Who are the best players in the South Central region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
Well, Iāll get this conversation started. Iām going to operate under the premise that there should be 7-10 players on an All-Region squadron. Given what Iāve seen (sorry to Rice and the Texas section - I havenāt seen any of these teams yet), these are my top 7 with 3 back-ups. Iāll start by going through the teams that Iāve seen and discussing the players that I think deserve the nod.
NORTH SOUTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE:
CS Mines - theyāve got a few high-caliber players (handlers James Miller, Scott Harris, and their big cutter (name unknown, but heās the one who lost the teeth in the collision) but as competitive as the All-Region selection is going to be, I have to say I think only their yellow-hatted, star handler Patrick Boyker deserves the selection. Almost every other throw goes through him and heās got a dirty high release flick thatās hard to guard against. Heās very, very quick and plays almost every point. Great player, definitely all-Region.
TSU - I wish I knew his name or #, but like Mines, TSU has a bunch of capable, skilled players, but the only one who really stands out to me is their shorter, head-banded, man-bunned handler. Anyone whoās played them knows who Iām talking about. He and Patrick (above) are very comparable in my mind and he definitely runs their entire offense. He was a pain to cover and he had all the throws in the book. I think is value was underscored by the fact that TSU really struggled after he was injured/hospitalized from the Mines-teeth-collision. Best wishes to him and his recovery.
Hendrix - solid, up-and-coming group, but no players that crack the top 10.
Tulsa - balanced team with capable, skilled players, but no one that really stood out as top 10 in the Region.
Harding - we only played them at MLC in November and didnāt see them play at Conf. Championships, but Iād equate them with Tulsa. No stand-out, All-Region players.
Colorado College (CC) - Wow. These guys are good. CC could land a lot of players in the top 10, but to me, from what Iāve seen from scrimmaging them and watching them play in the finals vs. JBU, Iād say it comes down to 3 key players for them. The first is their captain, lone senior, and very talented big man, Ian Adams. That guyās got great throws but also can come down with every disc. Very impressive to watch. Heās on the all-region team for sure. The next two are they wily, very talented handlers, Grant Mitchell and Bear (real name unknown). Damn these guys can handle and get open. Very fun to watch them work their resets and confidently hit hucks and breaks. Both make the top 10 in my opinion.
John Brown (JBU) - from playing them twice, all I can say is that JBU deserves their #1 ranking due to the fact that they are all so talented. Every player out there can throw, bid, play great D, and not drop anything. Very impressive how widespread their talent is. Like CC, theyāve got a lot of guys who could be top 10 in some way, but JBUās only very stand-out player has got to be #14, Ethan Penner. Wow, that guy can play. He can dominant the show for them and be unstoppable when he needs to be. A ton of respect goes to that guy for his skill and sportsmanship. If I were to name one more player, it would be their big, taller handler (name unknown, maybe #20 - Aric Powers? (Iām not sure)). He made solid decisions, and got open as a handler and had big throws.
Missouri S&T - Havenāt played them since MLC, but from what I remember from then and last yearās sectionals, theyāve got a handler with reddish hair who always wears a white hat who seems to run the show. Heās tough to cover and is very capable on the field. I wish I knew his name or number, but people should know who Iām talking about if theyāve played S&T.
EDIT - forgot that we played them at Tulsa Dust Bowl in February too. my bad.
