Two members of last year’s Point Loma High School lacrosse program have earned positions on the teams of their respective colleges as freshmen. Hunter Hirsch is currently playing for the UC San Diego Tritons while Campbell Irvine is red-shirting for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs, currently the top-rated team in the nation in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) rankings. The pair has given credibility to the Pointer program, which is beginning to show strength against longer-established county teams. Once popular at PLHS, lacrosse was brought back three years ago, capturing the interest of area youth all the way down to first-graders in a developmental program created to feed the Pointer team. A mix of football, hockey and basketball, lacrosse is credited by many professional people as an integral part of their development. Hirsch, who played football throughout his prep career, was an original member of the reborn lacrosse program at PLHS in 2010, learning the game after never playing before. “Football taught me the value of hard work and dedication,” Hirsch remembers, “and I can honestly say that without Coach (Mike) Hastings and the Pointer program, I wouldn’t be the person, student or athlete I am today. I also had great mentors like (coaches Dave) Aros, (Mike) Estanol and (Jon) Posternack. Some of their lessons still resonate with me on a daily basis.”  His Tritons are an MCLA Div. II team, playing in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference. The 34-man roster includes eight from San Diego County and players from Oslo, Norway and Singapore, Malaysia. “The people at UCSD are very motivated, intelligent and hard-working,” Hirsch said, “so when you have a whole team full of those types of people, it provides a great environment for growth and improvement.”  Wearing jersey No. 6, Hirsch sees plenty of playing time as a midfielder on UCSD’s La Jolla turf. He is second in scoring on the team with 12 goals and four assists.   The Tritons currently sport a 4-6 overall record in the 13-team conference’s Western Division.  Hirsch is majoring in computer studies and engineering after compiling a 4.4 grade-point average at PLHS. “The academics here (UCSD) are a huge step up from high school,” he said, “and I am constantly humbled to realize how many future doctors, scientists and engineers I have the privilege of calling my friends.”  Both Hirsch and Irvine credit former PLHS head coach Will Akie for their knowledge and love of the game. “He really opened my eyes to the game,” Irvine said. For Irvine, a long-time Pointer baseball player, lacrosse was a new spring sport for him last year at this time. He took on a huge task, trying out for a national power in the MCLA Div. I Mustangs. As might be expected, the sport is popular on the San Luis Obispo campus. No less than 43 players are listed on the active roster (13 from San Diego County) while Irvine and a dozen others are in training while saving their four years of eligibility as red-shirts. At Cal Poly “the older guys gave the rookies a pretty tough time at first,” Irvine said, but soon accepted him and “taught me a lot, giving me a ton of pointers (no pun intended) to help improve my game.”  Next year, Irvine, who wears jersey No. 48, will become an attacker for the Mustangs. Meanwhile, the Pointer alum has seen his Mustangs take first place in the seven-team Western Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (WCLL) with an overall record of 13-1. “Every game means a lot,” Irvine said, “because if you lose once it could be devastating to your rank.” Entering Cal Poly with a 3.8 PLHS grade-point average, Irvine is enjoying his situation.  “San Luis Obispo is a great place to live,” he said, “and the people are awesome. School is challenging, but really fun and there are a lot of things to do here.” Majoring in forestry and natural resources, Irvine said he hopes to one day become a helicopter pilot — either in the military or in a firefighting role. Irvine’s Mustangs will be favored in the WCLL Final Four tournament May 5-6 and hope to earn a spot in the MCLA National Championships to be held May 14-19 in Greenville, S.C.  Both student-athletes credit PLHS for preparing them for their current challenges. “It’s an awesome school with great sports programs that prepared me for the hard work it would take to succeed here,” Hirsch said.