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Twenty-eight Champions Crowned at the Lake Placid Summit Classic’s 37th Year in the Adirondack Mountains

A player raises a fist in celebration with the Olympic ski jumps behind him

37th Lake Placid Summit Classic · Presented by Dude Wipes

A week-long celebration of the game in the Adirondack Mountains, and the annual gathering that has been a rite of passage since 1990.

Casey Vock August 21, 2026 Lake Placid, N.Y.

The passion for the game was on magnificent display as 28 teams were crowned champions at the 37th Lake Placid Summit Classic, a week-long celebration of lacrosse that every summer draws thousands of athletes and their families from across the continent to the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.

Presented by Dude Wipes, the 2026 edition of the Summit Classic kicked off the morning of Monday, July 27, marking an exciting start to pool play across the Scholastic divisions and launching a seven-day marathon of head-to-head matchups that carried through to Sunday, August 2. Contests were played at two adjacent, storied venues, the North Elba Athletic Fields and the Horse Show Grounds, as well as Wilson-Raymond Field at nearby Saranac Lake High School.

Founded in 1990 by longtime friends and teammates George Leveille and Mike DeRossi, the Summit Classic has evolved, becoming a required trip for all who partake in or simply enjoy the game — college stars, former professionals, world team athletes, all competing each summer beneath the Adirondacks’ most famous peaks, with Mount Marcy standing tall in the distance along with the iconic Olympic Ski Jumping Complex. Of course, the event draws many enthusiasts who just simply love the game.

37Years running
28Champions crowned
600+Games played
7Days of lacrosse
3Venues
Spectators line the sideline at the North Elba Athletic Fields with the High Peaks behind
Families line the sideline at the North Elba Athletic Fields, the High Peaks behind them. Photo: Casey Vock / Adirondack Iron

“This was one of the most rewarding and unforgettable weeks we’ve spent up here in Lake Placid,” said Ashley Murphy, SVP of PLL Play, the Premier Lacrosse League’s youth development and grassroots lacrosse division.

Along with longtime Summit Classic Brand and Event Director Kevin Leveille, Murphy oversaw the Lake Placid Summit Classic on its way to tremendous growth and to ultimately becoming a part of the Premier Lacrosse League. Leveille now oversees PLL Play youth strategy, and Murphy now leads the charge at PLL Play.

In her current role, Murphy sees Lake Placid as more important than ever not only as a getaway destination for lacrosse players, but a place where some of the most influential athletes and leaders come together to talk about the state of the game, its future and to see it played at a high level by men and women, boys and girls alike.

“Lake Placid is unlike anything else in other sports. People come here to truly engage as friends, as teammates, as fans and supporters of the game. Some of the most important conversations in lacrosse happen each year in the Adirondacks because of this event and how tight it’s helped keep our sport. Backed by the shield of the PLL, we’re more proud of that than ever before. This year’s Summit Classic was truly fantastic.”

Ashley Murphy, SVP of PLL Play

Thursday night at the Horse Show Grounds

As has become customary each Thursday at the tournament, the annual Lake Placid Legends induction ceremony was held at the Horse Show Grounds’ newly renovated pavilion. The emotional night applauded the contributions of beloved and well-known members of the Lake Placid lacrosse community.

The 2026 Lake Placid Legends award for Bill Hardy, burned into live-edge wood

Each inductee was given a torch burned into live-edge Adirondack wood, named for the person whose award it is. Seven plaques were handed out across six awards — Tyrone Croom and Tim Bethke shared the Grow the Game Award for CroArt.

Bill Hardy, centre in the brimmed hat, with his family at the 2026 Lake Placid Legends ceremony
Bill HardyLarry Piatelli Award
Dan Pratt, centre, after being honoured with the Travis Solomon Award
Dan PrattTravis Solomon Award
Bob Olsen holds the Dan Spillett Award at the Horse Show Grounds pavilion
Bob OlsenDan Spillett Award
George Denlein with the Paul Rose Award
George DenleinPaul Rose Award
Rachel Vallarelli, centre, with the Jim Muhlfelder Award
Rachel VallarelliJim Muhlfelder Award
Tyrone Croom and his family at the Lake Placid Legends ceremony
Tyrone CroomGrow the Game Award
Tim Bethke with the Grow the Game Award
Tim BethkeGrow the Game Award
An inductee is embraced at the Lake Placid Legends ceremony
The 2026 induction ceremony in the renovated pavilion at the Horse Show Grounds. Photo: Casey Vock / Adirondack Iron
A double rainbow over the grounds on the evening of the Legends ceremony
A double rainbow broke over the grounds on the evening of Thursday, July 30 — shortly before the Legends were called up. Photo: Casey Vock / Adirondack Iron

Like many longtime attendees, Tyrone Croom said that what started years ago as a family vacation has turned into a celebration shared with hundreds of fellow athletes, teammates, family members, old friends and new ones, too.