Air Force (AF) - Iāll try to remove my bias and try to be as objective as possible. Iād say our team has two/three standouts worthy of top 10. The first one is a no brainer in my mind. Senior Mitch Willis, #7, is a hell of an athlete, leader, and a great co-captain. In my mind, heās one of the top D-3 defenders in the country and is excellent in the air, using his size and athleticism to catch everything and box out everyone else. Very worthy of the All-Region nod. Next up is Alan Villanueva #42 and potential d-3 freshman of the region. Alan is an excellent, flashy player who has possibly the best (and trickiest) arsenal of throws Iāve seen in all of D-3. Heās terrific in the air and is a supreme handler. Finally, is fellow senior, Justin Miller, #9. He may not be the most noticeable or flashy of players, but heās an excellent center handler and leader on the team. He can break any mark and can hit any throw he needs to, including some pinpoint hucks. Heās worthy of top ~10 as well. Finally, an aside - as I know some people know him out there from his years and years of youth and HS ultimate - Noa Chun-Moy. He joined us late in the season and couldnāt attend Conf Championships (has only played at Easterns), but anyoneās who knows him or has seen him play will put him in the same category as Grant, Bear, Patrick, and TSUās man-bunned handler. Heās only a freshman, but is super quick, confident, and lethal on the field. However, due to his late joining of the team and missing of Conf. Championships, out of fairness, I donāt think he gets the nod.
TEXAS CONFERENCE
Rice - Iām sure theyāve got 1 or 2 players worthy of the list, but I have only seen them play in passing and canāt comment.
Dallas - unsure
Trinity - unsure
Midwestern State - unsure
Hereās my top 7 and then the 3 subs that compose my best All-regional line:
In no particular order:
-
Grant Mitchell (CC)
-
Bear (CC)
-
Ian Adams (CC)
-
Patrick Boyker (Mines)
-
TSU Man-bun (TSU)
-
Mitch Willis (AF)
-
Ethan Penner (JBU)
-
Alan Villanueva (AF) -> freshmen of the region
-
Red-head, white hat (S&T)
-
JBUās big handler (#20, Aric Powers?)
Honorable mentions and/or guys who could arguably crack this list
11. Justin Miller (AFU)
12. Rice top player #1
13. Rice top player #2?
Well, thatās all Iāve got. Iām sure this list can/will need to be amended after Regionals. Once again, this is purely one guyās thoughts after seeing some of these teams in action one or twice. I may (likely) be missing a few all-region candidates. Letās get a convo on this for sure though as weāve got one of, if not, the best D-3 regions in the country!
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Disclaimer: I am a JBU alumni so have slight biases, but I do a lot of reporting for Ultiworld and get to see a lot of teams throughout the year.
Just to help clarify some of your comments for anyone interested.
Minesā big cutter is named Zach Cotter.
TSUās player is - unless they have another crazy man-bun handler, which Iām 99% sure they donāt - named Brendan Cirillo. Definitely a player who is deserving of being in the All-Region running.
CCās āBearā is really named Jason Bair. I only know that because I got lucky enough to see it typed out.
JBU - The big handler that you are referencing is, in fact, Aric Powers. I will admit a bias here as an alum of John Brown, but he is an often overlooked player in the Region. He turned in a +26 performance on the weekend with only 6 turns all weekend while running their offensive show.
Missouri S&T - I am actually not 100% positive that I have the correct player pegged here, but I am thinking that you are referencing Kelly Mauntel. Someone can hopefully confirm one way or another.
As far as your final nominations, I actually think youāve got a very detailed report from the teams youāve played and have very reasonable nominations. I might tweak a few things just for the sake of some fun conversation.
First, I might at least throw Spencer Patterson from JBU into the FotY conversation. He does not quite bring the artistic license that Alan does to the table, but he is extremely effective at throwing for a Freshman. And he makes some of the crazier layout, energy-saving plays for JBU.
That said, Alan has played extremely well this year from watching him at Dust Bowl and Conferences. Iām not going to begrudge that he would be a legitimate choice for the award.
I would advocate for 2 players from Rice - who you briefly allude to - in Johnny Frolichstein and Alex Heath. Those two have been studs all year for them.
Alex is huge in the air. Wish I could be in Colorado to watch him go against some of the other elite deep threats. Johnny played PLEX last year and you can see he is a very holistic player. I think the only knock against him is he may not do any singular thing at the elite level of some other players, but he also brings one of the most complete packages any player in the Region can offer.
