Who are the best players in the Ohio Valley region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
Joe “Mama” Marmerstein for CWRU. Amazing Handler and took CWRU to their first ever conference championship in history. Even last year took WashU to over perform.
Matt “Bruce” Peterson for Akron. Took Akron to its first ever regionals. Do it all player with top flight athletic ability.
Tent Dillion and Max Thorne for Pitt.
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All region players:
Kevin Soneson (Akron)- crazy athletic cutter, often plays both ways and highlight plays are to be expected every time he steps on the field. He consistently gets open on the top teams in the region and converts on risky upfield throws to keep the Akron offense moving.
Jon “Diesel” DeAmicis (Akron)- the heart and soul of the Akron defense. He can layout and sky just about anyone in country and does on a regular basis. He helps get the team fired up on defense and defends the other teams’ best player.
Coach:
Eric Zarobila “EZ” (Akron)- He is one of the most knowledgable ultimate minds in the Ohio area. He has helped coach the team up from a group of goons that chase discs to a regionals qualifying team for the first time in program history. Whether it is teaching rookies fundamentals or making in game adjustments, the Goonsquad has benefited from his know how from day one.
Rookie:
Cory Kistow (Akron)- He has matched the most athletic players stride for stride with his natural ability. He gets up and lays out like no other and has been improving his downfield throws.
Sir Paul Arters.
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Craig Kaiser from Dayton for All-Freshmen. Super athletic guy who is consistently the best cutter on the team
Definitely Thorne and Dillon for Pitt, also from Pennsylvania: David Shields (Patrol) and Doug Roman (Philly Spinners) have been dominant
Full disclosure: Jacob Smith - Assistant Coach for Penn State.
I’ll start by repping current players at PSU and then I will comment on players from West Penn sectionals and any teams I saw play during the regular season.
Penn State:
Codi Wood (#21) - the most important player on SPANK. I’ve never seen someone develop talent as quickly as he has in three years. A leader on the field and off, we would be nowhere without Codi’s work ethic, inspiration to his teammates and performance this season.
Marcus Thaw (#25) - last chance to graduate: fingers crossed
In all seriousness, Marcus is an incredibly skilled player and has lead us to victory several times in his 5 years with the team. His value on SPANK this season has been big, but if you asked him who deserved our 1st team nomination, I bet he would proudly say Codi Wood.
Colin Masino (#15) - back playing after a four year hiatus from HS ball. Filled some serious gaps in our team from roster turnover. Plays with emotion - you’ll hear him go “yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhh” a few times next weekend.
Marc Sands (#41) - transitioned from collegiate baseball two years ago. Very athletic deep threat and defender. Remember his number, he’ll be back next year.
Graham Walker (#20) - captain along side Codi, taking the more vocal role. He performs in big games and executes at times when a coach would shake his head. Shooters gotta shoot.
Nate Donaher (#72) - Invaluable cutter on our offensive line. Great hands and a fearless attitude. Absolutely deserves FOTY honors.
Pittsburgh:
Max Thorne, Trent Dillion, Pat Earles - no introduction needed.
Carl Morgenstern - the most impressive player at sectionals.
Saul Graves - coming into his own behind the disc. Tight breaks and solid defense.
Christian Pitts - surprised he didn’t get an all region nod last year.
Mike Ing (FOTY) - great understanding of deep cut timing.
Carnegie Mellon:
Justin Abel - CMU pulled off the upset over Ship in the 3/4 game at conferences. I’m sure he had a lot to do with that.
Temple:
Paul Klimkowski - crafty handler. Hey P!!!
Ohio State:
Paul Arters - our team has always struggled with his match up. Elite thrower.
Hamza Dodo - seems to be their guy on the d line to get things started.
They also had a ton of solid dudes who’s names I don’t know. Would love to see some input from people in Ohio on the forum.
Case Western:
Joe Marmerstein - haven’t seen him play with Case this season but I know he balls.
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Note: I coach West Chester (East Penn 2nd place), so I will keep my nominations to the east penn section
West Chester-
Will Hoehne, Senior (#42)-
Dominant big man and west chester’s unstoppable engine on offense. Beats people deep with ease, also takes easy unders and can hit a dime in the endzone from half field. Destroys zones as apex cutter. Best aerial threat in section and possibly region. Shuts down opposing team’s best cutter on U line. Literally uncoverable.
Dustin Sullivan, Senior (#93)-
Super talented main handler and occasional cutter on west Chester. Amazing stand still hucks and lock down defender. Consistent decision making, fakes and intelligence. Good in the air and cutting as well. Plays O line and D line when we need him. West chester’s Swiss army knife.
