For many athletes, being part of the United States Olympic team is a goal that is strived for from youth.

For two Colorado Mesa University athletes, that dream is about to become a reality. Junior Alexis Rawlings and sophomore

Lauren Wells will be joining the United States Olympic lacrosse team in Europe this July.
“Playing here at CMU has given me a lot of great opportunities,” Wells said.

Rawlings and Wells, both from small Denver suburbs, began their journey toward the USA team when playing on the national team in high school. Scouts then followed their performance in college.

The process of getting invited to the team is easy — perform well and become ranked. They pick players that are ranked in the National Collegiate Athletic Association based on the statistics of the last season, including goals, assists, groundballs and points. After the statistics are looked at, they choose the top 116 players and divide them amongst three teams.

Another factor that plays into being chosen is if you receive all-league recognition.

Rawlings is ranked nationally in multiple categories, including points (76), points per game (32), goals per game (18), assists (74), assists per game (74), draw controls (51), ground balls (139), and goals (57).

“I think playing on the USA team is where I wanted to take lacrosse,” Rawlings said.

Wells is also ranked in NCvAA. She is recognized for her national rankings in goals-against average (28), saves (16), saves per game (3), save percentage (10), caused turnovers (158), and ground balls (38).

On July 19, Rawlings and Wells leave for Europe on a 10 day tour to represent not only the United States, but CMU as well.

The tour travels to Ireland, England and Sweden. The USA team will face off against multiple bordering countries.

cncooper@mavs.coloradomesa.edu