And once more, not to beat a dead horse even if it is one of my favorite activities, I would really advocate for Aric Powers to be on 1st-team All-Region. I think he is easily on par with guys like Boyker. I donāt think he should get punished for the cutting talent around him, which allows him to not be an every other kind of handle. But make no mistake, I donāt think there is any handle who clearly runs an offense better than him.
All that said, Iām sure things will emerge a bit more at Regionals. Thanks for starting the conversation. Decided there wasnāt enough comments in here, so I thought I would hop in
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Well, after Regionals I just thought I would list out the players who have any potential and what the top honors I think they could win are. Youāll note that Iām including a lot more than 7 per team, but thatās simply because Iām trying to start conversations. So if I include a weak candidate, or missed someone obvious, I hope people hop in and note that!
Also, still think it would be awesome to someday have an All-Region tournament where the teams that get selected play each other. USAU should make this happen. Maybe it would be hard for players to logistically commit to it, but I would love to see it attempted.
I also am a big believer that talent is correlated to placement and so I award a lot more spots to the top 3 teams because they were clearly the class of the Region. Honestly, there are individuals who could be 1st-teamers from the bottom teams, but I think all 7 1st-team members could easily be from those top 3 teams. In order of finishers:
Air Force Candidates
Mitch Willis (1st-team)
Alan Villanueva (1st-team, FOTY, All-Freshman)
Justin Miller (1st-team)
Jake Johnson (2nd-team)
Noa Chun-Moy (2nd-team, All-Freshman)
Air Force has some strong role players that I almost included. #5 Trevor Browning comes to mind as an insanely quick defender. But Air Force showed off impressive depth this week and made it hard to include some guys because they simply didnāt have to do as much. I think these are the guys I would want on an All-Region team. I wouldnāt be upset if a few more Air Force guys were put into running for 2nd-team. Theyāre deep enough to warrant quite a few spots. There might have been a #17 on their team who played really well as a handler? Not seeing that number on their roster, so maybe I got that mixed up. Anyways, point is they were very, very good and deserve multiple spots on both teams.
John Brown Ironfist
Aric Powers (1st-team)
Ethan Penner (1st-team, POTY)
Grant Bruner (1st-team)
Ryan Gulbranson (2nd-team)
Ethan Bolthouse (2nd-team)
Spencer Patterson (2nd-team, FOTY, All-Freshman)
Josiah Johnson (2nd-team, FOTY, All-Freshman)
I have biases here and know this roster better than any other, so I apologize if I gush a bit. But John Brown played with 8 of their 13 (only 12 on Saturday) guys being Freshman and Sophomores! Bruner (#15) is a Sophomore who was a force on Saturday and Sunday. Only took 3 points off all Saturday and still couldnāt really be guarded by anyone. Also, Johnson (#80) and Patterson (#67) did a lot all weekend long for JBU. Theyāre only Freshman, but they go harder after discs than almost anyone in the entire Region. They both bring energy to different sides of the disc right now - Johnson does more defensively while Patterson is a more natural offensive talent - but both show that they can dominate on both sides of the disc. They have the potential to be one of the deadliest combos JBU has ever had in future years. If it werenāt for the fact that Villanueva has played great all year long for Air Force, one of them would have been a shoo-in for FOTY. But as it is, I hope they at least get considered! One last shout to Gulbranson (#2) for his ferocious wing play on Sunday. If you saw a blonde giant eating up a large portion of the field - especially against Colorado College - then this was him. He also has powerful upline cuts. Heās not fast, but heās so big and has great fundamentals so they can just put the disc out for him to get and he brings it down almost every time.
