TFDA Blog

 TYUL’s One Huck Wonders Bring Home a National Title

One Huck Wonders, a U-16 team compiled from local TYUL members, won the Youth Club Championships in Blaine, MN on August 13-14.  Over two days of fierce competition, One Huck Wonders went undefeated to claim the first ever junior National Championship for North Carolina.

One Huck Wonders, led by Sol Yanuck and Eli Miller, fought tooth and nail to escape pool play unscathed, earning the #1 seed going into Sunday’s elimination rounds.  One Huck defeated Chicago in the quarterfinals and home team Minnesota in the semifinals only to find themselves in a rematch with Seattle whom they beat on universe point in pool play the day before.

  The finals started with Seattle and One Huck trading points to 3-3.  It was then that One Huck started to take over the game.  One Huck went on a 4-0 run to take half 7-3 on stellar offensive plays from Yanuck and Miller as well as sick layout d’s from Nathan Kwon.  Just one day earlier, Seattle had this exact advantage, and One Huck had come back to tie the game at 8-8 and eventually win the game 9-8.  The finals game had much the same feel.  One Huck came out of the half looking to put Seattle away and thought they had with the score 9-6.  Now it was Seattle’s turn for a miraculous comeback.  Using the athletic defense and head-spinning quickness that got them to the finals, Seattle brought the score back to 9-9, game to 10.   With Graveyard of the Atlantic (the TYUL U-19 team at Nationals), Minnesota, and the Bay Area teams showing great spirit from the sidelines cheering for both teams, universe point got underway.

Seattle pulled to One Huck and after several throws, turned the disc over, giving Seattle a chance to complete their comeback and get revenge from the day before.  But with the game on the line, Nathan Kwon did what he does best, and got a layout d on Seattle’s main handler.  After multiple throws, Yanuck put up a deep shot to Kevin Mateer for a goal, only to have it negated by a contested foul call.  With both teams running on empty, One Huck displayed great poise and patience, finally punching in the game winning goal, Yanuck to Miller !

As One Huck celebrated a national championship, they were mobbed by their biggest supporters, Graveyard of the Atlantic, who, with their relentless cheering, seemed to will One Huck to victory over Seattle. 

Despite the heated competition, each team was able to maintain a high level of spirit throughout the weekend as exhibited by the inter-team cheering during the awards ceremony.  Overall, it was a highly successful weekend for the sport as the future of Ultimate was showcased before our eyes. 

 Graveyard of the Atlantic Places Fifth at Youth Club Championships

TYUL’s U19 mixed team, Graveyard of the Atlantic, faced intense competition from around the country at the Youth Club Championships in Blaine, MN on August 13-14.  GOTA, for short, was made up of players from all over the greater Triangle area – Apex, Sanford, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro – really representing the growing youth community.  The players also ranged from age 13 to age 19, but none of that seemed to matter when they stepped on the field.

GOTA, led by captains Shellie Cohen and Brayton Maxson, headed to Minnesota with a goal to play as a cohesive unit on the field.  Since players came from so many different programs, early on coaches encouraged them to buy in to what they were taught on this team.  The players worked hard at multiple practices and track workouts each week and bonded seamlessly.  This dedication paid off when they stepped on the field in Minnesota.

The mixed division had teams from the Bay Area, Boston, Seattle, Idaho, Minnesota, Madison, and Chicago.  “The competition was really good, it was cool to see how advanced some of the youth leagues from around the area are already by high school age. Everyone was very athletic, and the games were fairly well matched every time. Our loss to Seattle was definitely one of the closest games all weekend,” said Shellie Cohen.

GOTA started off the tournament with that game against Seattle.  They came out strong and the game was exciting to watch.  With short rounds the cap came on when the teams were tied at 8s and Seattle went on to secure the win.  GOTA went on to be challenged by the Bay Area, but secured a win over Madison to gain a higher seed going into the bracket.

In quarterfinals, GOTA faced an incredibly athletic and fast-paced team from Idaho that was difficult to contain.  Despite being out of the championship bracket, GOTA was determined to work hard and break seed.  They brought the intensity from the quarterfinals game to their match up against Chicago to dominate the game 13-5.  This momentum continued into their last game against Minnesota.  In a much closer game, they dug in to win 11-8.

Shellie Cohen played an amazing tournament posting huge goals, assists, and Ds – making all three USA Ultimate lists for tournament leaders – she was versatile on the field and truly brought the team together.  Austin Faur, nicknamed ‘Rocket Ship’ during the course of the weekend for his unreal ups, punched in a number of key points for GOTA.  Luke Hancock ran the game from behind the disc with deep shots and patience on the endzone line to lead the team in assists.  GOTA played remarkable team D, with sick bids, hand blocks, and layout Ds by D’Andre Ward, Shellie Cohen, Will Maness, Laura Fradin, and Klara Claderon-Guthe.

Beyond great play, GOTA represented TYUL with their remarkable spirit on the field.  While all teams demonstrated great spirit, GOTA placed third in the Mixed division.  But the best demonstration of their spirit was seen during the U16 finals game where they became the eighth man for One Huck Wonders.  Splitting the sidelines, the North Carolina sideline was on their feet, loud, energized, and relentless throughout the entire game.  GOTA players anxiously awaited the winning goal to rush the field and congratulate the U16 players, proud to be from NC.