Est. 2019 - Out of Hibernation 2022

In the summer of 2016, Gore State co-founder Brian Greiner was playing in the Men’s Open Division of his first Vail Shootout. A fellow Vail teammate and former Assistant Coach from the University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team made an introduction to our O.G. draw man Pat Coskren. While first night mountain waters (Coors Lattes) were being consumed and stories shared, Pat learned that Brian was moving to Austin, TX after the tournament. Pat instantly made the introduction to eventual co-founder and all around great guy Brett Neal, who was also moving to Austin, TX and the journey began.

A core group was formed in the village during that 2016 tournament (the Savage Seven) and we decided to keep the party going, meeting up for tournaments on the Northeaster circuit for the rest of the summer. Battling with The Black Dog and Mighty Ducks in Newport, Cape Cod, and Southie had everyone pumped for a return to Vail in 2017.

A few more turbulent years would pass in the Elite Division before things came to a head in 2019 and Brett and Brian decided to start their own team. The time seemed right, as they were now eligible to join the 30 and up Men’s Masters Division. The crew would be anchored by the Savage Seven, but what would the team be called…

Well, we mentioned turbulent times, and we’ll just leave it at having something to do with Fish. Well what is the greatest predator to a fish (e.g. a salmon)? A Grizzly Bear. Wait, where is Vail…oh, it’s in the Gore Range on the Gore Creek. Gore…gory…Gore Grizz…beautiful alliteration…something’s still missing. Well it’s not uncommon to see alumni groups forming teams at tournaments like the Vail Shootout. Middlebury, University of Denver, etc. Well the Savage Seven went to all different Schools - University of Michigan, Rensselaer Polytechnice Institute, NYIT (defunct), Merrimack College, Springfield College…So we formed our own, fake alumni group - the Gore State Grizzlies - So we sound like a college, and people do ask in the airport when they see the gear :)

Unfortunately, even though we had the idea in 2019, we all know the world went to shit for a few years and we never really had a chance to get the team off the ground. Until 2022. When the Gore State Grizzlies finally came out of their long hibernation. In that first year, we had an interesting stage…it was also going to be the 50th anniversary of the Vail Lacrosse Shootout. Nostalgia was on blast and lacrosse media was pumping up the event with the fervor of the 80s/90s lacrosse scene. Lacrosse legend Quint Kessenich maybe captured this best in his article When Vail Was King.

As part of the 50th anniversary, the Denver Outlaws (MLL) formed their first alumni team and were the belle of the ball. With a star studded cast, the expectation was that Colorado’s favorite sons would return to Ford 1 as the perfect statement piece of this 50th edition competition. This juggernaut would also be Gore State’s first game in program history.

We’ll save you the suspense. With a lean cast of 14 players, the Grizz beat the Outlaws in that first ever contest (6-5) and went on to spoil the show taking the 2022 Masters Division Championship and starting a legacy that we hope to represent and defend for many years to come.

We have fielded Masters teams in 2022, 2023, and 2024 before joining forces with the 10th Mountain Lacrosse - Montucky Old Snacks for the 2025 campaign. Gore State is roaring back in 2026 and will be debuting new gear in collaboration with our great partners at Graph-Tex. Supermasters (40+) is also on the horizon.

If you’d like to join the legacy and grab a few mountain waters at Garf’s, The Red Lion, Vendetta’s, Elevation, etc…reach out! We’re always considering new talent and tournament opportunities!

Don’t. Poke. The. Bear. Go State!