Colorado College Candidates
Ian Adams (1st-team, POTY)
Grant Mitchell (1st-team, FOTY, All-Freshman)
The one they call Chewy - Joel Fisher-Katz, I believe? (1st-team)
Jason Bair (2nd-team)
Isaac Rubinstein (2nd-team)
The one they call The Future - #34, I think (Assuming he is a Freshman then he should be All-Freshman)
Colorado College didnāt have quite the same dominance that they did at Conferences, but they were still deeper than teams not named Ironfist or Afterburn. They will be very, very good for years to come and deserve some spots. Especially Grant is going to be hard to contain. Heās quick and agile and lefties are like cheat codes anyways. Apologies for not knowing for certain a few of their players, but these guys made me pay attention to them. I think thereās probably even a few more guys not mentioned that could at least get named here, although I think these guys are their best bets for nominations.
Rice Cloud 9 Candidates
Alex Heath (1st-team)
Johnny Frolichstein (2nd-team)
Austin Benavides (2nd-team)
I feel bad for the older guys on Rice as they have just had tough luck the past few years. But come Sunday the top teams showed up and just had more depth than them. I still think they get a few spots with the above players, but I donāt think they deserve much more All-Region nominations.
Colorado Mines Entropy
Zach Cotter (1st-team)
Scott Harris (2nd-team)
Patrick Boyker (2nd-team)
I hope to see more from this team in coming years. They showed up and put it all on the line, but their talent just couldnāt overcome the top teamsā talent and I donāt think they get a lot of All-Region spots.
Truman State JujiTSU
Brendan Cirillo (1st-team)
Joe Williamson-Link (2nd-team)
Sean Eberle (All-Freshman)
It was unfortunate that this team had to travel with such a small roster as they still put a lot of heart into their games. At the end of the day this team just struggled against the depth of the others. Eberle, who is a rookie I believe, is a fantastic addition to the team and should get more attention as he develops.
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Hey everyone. First of all, we just want to say thank you to everyone for a phenomenal weekend of competition. Congratulations to Air Force for a dominant showing, and good luck to the three qualifiers at Nationals. Thinking this could be the year the South Central brings home the title.
We would like to put our two cents in for who gets the nod for All Region. We tried to remain unbiased, but obviously this is Rice contributing to the conversation, so keep that in mind.
First Team
Mitch Willis, Air Force
Grant Mitchell, Colorado College
Ian Adams, Colorado College
Ethan Penner, JBU
Aric Powers, JBU
Alex Heath, Rice
Johnny Frohlichstein, Rice
Mitch Willis: This guy is massive. He was a dominant force in every game we played, and he was able to get open under on our top defenders, often on a late stall as a bailout. Heās incredibly tough in the air, with a strong vertical and a huge ability to box out defenders. We were really impressed with Mitch in both of our games with Air Force; he absolutely deserves the nod for first team. His ability to stand out on a team of athletic studs is also pretty remarkable; Air Force was so solid in every aspect, but Mitch was the main standout to us.
Grant Mitchell: It seems thereās some pretty widespread agreement that this guy belongs on first team. Although he is a younger player, he plays the game with the poise of someone who has been playing for quite some time. He was able to stay very calm and collected in our four man cup, and his hucks were some of the best in the region. We would also like to commend Grant for his spirit; he continually congratulated our players for making good plays, and considered every call he made/contested very carefully.
Ian Adams: This guy is a competitor. He played a lot of Oline when we went against him, and he always drew our top downfield defender. His size makes him a huge deep threat, but heās also smart and quick enough to read his defender and pick the right option to get himself open. His thoughtfulness translated to his ability as a thrower, always making the right decision, whether that was a dump to Bair or Grant following the throw, or turning and hitting the mid-range huck. Very strong player. He also simply loves to play ultimate. Great spirit, and maybe the nicest guy on CC, other than that one dude who guarded Heath all of the second day (props to that guy).
Ethan Penner: Itās no secret that Ethan is one of the best players in our region. Heās been someone weāve really had to gameplan for the past few years, and weāre glad that his team was able to rally and secure a spot at nationals without him. Ethan is one of the most complete players not only in the region, but perhaps in all of DIII Nation. Heās a slippery cutter whoās really, really tough to guard, and one of the smartest defenders weāve ever faced. It also seems like heās worked really hard to develop his throws, which have certainly improved over the years. Note that we did not play against Ethan this year, but we know his skill level is definitely deserving of first team from years past.
