This weekend, the Manhattan High School Ultimate Team concluded the season on a high note. The team traveled to Lawrence where they took part in a round robin tournament against Lawrence Free State and Shawnee Mission East. Not only did Manhattan defeat both teams in dominating fashion, but the victories solidified the team’s undefeated record for the year. As champions of the tournament against the only other two teams in Kansas, MHS declared themselves the state champions of Ultimate.

“We beat [Shawnee Mission East] 13-4 and then we beat Lawrence Free State next 13-2,” junior team leader Colin Beauregard said. “It felt amazing, the best feeling in the world.”

The team wasn’t sure what to expect of their rivals entering the tournament. In their previous meeting against Lawrence Free State, MHS had only just snuck away with a 11-10 win, while they had never played Shawnee Mission East before. The Indians faced a setback early on and had to compensate for a few players missing at the start. However, MHS prevailed.

“We had 7 players and only 2 substitutes to come in. We were playing what you would call ‘savage’ in ultimate terms,” Beauregard said. “It was tough at first, but we did have 3 guys eventually show up late. That helped.”

Another setback that the team had to overcome was the absence of their leader and club president, junior John Benfer. Benfer, who was competing in the National Business Professionals of America Competition in California, was one of Manhattan’s main leaders. Luckily for the team, key upperclassmen stepped up to fill the leadership void.

“We had some other key players step up in Kyle Thompson, Colt Joyce, as well as lots of other guys who could fill that leadership aspect. We were definitely missing a key element without John,” Beauregard said.

As the undefeated self-proclaimed state champions, Manhattan High’s Ultimate team appears to have a case to be considered for the National tournament sponsored by USA Ultimate. However, since the this Saturday’s tournament was not technically official, the team will have to stay at home this year. Not to be discouraged, Manhattan has set their eyes on next season’s National tournament instead. The team is confident that they have what it takes to make it there.

“Our tournament that we played this year was just a fun, round robin tournament. If we make a bid to create a state tournament through USA ultimate, then we can technically be qualified for nationals. That takes place in Dallas,” Beauregard said. “That is still a possibility for next year. We are a really young team and I have hope for the future.”

Despite having been an official club for two years, the team has cemented themselves as a powerhouse in the state of Kansas. The team has time and time again pointed to their head coach, Shawn Kokenge, as the reason for their success. The former K-State Ultimate coach has established himself as the go-to-guy for ultimate knowledge in Manhattan. Kokenge’s teachings have made practice exciting and worthwhile for the players. Team members also stress that freedom and the player-friendly setup of the game has made the game attractive to them.

“Honestly, I love it the most because it is a self-officiated sport. If someone makes a call, a bad call, then you talk things through as players,” Beauregard said. “There is no ref that makes the decisions that angers one side or the other. It’s just us officiating the game and determining what goes on.”

Now the the season is over, the Ultimate team isn’t going to let themselves lose focus. After a two year span filled with achievements, the team wants to keep the momentum going into the offseason and beyond.

“We just have to keep working on our ultimate IQ and executing certain throws,” Beauregard said.”We have to keep on keeping on. We expect to continue to see success in our game. It should be an interesting season next year and we I think we will prevail.”