UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – On Wednesday the Utica University Nexus Center put a bow on another national tournament that it had been hosting for the last four days, the 2023 National Collegiate Box Series (NCBS) National Championship.

The NCBS was established in 2018 through the U.S. Box Lacrosse Association and acts as a developmental league for the National Lacrosse League (NLL), the top professional league in the United States. The tournament included teams spanning coast-to-coast, San Jose, where the 2022 National Championship was held, and San Diego on the west to Connecticut, Buffalo, Rochester and the Washington D.C. on the east, with Columbus and Denver making up the middle. The title was won on Wednesday by the San Diego Royals, their third consecutive year claiming the trophy, defeating the Rochester-based Hawkeyes, 8-6.

This tournament serves as a tune-up for the venue which will be the host of some major international box lacrosse tournaments in the coming months and years including LAXNAI, the North American Box Lacrosse Invitational scheduled for the end of September, and the World Box Lacrosse Championships that will be held one year later.