Jimmy Thomas, Senior (#4)-
Started off new to the sport a couple years ago and had outworked everyone since then. Great handler defense. Go-to middle handler for the D line and responsible for quite a few breaks. Crafty, experienced and intelligent. Plays O line when necessary.
Chris Pokorny, Senior (#10)-
Incredibly intelligent senior who plays every position equally well. Suffered a devastating broken knee cap in early March which should have ended his season. Worked with doctors on PT religiously and was cleared to play for sectionals, which he came out and dominated at. Assisted with coaching during his injured time. Consumate team player.
FOTY- Austin Lillis (#3)-
From not playing ultimate a year ago, to b team in the fall to a rock on WCU’s D-line, this guy has worked his way up. Has talent, athleticism and coachability. Will do big things years to come
UPenn-
David Shields, Doug Roman-
I second these nominations. These two guys are very hard to cover and play well both ways.
Villanova-
Ethan Fortin-
Very talented and hard working. Has built the program up over the past several years. Great guy. I’m sure others will have more specific things to say.
Millersville-
Bobby Yu, Senior-
In Bobby’s last year at MU, the team was rebuilding and wasn’t quite as successful as in years past. His talent, athleticism and cheerful attitude, however, have left their mark on the young squad and will pay dividends in future years.
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I am surprised I haven’t seen a nomination for Max Sheppard yet. He is a phenomenal player. Even though Edinboro had a disappointing year there is no doubt that Max Sheppard is one of the best players in the region.
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Ohio State: Paul Arters (seems to be the hardest matchup anyone will have in the region outside of the Pittsburgh brotherhood. Incredible mix of speed and skill, not to mention intelligence. The respect that is given is shown just by being mentioned before the Pittsburgh faction.)
Pittsburgh: Max Thorne, Pat Earles, Trent Dillon, Christian Pitts, Jack Slevin, and Sam Van Dussen (the first three need no words of mine to tell people how great they are. Having talked to Pitt players and opponents, Christian is their most dominant deep threat and has been for last 2 years, while Slevin is the glue that holds the O-Line together as a center handler. Sam Van has absurd pulls and deep rips and seems to cover big matchups for opposing teams.)
Penn State: Codi Wood, Marcus Thaw, and Marc Sands (Wood is their best offensive threat with the disc in his hands and will be the key for them next weekend if they want to do anything big. Thaw is a perennial all region player and his dominance on the field is well documented in his opponents heads. Sands athleticism is hard to match, plays the game with a fire and passion, and often matches up with opponents best players regardless of their height).
Watched the East Penn Sectionals so here are my thoughts on these players:
Pennsylvania: David Shields and Doug Roman(Skeeter) (Shields is someone who does everything well and plays both ways whenever called upon. While suffering an arm injury at sectionals he tossed deep bombs to Roman and others while still being on point. Will be cool to see how he matches up with players like Thorne and Arters if he is given the chance. Roman(Skeeter) is a deep threat that is tough to match, knows when to take his shots and when to collect the easy unders. Doesn’t need to be the spot light player due to the teams depth but is 100% their go to when it comes to down field shots. Nobody could stop him at sectionals and it will be great to see who wants to try to stop him at regionals.)
West Chester: Will Hoehne, Dustin Sullivan, Chris Pokorny(Yamen), Jimmy Thomas, and Devin Foster (Hoehne is a dominant force on the offensive side of the disc, nobody matches his size and strength. Tough to matchup with and take away one part of the field let alone two. Can drop dimes if needed. Sullivan is more than likely the most underrated player in the region. A Noah Saul type of player, rarely turns the disc over, makes intelligent throws, and has every aspect of the game in his wheelhouse. Offense or Defense he is a guy you want on the line with you, as he constantly sacrifices for those next to him. Pokorny (or should I say Yamen) is a player who had been dominant before his injury, undoubtedly the best east penn player prior to it, and will not be surprised if he still is after. Seeing him at sectionals was surprising due to how recent the injury was, but with how he played, he seems to be using his above average throws rather than his above average speed to kill teams. He is also a collegiate baseball convert to the sport. Thomas is a key cog in their defense, and has help bring a program to the school. His throws and shut down handler defense have helped the team get to where they are, and will continue to help it get to where they are going. Foster dominated the skies in the games he played and often takes the best offensive player regardless of their position. Suffered an undisclosed injury at sectionals but wI’ll hopefully help this team to a more impressive showing at regionals than ever before.)
Villanova: Ethan Fortin (Dominant with the disc in his hands and tough to keep the disc out of them. Has put the program on his back and shown them the way to regionals ever since he got to Nova. Big things will come from this player and this program.)
