After a long two days of competition starting on June 13, the boys ultimate frisbee team finished 5th at the HSNI (High School National Invite) national tournament, hosted this year in Allentown, PA.
It was the first time in program history that Haven ultimate sent two teams to the high school national invitational. Haven was one of four schools in the country sending teams in both the boys and girls divisions, according to Haven ultimate’s social media.
The boys came in at the 13 seed, and far exceeded expectations with their 5th place finish.
On day one, the Panthers started off strong, going 2-1 on the day.
“We played a lot better in our first and third games, and definitely as a result of us really stepping up in cheering for our team on the sideline and being positive,” senior Rhys Jarvis said.
The Panthers won their first game big, winning 14-8 over Washington D.C.-based Jackson Reed. It was a big win for the team, as Jackson Reed was the #1 seeded team at the tournament.
They went on to lose their second game of the day by a narrow 3-point margin, and finished the day strong winning the third game 15-11.
Senior Rhys Jarvis was fairly confident going into day two. “We should at least get into top 8, and maybe pull something off,” he said.
Day two would bring significant challenges with very heavy rain throughout the entire day. Players were constantly trying to dry their hands, and changing into dry jerseys due to the discomfort being soaked brought.
The Panthers would falter in some important moments that day, going 3-1. That one loss would come in the quarterfinals against Minnesota-based Open World Learning (OWL), eliminating them from contention for first place.
Ultimately, they would finish 5th in the final few rounds, and become closer as a team.
“I think we have a very positive environment on the team, and I love being on it. I feel like the team pushes me to be a better person on and off the field,” junior Jack Logue said.
The team will be losing a few important seniors after this year, and their chances at making it back to nationals are a big question for them going into the next season.
“I think it’s too early to tell [if they’ll make it back to nationals next year], I think it’ll be very difficult for them… I think they can do it if they are able to fill in some of the gaps of the seniors,” Jarvis said.