“Lake Placid has always been much more than a lacrosse tournament for me,” said the Sudbury, Mass., native. Croom played lacrosse at Lincoln-Sudbury High School and later the Salisbury School before going on to play collegiately at Susquehanna University. Eventually he returned to the Boston area, where he founded CroArt Sports in the early 2000s.

Now, he brings a long list of CroArt teams to the Adirondacks each summer. The memories, he said, will last a lifetime.

“The Legends ceremony this year was incredibly humbling, and the honor belongs to everyone who has helped build this experience over the years. The friendships, the competition, the sportsmanship and the sense of community are what make Placid so special.”

Tyrone Croom, CroArt Sports — Grow the Game Award

“The Lake Placid tournament is an event where we get to play the game we love, but more importantly, get to experience what it means to be part of something bigger than ourselves,” Croom said. “That was the common message from inductees, past members and tournament presenters.”

More than 600 games, three venues

Over the course of the week, more than 600 games were played at the various Summit Classic venues — the fields themselves carrying the names of the partners who backed them.

At the North Elba Athletic Fields

At the Horse Show Grounds

A plane crossing in front of the Olympic ski jumps at Lake Placid, as a posterised print
A plane out of the Lake Placid airport crosses in front of the iconic Olympic ski jumps above the lacrosse fields. Photo: Casey Vock / Adirondack Iron

What happened out there

Cloud Splitter players gather on the field with the Olympic ski jumps behind them

Cloud Splitter goes back-to-back at 70+

Cloud Splitter LC — the decades-old club George Leveille founded himself — went 3–0 in Men’s 70+ pool play, outscoring opponents 20–6 to repeat in the tournament’s most senior division a year after its debut. Rodney Rullman — the Virginia netminder who backstopped the Cavaliers to their first NCAA Division I title in 1972 — repeated as the division’s Gait Lacrosse MVP.

A Cold Brook player celebrates after the final

Cold Brook wins on both sides of the tournament

Cold Brook Lacrosse, the Placid staple from Central New York, took Men’s Open Silver on the Adult side and Boys 2027–2028 Silver on the Scholastic side — titles in both halves of the same week, with Julian Radossich and Ramon Mateo taking the MVPs.

Two Luv Lax players share a laugh on the sideline

Luv Lax takes Women’s 35+

The 8v8 division went to Luv Lax behind MVP Sarah Queener.

Brian Silcott turned in one of the week’s most unusual individual feats, earning Gait Lacrosse MVP honors in back-to-back divisions — first with Sailin’ Shoe in Men’s 55+, then again with Team Harley in Men’s 60+.

15 for Life, the Burnt Orange alumni-founded mental-health-awareness program, swept Boys 2029–2030 outright, taking both Gold (MVP Mason McCarthy) and Silver (MVP Jason Godlewski).

Two more programs repeated. In the Scholastic Girls Northstar Division — where teams are built almost entirely of committed college signees — the Golden Domers went back-to-back behind MVP Abby Sims. And the Aces Blue Spades moved up with their cohort from the Girls 2029–2030 title in 2025 to the Girls 2030–2031 title this year, with Mya Christian earning MVP honors.

“We’re incredibly grateful for such a memorable weekend and the opportunity to compete in an amazing event. There couldn’t have been a better way to finish our summer season.”

Aces Blue Spades, on Instagram after the win

Every division, every MVP

Twenty-eight champions across Adult and Scholastic play, with the Gait Lacrosse MVP for each division.

Tap any division to see the champions

DivisionChampionGait Lacrosse MVPPhoto
Boys 2027–2028 Summit— no champion crowned ——

The week in pictures

All photographs by Casey Vock / Adirondack Iron. Tap any frame to see it full.

Save the date

The 2027 Lake Placid Summit Classic is scheduled for August 2 to 8, 2027.

Check the full PLL Tournaments schedule to stay up to date on all our events across the country. Follow @lakeplacidlax, and @pll, @pllplay and @plltournaments to keep up with us all year long. #FNDURSUMT