Coach: Ken Wells (West Chester). Having watched the East Penn Sectionals he was the most interactive coach at the tournament. The team looks to have gone from a cellar dweller in the section to a top half of the region team in the time that he has been there. Intelligence and stratagey is one thing that he seems to have, as well as the ability to get his team enthusiastic to play, shown through their destruction of Temple in the 2nd place game at sectionals after suffering a tough loss to Penn in the finals. Although Darryl Stanley is a great coach and won the section, Wells was the more notable coach of the weekend.
FOTY: Cole Drummond (West Chester). Having watched the East Penn Sectionals, this player was one of the most dominant players on the field for all ages. Ruled the skies and had throws that some 5th year seniors wish they had. He will show the region a thing or two this year along with years to come
East Penn All Conference
Jonathan Collins - Villanova
Ryan Coughlan - Temple
Ethan Fortin - Villanova
Will Hoehne - West Chester
Douglass Roman - Penn
David Shields - Penn
Dustin Sullivan - West Chester
Second Team All Conference
Sean Cohen - Penn
Phillip Cheng - Penn
Devin Foster - West Chester
Alex Haynes - Drexel
Aaron Heath - Millersville
Paul Klimkowski - Temple
Jimmy Thomas - West Chester
Ohio State: Paul Arters, Hamza Dodo, Cody Fox
Cincinnati: Justin Latz, Adam Turner
Ohio: Alex Flamm, Matt Olson, Lloyd Furuta
Pitt: Max Thorne, Pat Earles, Christian Pitts, Trent Dillion
Penn State: Marcus Thaw
FOTY: Elliot Skindzier (Cincinnati)
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I nominate Max Sheppard!
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Sounds like you didn’t look far from WCU’s sideline for your East Penn scouting report. The only players you mention that aren’t on your team are on spinners/patrol.
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He deserves POTY. Well, him or Trent Dillon.
For All-Freshman I nominate Kunal Rath from Case Western Reserve University
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I heard he has like twice as many platelets as the other case rookies
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Pitt: Max Thorne, Trent Dillon, Pat Earles, Christian Pitts, and Jack Slevin
PSU: Marcus Thaw, Codi Wood, and Marc Sands
Edinboro: Max Sheppard
OSU: Paul Arters
UPenn: David Shields, Doug Roman, and Phillip Cheng
WC: Dustin Sullivan, Will Hoehne, Chris Pokorny, Jimmy Thomas, and Devin Foster
Temple: Paul Klimkowsky and Ryan Coughlan
Villanova: Ethan Fortin, Jon Collins, and Chris Dixon
FOY: Cole Drummund (WC)
All of these players don’t need any words to prove that they’re capable of being all region, their play should show it, and never the less decide whether or not they get the honor.
Be ready for Pittsburgh-B show up big this weekend.
Players to looks out for:
Hafeez Shams - runs the show
Ben Morgenstern - the younger Carl but better at throwing
Matt Wallheim - runs fast and gets Ds
Jay Boyle - will throw goals
Here’s my post-regionals take on all-region and all-freshman voting:
(see above for my sectionals breakdown)
IMO if your team was not competing in the back door quarters or above, it’s very difficult to argue that a player deserves 1st team recognition.
1st Team:
Joe Marmerstein - POTY (Case Western)
Trent Dillion (Pitt)
Pat Earles (Pitt)
Codi Wood (Penn State)
Christian Pitts (Pitt)
Paul Arters (OSU)
*Max Thorne (Pitt) - did not play at sectionals or regionals, but still deserves the award from the regular season. I hope everything is okay and he’s just resting for the big show.
2nd Team:
Marcus Thaw (Penn State)
David Bloodgood (Lehigh)
Tarik Akyuz (Case Western)
Jack Slevin / Carl Morgenstern (Pitt)
David Shields (UPenn)
Up for grabs
Justin Carter (Lehigh)
Adam Shrager (Penn State)
Jack Slevin / Carl Morgenstern (Pitt) - whoever you didn’t choose above
Matt Olson (Ohio)
Another player from UPenn??
Another player from OSU??
Another player from Case Western?? After Marmerstein & Akyuz they all seemed to hold equal weight.
Some people I think equally deserve the final spot (^), but please add in comments about players I may have missed. As PSU’s assistant coach I can only judge against teams we competed against or little snippets of others that I caught between games.
All Freshman:
1st Team: Mike Ing (Pitt)
2nd Team: Nate Donaher (Penn State)
… add in whoever else, I prefer the old format over an all-freshman team.