The division championship game is scheduled Saturday, May 17, at Westview High School at 11 a.m.
Classical Academy is the division’s No. 1 seed while Mater Dei Catholic is seeded No. 3 and Rancho Buena Vista is seeded No. 4. All four top seeds received a bye to the quarterfinals.
The divisional playoff bracket is rounded out by No. 5 Clairemont, No. 6 Preuss UCSD, No. 7 Del Lago Academy, No. 8 Olympian, No. 9 Canyon Hills, No. 10 Mission Bay, No. 11 Foothills Christian and No. 12 San Ysidro.
There are 10 teams participating in Grossmont Conference play this season. Helix, West Hills and Monte Vista join Valhalla in the Grossmont Valley League lineup while Granite Hills, Grossmont, Santana and El Capitan comprise the Grossmont Hills League alignment this season.
A total of 42 teams (out of 58) qualified to fill the section’s four divisional brackets: six in the Open Division and 12 each in Division I, Division II and Division III.
East County qualifiers include Granite Hills (No. 5 in Division I at 12-5), Santana (No. 7 in Division I at 12-8), Helix Charter (No. 3 in Division II at 14-3), El Capitan (No. 7 in Division II at 9-8), West Hills (No. 8 in Division II at 9-8), Valhalla and Foothills Christian (4-13-1).
Top-seeded teams include Carlsbad (Division I), Westview (Division II) and Classical Academy (Division III).
Quarterfinals in Division II and Division III are Friday, May 9, while the Division I quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, May 9.
Semifinal contests are slated Tuesday, May 13, in Division I and Division III and Wednesday, May 14, in Division II.
Westview High School will host the boys divisional finals. The Division I final is scheduled for Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. Three more finals follow on Saturday, May 17: Division III at 11 a.m., Division II at 2 p.m. and Open Division at 5 p.m.
The six Open Division teams are No. 1 Torrey Pines (13-5), No. 2 La Costa Canyon (11-6), No. 3 Cathedral Catholic (16-4), No. 4 Santa Fe Christian (19-9), No. 5 Coronado (13-5) and No. 6 Bishop’s (8-8). The top two seeds receive byes in the quarterfinals (May 8) and move directly to the semifinals (May 14).
GIRLS LACROSSE
A total of 61 teams competed in the section’s girls circuit this season with 42 advancing to postseason play.
East County playoff qualifiers include Valhalla (No. 7 in Division II at 10-7), Granite Hills (No. 9 in Division II at 9-8), El Capitan (No. 11 in Division II at 11-5), Helix Charter (No. 6 in Division III at 9-10), West Hills (No. 7 in Division III at 4-12) and Grossmont (No. 12 in Division III at 3-12).
Top-seeded teams include Carlsbad (Division I), Rancho Bernardo (Division II) and Tri- City Christian (Division III).
Quarterfinal games are scheduled Friday, May 9, in Division II and Division III and Saturday, May 10, in Division I.
Semifinal elimination contests are slated Tuesday, May 13, in Division II and the Open Division and Wednesday, May 14, in Division I and Division III.
San Dieguito Academy will host the girls championship games. The Open Division final is slated Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. Three finals follow on Saturday, May 17: Division III at 11 a.m., Division II at 2 p.m. and Division I at 5 p.m.
The six Open Division teams include No. 1 Coronado (17-0), No. 2 Cathedral Catholic (14-5), No. 3 La Costa Canyon (10-6), No. 4 San Marcos (16-2), No. 5 Bishop’s (16-2) and No. 6 Torrey Pines (8-11). Semifinals are Tuesday, May 13.
ON DECK
El Cajon Valley (29-7) received the No. 1 seed in the section’s Division II boys volleyball playoffs.
Granite Hills (15-10) earned a berth in the Open Division playoffs as the No. 8 seed opposite No. 1 Carlsbad in the first round. The division playoffs include a double-elimination format with the opening two rounds on May 6 and May 8.
Third-round games are scheduled Saturday, May 10, followed by fourth-round games on Tuesday, May 13, a fifth round (if necessary) on Thursday, May 15, and championship game May 17 at the Francis Parker School.
Other East County playoff qualifiers include Foothills Christian (No. 3 in Division III at 16-14), Santana (No. 11 in Division III at 9-14), West Hills (No. 6 in Division IV at 14-16), Christian (No. 7 in Division IV at 19-12), El Capitan (No. 9 in Division IV at 21-13), Monte Vista (No. 1 in Division V at 21- 12) and Mountain Empire (No. 4 in Division V-AA at 10-7).
Finals for Division V and Division V-AA are Thursday, May 15 at MiraCosta College.
Finals are Friday, May 16, for Division III at Mira Mesa High School and Saturday, May 17, at Francis Parker for Division II and Division IV.
The San Diego Section gymnastics championships are scheduled May 23 at West Hills High School while the section’s boys golf tournament is scheduled May 19 (first round at the Steele Canyon Golf Club) and May 21 (Torrey Pines Golf Course-South).