Aric Powers: Our first thing to note is that Aricās pulls were mesmerizing. It looked like he was doing a little jig every time, and then he would pull it and we would usually be trapped on our force sideline. On a more serious note, the team rallied behind Aric. He was clearly the leader of the team, and the driving force of their success. He directed their offense, either staying back and handling or immediately cutting deep for the huck, and also directed the zone, always the deep deep, commanding his troops. We willingly give him the nod for first team, as we suspect most teams in the region will.
Alex Heath: Well, our secret weapon is no longer a secret. You all saw Heath get absolutely huge time and time again this weekend. You all definitely know him as a deep threat, which is definitely the best aspect of his game; some of his grabs in our win over Colorado College didnāt even look real. He has a knack for positioning himself to get big, and is completely willing to put his body on the line for the disc. But heās a lot more than just a deep threat. We had a run of breaks against Air Force in our pool play game before they came back on us, and that run of breaks started with Heathās absolutely massive upwind flick huck to Johnny for a score. Heathās throws have really developed well since his freshman year. Heās also got a great quick release backhand break that is almost impossible to stop without fouling. Defensively, being guarded by Heath is miserable; he makes Ds on discs he has no business being near, and has a really strong presence of mind to position himself to create turnovers. To have such a well-rounded player who also is so elite in one domain (as a deep threat) is incredible. Also, heās trying out for Truck Stop in a couple weeks; wish him luck!
Johnny Frohlichstein: Johnny is the man who brought the heart to this team. His play style is that of an elite player. He does exactly what he needs to do, when itās required. This might mean making the 60 yard upwind huck, the layout D in the endzone, or the simple swing as a handler. His defense is superb, always shutting down his man downfield. When Jacob Moore says that he is the holistic package, he is completely right. Johnny is the guy who is the solid foundation who will win your team the game. You can always count him to make the right play. His plays might have been slightly overshadowed, or gone unnoticed, but make no doubt, that if youāre going against this tall blond haired guy, that you know you need to bring your best.
Second Team
Brendan Cirillo, Truman State
Alan Villanueva, Air Force
Noa Chun-Moy, Air Force
Patrick Boyker, Colorado Mines
Spencer Patterson, JBU
Austin Benavides, Rice
Abhijit Brahme, Rice
Brendan Cirillo: Brendan is one of the most tenacious players weāve ever played against. He was a really talented handler who has improved his hucks tremendously, and that lefty scoober wasnāt too shabby either. Brendan is a superb athlete and was the only guy we saw all weekend who was able to get up over Heath. Carries a lot of the weight on the Truman team. Heās another really spirited player; Brendan plays the game with a lot of fire but always remains respectful, which is a balance we appreciate a lot.
Alan Villanueva: Alan was tremendous all weekend. A key handler for Air Force, he made every throw that they needed him to. He would throw a nice force side flick, or simply beat his man around with a backhand. He also had crazy high releases, given they were all downwind. In addition, a great defender in the air. He made solid Dās in the air with his height and vertical. We expect this guy to develop into one of the strongest members of the South Central region in the coming years.
Noa Chun-Moy: Damn. His upwind hucks were massive. He would catch a dump running forward and then launch a 50-60 yard upwind bomb to his teammate. Once he learns how to develop other aspects of his game, which no doubt he will, Noa is going to be a top 3 handler in this region. Weāre definitely watching out for this guy. Stick with ultimate, donāt do fencing! 
Patrick Boyker: Boyker clearly has a lot of experience. He throws-and-goās as well as anyone in the region and has a great first step after his throws. Heās a very dynamic player, often going downfield to cut deep. The high-release flick yāall were talking about is also the real deal. Mines had a ton of strong athletes (see: honorable mentions) but Boyker impressed us the most out of anyone from them.
