The Boulder High Boys Lacrosse team is as tight-knit as it gets. They grew up together, playing on the same teams since they were little kids. Luke Nathan, ‘25, says that the core of the team is practically unchanged from the 2023 squad, but the growth of the players makes them scarcely recognizable from the team they were that season. The 2023 team had 10 freshmen on the roster, most of whom have continued to play in the program. The team’s growth and strength can be attributed to hard-working, high-achieving veterans in the program.
Nathan has played in every game since he entered high school, and currently has 100 career goals. Artie Hoverstock, ‘26, has also been a stalwart on the field since his freshman year, with 51 goals to his name over his three years. Toby Benham, ‘26, has spent 1693 minutes in goal over his career at Boulder High. Getting better is almost unavoidable when you play that much.
And they’ve done just that. In 2023, Boulder lost to Monarch 21-1. Last year wasn’t much better: A 16-2 defeat. This season, the Panthers bested the Coyotes 11-8. In 2023, Boulder lost to Mountain Range 20-6. Last year, it was 16-4 Mountain Range. And this season? The Panthers had a resounding 9-3 victory, with Nathan netting three goals and Hoverstock adding two of his own. But this newfound success isn’t just coming from the program veterans. Hoverstock’s brother, Quinton ‘26, has also made quite an impact. He already has 11 goals and eight assists over his first seven games.
Coach Nick Voigt is also at the root of the program’s newfound success. His work to foster a positive team culture has led to the team’s year-by-year improvement. Now in his seventh season, Voigt has been with the team through thick and thin. He’s witnessed colossal defeats, nailbiters that are decided at the last moment, and prodigious wins (such as their 17-1 victory on March 24 against Sage Creek, a school from California). Through it all, Coach Voigt has been at his players’ sides. Trevor Russack, ‘26, says that Coach Voigt often reminds the team that no matter how hard it gets, to always “Value the game. It could be gone in the blink of an eye.”
The team has it a little harder than most other sports teams at Boulder High: they didn’t switch leagues this season. Their schedule is as difficult as ever, but they’ve handled it well thus far. They are 6-4, two of the team’s losses came in heartbreakers to Erie and Douglas County, the latter arguably being one of the best teams in the state. And of course, they’ve already won twice against teams they suffered big losses to in the last two years.
On April 9th, the Panthers continued this pattern, beating 6-1 Heritage at home, a team they’ve lost to by one goal in each of the last two seasons. The game ended with an overtime goal by the older Hoverstock as time expired. Nathan also netted his 100th career goal in the 13-12 victory. Boulder has the chance for revenge three more times this season, facing off against opponents they’ve suffered defeats to in 2023 and 2024.
There’s no reason why the Panthers can’t flip the script. They seem to be putting everything together this year: with Nathan’s fiery attack, the Hoverstock brothers, an experienced midfield and defense, and Benham in goal, Boulder lacrosse seems hard to stop. The team keeps trending upwards, and it’s fun to watch.
