June 9, 2015
BALTIMORE, Md.; June 9, 2015 - A trio of incoming Nittany Lions have been selected to the 2016 U.S. Men's National Under-19 Team's 108-player tryout pool for a chance to complete at the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship next July.
Grant Ament (Haverford, Pa.), Kevin Hill (Webster, N.Y.) and Thomas Wright (Garden City, N.Y) were invited to the tryouts, held from June 29-July 1 at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md. Those selected to the tryout pool were picked by the team's coaching staff, thanks to the assistance of evaluations by a collection of high school and college coaches around the country from a group of 400 applicants. The three-day tryout will yield 50 selections, who will return for a second tryout Aug. 7-9 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The final roster will feature 23 names.
Ament and the Haverford Fords finished the year 26-0, topping the Nike/LM High School Boys' Top 25. He was named an Under Armour All-American and an All-EPCLA honoree this season after leading Delco with 110 points (37 goals, 63 assists).
Hill completed his second year as a co-captain at Webster Thomas with a loss in the Section V Class B championship game. The All-Section first team and Section 5 Class B All-Tournament Team honoree, Hill produced the best season of his career with 69 goals and 33 assists.
Wright was a 2015 All-USA Preseason Boys Lacrosse team honoree after a Nassau County Long Stick Midfielder of the Year junior campaign at Garden City. Widely regarded as one of the top long poles in the country, he helped lead Garden City to conference championships his freshman and sophomore years.
With the help of Penn State associate head coach Peter Toner, serving the team as an assistant coach, the United States will seek its eight consecutive world title at the FIL U-19 World Championship, held in Coquitlam, British Columbia in July 2016. The U-19 team maintains a 41-2 record in international play, and is the only team to win gold at the U-19 World Championship.