Moose Jaw's Quinn Ingalls will be heading south to play lacrosse and go to school next year. The local lacrosse player committed to play with Lander University for the 2019-20 season.

"I'm very excited, honestly, it's a long time coming, it's a long process and I was really happy to make my decision," said Ingalls. "Lander is a great school and a great place, I feel really comfortable there and I can't wait to get started in the upcoming season."

Ingalls has been mulling over the decision for quite some time, but he said two things swung things in Lander's favour, the first was hiring Anthony Lepore as the head coach, who had previously been recruiting Ingalls, and then going on his official visit to the campus in Greenwood, South Carolina.

"Everything just blew my mind, the campus and the facilities were all gorgeous and I could really see myself being there for the next four years and that's when I decided to make my decision and I was just so excited, it's something that I've worked really hard for a long time," said Ingalls.

Lander University is an NCAA Division II school and they will actually be playing their inaugural season during Ingalls' freshman year after just announcing the addition of a men's and women's lacrosse program earlier this year.

Making the jump to playing lacrosse at the college level will be a challenge, but it's one that Ingalls is looking to tackle head-on.

"I've got to gain some weight and some muscle mass for the big boys that I'll be playing down there, it's not your average pick-up lacrosse game that you have in Saskatchewan, it's the real deal now," said Ingalls. "I've got to pick up the stick a little bit more and put more time into working out and skill sessions and hopefully just keep developing."

Ingalls added that he's excited about the work ahead, "It definitely gives me a lot more motivation, I really want to make an impact as soon as I get down there," he said. "I want to start my freshman season."

Ingalls has spent the past couple of seasons playing box lacrosse with the Saskatchewan SWAT, finishing eighth in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League in scoring last season with 17 goals and 47 points in 13 games. The Moose Jaw product has also worked with ELEV8Lax in Calgary to help prepare for the move to the NCAA level.

Ingalls got his taste of the next level over the summer when he made Team Canada for the 2018 World Junior Lacrosse Championship in Saskatoon.

He said his experiences over the past few years, which included suffering a knee injury last year, have helped prepare him for what’s ahead.

"I've come such a long way with all the development and coaching that I've had over the years," said Ingalls. "I've had such a great opportunity to be coached by some of the best coaches from across Canada and I'm so grateful for them, without them I wouldn't be here right now."

Ingalls starts at Lander University next fall and plans on studying education.