LAX Hall of Fame Inducts 2 Coaches

The Tennessee Chapter of USA Lacrosse will induct two outstanding MUS coaches into its inaugural Hall of Fame: Mr. Elliott Dent and Mr. Dave Gearhardt.
Arriving from Hampden-Sydney College in 1996, Dent turned a fledgling varsity sport into a competitive interscholastic program. He quickly began compiling a remarkable 293-78 record with 13 state championships, and he coached 34 All-Americans. In addition, he played a major role in the development of the primarily East Coast sport in Tennessee. Dent was named The Commercial Appeal’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year eight times. He was Tennessee Scholastic Lacrosse Association Coach of the Year in 1999 and served as TSLA president from 2001-04 and vice-president in 2000. He was a co-founder of the Memphis Lacrosse Indoor League (1996-04), the Memphis Lacrosse Summer League (1997-08), and the Memphis Lacrosse youth League (1998-05). In 2002 he was the coach for the West All-Star Team in the United States Lacrosse High School All-Star Games, and in 2019 he was assistant coach for the Under Armour All-America Highlight Division South Team. 

“Coach Dent brought honor to the Red and Blue throughout his tenure as the head lacrosse coach at MUS,” Athletic Director Bobby Alston said. “He built a program that excelled on the field and competed with class. He is very worthy of this recognition.”

Gearhardt, MUS head coach from 1990-96, coached the Owls to their first state championship in 1990 and also coached at Hutchison School from 2009-22. His Hutchison teams won eight TGLA state championships. In addition to MUS, he founded teams at Southwestern at Memphis, Germantown High School, Team Stickhead Girls Lacrosse Club, No-Excuse Girls Lacrosse Club, and Memphis Men’s Lacrosse Club. Gearhardt has been the president and a board member of the Tennessee Girls Lacrosse Association since 2017.

The USA Lacrosse Tennessee Chapter will honor the inductees in Nashville on February 1, 2023.
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