Two National Champs!!
If you know our family at all, you know that we are an Ultimate family. We have been playing ultimate as a family since the boys were old enough to run, throw and catch a disc. And when I say we, I mean Clark and the rest of the family. Although I'm decent at throwing and catching a disc, I am a cheerleader at heart and prefer to cheer/yell/scream/curse if I need to, from the sidelines.
Dave Kroupa and the Lone Peak High School club team has developed an amazing Ultimate program for boys and girls ages 12 and up. We are so grateful for the connections that we've made in the Ultimate world. They have become some of our best friends. We even have a book club that some moms in our Ultimate group started. (Contact me if you're interested in joining- we're friendly and all inclusive.)
The Ultimate High School National Invite has been taking place for a while, but Lone Peak didn't attend because the tournament was played on Saturday and Sunday. After Lone Peak's strong standings in the Ultimate world, we asked for a change. The organization moved the tournament to play on Friday and Saturday, and in 2019 Lone Peak was invited to their first National Championship Tournament. This was very exciting. It was a chance for Lone Peak to prove themselves on the national stage... and they did. Although the boys and girls were both disappointed, they played respectably and placed 3rd for the boys and 2nd for the girls. I was fortunate enough to be there, because my then 9th grader played with our boys A team. It was a great tournament with a lot of great competition.
Then Covid happened---- and we'll leave it at that.
Fast forward to the school year 2021-2022. I now have two boys playing on the Lone Peak boys A team, a Junior and a Senior. It's one of my favorite things to see my boys playing together. They've been passing the disc to one another from the time they were two and three years old. I've loved (and stressed) every minute of watching them.
For the past few years, many Lone Peak Ultimate coaches and players have been looking forward to this particular year. Kroupa called it a long time ago. He said he couldn't wait for this group of boys. He knew they would go far. Unfortunately, Kroupa has been too ill to complete our journey with us in person, but he's been with us virtually every step of the way, and the boys attribute their success to him.
After a great in-state season (State Champs) and a great showing in a couple extra tournaments, we were prepared for Nationals. It is by invitation only. Sixteen teams received invitations. Lone Peak was the only one from Utah. Both the boys and girls teams were invited. However, all the talk at Nationals was about the Washington teams. They had three very strong contenders in the boys division. Even though Lone Peak was ranked 2nd and had proved themselves over and over, nobody thought we would pull it off.
We knew we could do it. We had the training. We had the confidence. We had the support. We had the determination to go all the way.
Day 1, Friday, June 10, 2022
Games are played to 15 with the half being taken when the first team gets to 8. The games are timed and capped at 90 minutes. Lone Peak never reached their time cap. You can read Day 1 highlights here.
Lone Peak is ranked 1st in Pool C.
Game 1: Lone Peak vs. Chapel Hill
Lone Peaks wins 15-3
Game 2: Lone Peak vs. Lexington Pi
Lone Peak wins 15-4
Game 3: Lone Peak vs. Eastside Prep
A little bit tougher game. It was neck and neck for the entire first half, but then Lone Peak digs in and jumps ahead.
Lone Peak wins 15-8
I'm not sure which game these clips are from, but here are a couple short video highlights of Kimball:
It was a successful Day 1. Because of that, we got a bye for the first round on Day 2.
Day 2, Saturday, June 11, 2022
Again, games are played to 15 with a 90 minute time cap.
Quarterfinals: Lone Peak vs. South Eugene
Lone Peak wins 15-6
Semifinals: Lone Peak vs. Lincoln
Lone Peak wins 15-7
The Championship Game: Lone Peak vs. Nathan Hale/Waldorf
This game was very intense. Nathan Hale/Waldorf was an exceptional team and has three players on it that are on the U20 National team. They were a tough competitor. While they had their three stars, we had an entire team of incredible players that have been playing together for a long time.
Sammy outrunning one of their star players
Kimball grabs another one with Grandpa watching in the background. After the half, we pretty much stayed ahead the rest of the time, but it was close enough to not let down at all.
When the score was 14-11 and the Whales had the disc, Kimball had a HUGE defensive play. He just knocked the disc down and took off running to the end zone. He and Everett must have been in sync. Everett picked it up before anyone had a chance to really think about it, and he hammered it.
Kimball is in the end zone and goes up for it, with a competitor right with him.
His timing is perfect. He skies the other guy and snags the disc.
He starts to go down. The disc has to stay in his hands.
He's still going down hard.
He hits the ground still clutching the disc.
Can he get back up?
Oh yeah!
Championship point!!!
Time to celebrate!
First with his brother- then comes the rest of the team.
Here are two more video clips. One of Kimball's defensive point, and the other of the game winning throw and catch! Yes, that is me screaming into the camera!
I've never been at such an exciting event. The win alone was exciting, but sharing it with so many family and friends was the most incredible. My little family was all there, but we had extended family support us as well. My mom and dad drove from Ohio to watch the tournament. My sister and two of her kids drove from New Jersey to watch their first ever Ultimate tournament. Everyone was SO into it and cheering like crazy! It was so much fun, and I am so grateful for the support from everyone. I'm especially grateful to our Ultimate family for the many hours given to my boys and Addi (she played at Nationals with the girls team as an 8th grader). Our family has been so blessed by the relationships we've made and the skills my children have developed over the years. Thank you!!
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