Spencer Patterson: We canāt believe this guy is only a rookie. He hadnāt done much in our game against JBU, and all of a sudden, he came up with a MASSIVE layout D in the endzone. This guy seems like a super athlete who will develop into one of the biggest threats in the region in the coming years. Canāt wait to see him progress as a player. Also, mad props to JBU overall for qualifying with the short roster.
Austin Benavides: Someone had to huck it to Heath and put it in a place where only he could catch it. Austin was a second team member last year and absolutely deserves the honor again. His hucks are pinpoint, some of the best in the region (almost every team we played went straight up on him at some point or another), and his ability to get open upline as a handler has improved greatly since last year. His defense has also improved, as he uses smart positioning to be in the right place at the right time in order to create turnovers.
Abhijit Brahme: This is the bearded Indian guy who would limit handlers like no other. His defense and tenacity is relentless and would be a ridiculous help to our defense. Also, his sky in the CC pool play game probably won us the game. Itās important to note that his vertical is higher than Heathās, meaning he has the biggest vertical in the region. He would also shred zones like paper single-handedly. Watch out for him in the coming years to be a dominant force both on O and on D.
Honorable Mentions
Grant Bruner, JBU
Bolthouse, JBU
Matt Beers, Truman State
Jason Bair, CC
James Miller, Colorado Mines
Avery Zaleski, Rice
Hopefully this provides some nice insight into this weekend. Once again, thank yāall for a great competitive weekend. Weāll see you next year
Alright - more (updated) thoughts from AF after seeing these teams in greater detail after Regionals.
1st Team
- Mitch Willis, AF
-pretty unanimous here; heās a beast. Enough said. - Grant Mitchell, CC
-pretty unanimous; confident, extremely capable handler that drives CCās offense - Ethan Penner, JBU
-unanimous; bummer he wasnāt at Regionals, but definitely in POTY discussion - Ian Adams, CC
-Another beast, great player - Alex Heath, Rice
-Riceās best overall player, great receiver, heās a major force all over the field - Zach Cotter, Mines
-Wow, he really impressed me at Regionals after not seeing him (due to injury) at Conferences. He can sky mostly anyone and makes a ton of huge defensive plays. - Justin Miller, AFU
-He really stepped it up at Regionals and played on pretty much every crucial O and D line all weekend. He drives AFās offense and while he isnāt super flashy, he completes every throw and plays excellent defense. In addition he can break any mark, which is immensely valuable. He will be a significant loss for the team next year.
2nd Team
- Austin Benavides, Rice
-As Rice said, he can launch the hucks and hammersā¦ Wow. Very impressive to watch. A lot of them went OB, but when they were good, they were really good. Great player - Aric Powers, JBU
-Tough call here as I was torn between him or Justin for the 7th and last spot on the 1st team line. Like Justin and Grant, he runs his teamās offense and is very capable with all the standard throws in the book. Heās very hard to guard and plays very well by being the central figure of JBU. - Noa Chun-Moy, AF
-A strong case could be made for him to be on the 1st team line too as he plays very similar to Grant. Heās certainly in the top 2 for FotY and can hit any throw in the book. Heās quick, gets layout Dās, and is an extremely smart player. Another year of college experience and bulking up will have him in the Regional PotY and National PotY discussion. - Patrick Boker, Mines
-Man, this guy is quick. Those high release flicks and his aggressiveness on Dā¦ very fun to watch. Runs Minesā offense and is definitely a top Regional player - Brendan Cirillo, TSU
-Very similar to Patrick. Runs TSUās everything. Can huck, burn you, and make great Dās. - Jason Bair, CC
-An exceptional handler that works extremely well with Grant. Very quick, can hit the necessary throws, and is major pain to guard. - Alan Villanueva, AF
-Like Noa, an appeal could definitely be made for him to be on the 1st team. He can sky pretty much anyone and has the trickiest/wildest throws out there that will literally drop jaws. And itās got to be him or Noa for FotY. Another year of college experience, and wow, I wouldnāt ever go deep on him or throw a zone near him.
