Panther Athletics

York College Athletics

Let the Games Begin

Esports begins competitive gaming season

York College takes on the University of Hawaii at Manoa in a mid-season Overwatch match.

Esports, York College’s newest addition to Panther Athletics, began their inaugural season this fall competing in Overwatch, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros Ultimate through the National Association for Collegiate Esports. Rocket League competed in a 9-week season, Overwatch in a 6-week season, and Smash Bros competed through two different qualifying tournaments for Midwest schools. “The competition wasn’t easy, and we regularly faced Division I schools, the likes Tucker of San Diego State University, Colorado State University and University of Hawaii,” said esports head coach Collin Tucker (’15). “But I always tell the players that just like in life, it’s not always about winning, but it is always about learning. You can always learn something from those better than you, whether we win or lose. Growth should always be a priority.”

This spring, the esports program will be competing in League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Overwatch, and Hearthstone.

“The nice thing about esports is that we can always add and adjust the games we compete in.” Coach Tucker said he had plans to add more games in the future, along the lines of Madden, FIFA, and Chess. Chess was one game with incredible involvement at the high school level in the 2020-21 school year. During the pandemic, the free chess platform chess.com had a record number of new users. Chess champions started streaming and teaching the game on Twitch and YouTube, and the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit really generated new excitement about one of the world’s oldest games.

“It’s a great opportunity to grow our program with a classic game that is now played online every day. Plus games like chess make it easier for my parents to explain what I do for a living,” joked Tucker.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

The majority of the games the students compete in are team based games that rely heavily on communication, strategy, trust, and incredible focus and reaction time. There are timing windows, objectives to be taken, and setups to be made in order for a team to succeed.

“Most of the players know the game way better than I do, and I try to always create opportunities for them to learn from each other,” said Tucker. “In some ways, students have learned that they have the capability to teach, while others have realized that they don’t know how to learn or react to criticism. Again, it’s always about growth.”

Tucker explained that video games are almost always under constant development, meaning that when an update comes out, the team has to change the strategies they just built the week before. Characters in-game have different skills, roles and positions in the game, and are on “tier lists.” He added, “A character you love to play may not be good anymore after an update, so you have to quickly learn a new character in order to stay on top of your game.”

“As a coach I actually am sometimes restricted to coaching during a match, meaning the players typically have to step up to make calls and strategy changes,” Coach Tucker reflected. “That responsibility can be daunting, but students gain a lot of confidence when they know it’s up to them to step up, and they have people they trust backing them.”

If you are interested in knowing more about the program and possible scholarship opportunities, Coach Tucker can be reached at ctucker@york.edu. n

Hosea Kiptoo's dream of qualifying for Nationals came true at the KCAC Championships when the senior from Rift Valley, Kenya ran his career-best time of 26:26.1.

(l-r) Cecilia Castillo, Maria Geesaman, Hannah DeHart, and Lizzy Logan all ran their career-best times at the NCCAA Cross Country Championships, November 6.

photo by Bob DeHart ’95

photo by Bob DeHart ’95

photo by Bob DeHart ’95

Cross Country saved their best times for November and had two runners qualify for the NAIA Cross Country Championships in Vancouver, Washington. Hosea Kiptoo (SR/Rift Valley, Kenya) finished with a career-best time of 26:26 at the KCAC Championships. His pace in the 8K was almost a minute faster than his previous best and was good enough to give the team 13 points in the conference standings.

Maria Geesaman (SR/ Greeley, CO) also qualified for Nationals with her 5K time of 19:27 and helped the team to a 5th place finish at the KCAC Championships. The following week, the women's team had four athletes compete at the NCCAA Cross Country Championships in Joplin, Mo., and each runner turned in a career-best time: Geesaman – 18:43, Lizzy Logan (JR/ Hallsvillle, TX) – 19:57, Hannah DeHart (JR/York, NE) – 20:26, and Cecilia Castillo (SO/Plant City, FL) – 21:03. Geesaman broke her own York College record by 10 seconds en route to a 6th place finish, becoming a four-time NCCAA Cross Country/Track and Field All-American. (see pg. 29) n

Kiptoo Geesaman

Men's Wrestling hosted its second annual York College Open on the opening weekend of NAIA wrestling. It was a busy day in the Freeman Center as head coach Chad Mattox designed the tournament to have a round-robin type set up with multiple brackets in each weight class to allow all wrestlers five matches.

The Panthers had four wrestlers win their bracket and go a perfect 5-0 on the day. Marce Vasquez (SR/ Vasquez Bridgeport, NE) highlighted the event with all five wins via pin in the first round in the 285A bracket. His incredible feat earned him KCAC Wrestler of the Week honors as well. Brayden Smith (SO/ Kearney, NE) wrestling in the 149A bracket, had a very successful day on the mat as well with three firstperiod pins, followed by a tech fall and a major decision in his championship bout. John Fox (JR/ Gilroy, CA) picked up three pins, a tech fall, and a decision on his way to a firstFox place finish in the 157B bracket. Tommy Wentz (FR/ Fremont, NE) had a tougher day in the 165 bracket as he won his first two matches via fall and then two decisions and a sudden victory in overtime. Harley Williamson and Edwin Youngdell each placed second for the Panthers going 4-1 on the day. Dezmond McSellers, Corey Parsons, and Terrence Smith all went 3-2 and earned a third place finish for the Panthers. n

Smith