College athletics aren’t just a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); they can also be intramural or club.
Intramural collegiate sports are played only within the walls of a university and are mostly noncompetitive, whereas recreational collegiate sports are played with different universities facing off against each other and have designated leagues.
The Chico State club men’s lacrosse team, founded in 1985, proves that a sports program can be student-run, flexible and still be successful.
The Wildcats play in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League, which is designated as Division II. The other teams in their league are the UC Davis Aggies, the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, the San Jose State Spartans, the Saint Mary’s Gaels and the Cal Poly Humboldt Hogs.
The ’Cats, led by 24-year-old coach Larkin Koker, are heading back to the playoffs this season as their league success highlights their determination. This is Koker’s first year as head coach, but as a Chico State alumnus of 2024 and former player, he said the adjustment was easy.
Koker played for the ’Cats throughout his entire college career and helped bring home the first men’s lacrosse state championship, also in 2024.
Koker recalled that his favorite memory as a coach so far was the team’s first win of the season over California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. They won that high-scoring game 17-13.
“It’s very hard early on to gauge where we are as a team,” Koker said. “I think that game really set the tone for the rest of our season.”
Koker described the season so far as “nothing but a dog fight,” so winning the first game of the season helped boost the ’Cats’ confidence as they began regular gameplay.
While the ’Cats have had on-field success, there have been struggles within the team.
“Getting them to commit to show up is an uphill battle,” Koker said. “But when it comes to accountability on and off the field, I think that’s been one of our major improvements this year.”
He described the next generation of student-athletes who play for the team as teammates who push each other and himself as a coach, to be better in all aspects of the game.
There has already been an increase in performance from the end of last season, when they lost in dramatic fashion in the first round of the playoffs.
The ’Cats fell to the UC Davis Aggies, 24-4, ending their season in disappointment.
“Being able to bounce back from a season like that, especially the way it ended in the playoffs,” Koker said. “We have a new fire under us.”
Reed Werner, a freshman, describes how his teammates welcomed him and the other freshmen, giving them a sense of belonging.
“Meeting the guys, making new friends, it’s helped me socially,” Werner said.
Werner also said that his time on the rec team is more relaxing than his high school team, with more flexible hours, fewer regulations and everyone being adults.
Despite their successful performance so far this season, Werner still believes that it would be better if more people came out to join the team.
“In the beginning, a lot of people came out, but some people didn’t make grades or didn’t have time to commit to the sport,” Werner said. “So if we could get everyone who loves lacrosse to come out, that would be huge for the team.”
The grade requirement to stay on the team is a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Zach Williamson, a senior, reiterates how the championship win in his sophomore year was the highlight of his collegiate lacrosse career.
“We won the championship for our league against Saint Mary’s, which was super fun,” Williamson said.
Being a senior and almost ready to graduate, Williamson has many lives outside of lacrosse. Being in a fraternity, having a job and staying on top of classwork have all been struggles he’s faced throughout the season, especially now that they are going to the playoffs again.
However, learning to stay on top of everything and serving as the team captain for two years has helped him land a job after graduation.
“I put that on my resume, and it looked really good,” Williamson said. “I have an internship [currently] and then I’ll have a full-time job offer after [graduation] for Enterprise.”
Williamson describes the difference in trust with this team and his high school team. He said that having their coach be closer to their age allows the team to bond and share experiences.
“Everyone’s here to win,” Williamson said. “But we all also have our own lives going on.”
Williamson hopes the team can keep the energy and momentum up going forward as the senior class heads towards both playoffs and graduation.
Jack Auzenne, a junior, also recalled the exciting 2024 championship game from his freshman year.
He speaks highly of the team’s league play so far, from beating Humboldt, Santa Cruz and Saint Mary’s, to his confidence in their upcoming game against San Jose State.
“Starting the season is always kind of rough, getting back into the swing of things, picking back up with the cardio, and mentally it’s also been kind of tough,” Auzenne said. “We’ve had down years where we’ll lose four or five games in a row, but you just have to keep pushing.”
Auzenne said he has made lifelong friends from the team and has learned a lot about himself and his teammates in the process.
“There will be more games to win and more opportunities to compete,” Auzenne said.
He explained that winning a game after a hard loss helps bring the bond back together, making it stronger than before.
Auzenne played four years of lacrosse in high school and he feels that “it’s the same level of camaraderie” between that team and the Chico State team.
“I’ve learned so much about myself that I don’t think I would’ve been able to learn outside of a competitive sports team,” Auzenne said.
Auzenne, along with his teammates, encourages anyone interested in joining the team to come out and try out.
If you’re interested in playing for the 2027 season, stop by the men’s lacrosse table at the beginning of the fall 2026 semester and sign up with your name, phone number and email. The team will contact you with meeting information from there.
“You’re not going to lose anything from it,” Auzenne said. “Best case scenario, you stick it out for the remainder of your time in college, and you meet amazing people and make lasting friendships.”
The ’Cats have two more regular-season games, with their next home game being on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. at the University Stadium. Admission is free for everyone.
For more information about the men’s lacrosse team and the full roster, visit their MCLA page.
Elizabeth Perez can be reached at [email protected]