Honorable mentions (damn this region is stacked!)/Third team
- James Miller, Mines
Catches everything, has dirty break throws, and is so hard to guard. Very close to 2nd team, if not on it - Joel Fisher-Katz, CC
Great D player. Excellent bids, great throws, and extremely passionate out there - Trevor Browning, AF
Only a sophomore, but already a top 3 defender in this region. Holy cow can he blanket someone and take them out of the game. Heās lightning quick and can get up. Heās 1st team for sure in a year or two once he gets all his throws down - Spencer Patterson, JB
Super quick, impossible to guard, and developing quickly. Iād say 3rd in the running for FotY - Matt Beers, TS
Damn, that guys has wheels and will literally chase anything down. Donāt underestimate him because he will burn anyone! - Scott Harris, Mines
Great captain, and has exceptional throws and hucks. He leads that team well and deserves attention for being an outstanding player - Ryan Gulbranson, JB
Exceptional player and great guy. Very capable handler and made amazing D plays. Really a major force on the field
Well - itās hard to give everyone the attention they deserve, but Iām happy with these picks. These are the 21 guys that I saw have the biggest, consistent, and most impressive roles all season, and especially during Conferences/Regionals.
Thanks!
-Jake
Jacob,
Youāre right about #17 - thatās James Coyne '16, one of our O handlers. Heās listed as #18 on USAU, but was borrowing someoneās jersey set. Definitely a force to be reckoned with with his super quick handler movement and give and goes. Heāll also pull out a major layout D from time to time that will just blow our team away.
Thanks for the additional comments! I definitely agree with the talent correlated to placement part, as I tried to structure my picks around that too.
- Jake
I saw Trevor and Spencer running after a disc together on Sunday during the championship game. Spencer, who is crazy fast, didnāt realize how fast Trevor was. After Spencer realized Trevor was catching him, they seemed to go almost stride for stride into simultaneous layouts. Trevor won the battle tipping the disc away.
Can we just get hyped on that match-up in future years? Iām honestly not sure if there are any faster straight-line players in the Region right now. For reference on their speed, we timed Spencer at my club teamās combine and he ran a 4.46 40 time - Iām not kidding about this. For sake of timing error, weāll say he runs a 4.55 to be on the safe side. Trevor has to be right around the same speed from what I can tell.
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That was a sick moment- we were all super impressed by that play and commenting how we rarely if ever, see dual layouts like that in D-III. Definitely one of the best plays Iāve seen in a while. And we havenāt taken 40 times, but I know Trevor ran a sub 50sec 400m in track in HS and almost walked onto our D-I T&Field team here, so that gives you an idea of his speed. Unfortunately, we had two ex-D-I 100m runners on our team this year with that sort of speed (or faster), but they both quit in January :ā( Oh what couldāve been haha.
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Hey all,
Thanks for all the love and great competition this year! Here are my thoughts on who should be in the conversation for 1st and 2nd team All-Region, and All-Freshman.
1st team contenders
Mitch Willis
Justin Miller
Ethan Penner
Aric Powers
Grant Mitchell
Ian Adams
Alan Villanueva or Brendan Cirillo or Patrick Boyker or Jason Bair
2nd team contenders
Abhijit Brahme
Joel Fischer Katz
Colin Laskodi
Trevor Browning
number 39 from Colorado College
Alex Heath
Johnny Frolichstein
The three that werenāt chosen for 1st team.
Air Force
Justin Miller- Justin is a stud. He is quiet, I would compare him to Noah Saul, in the fact that he makes things work. Maybe the most underrated player in our region. He does not normally do the flashy stuff, unless heās Dylan Freechilding you, but he has all the throws, all the breaks, makes the right decision, and in turn makes you pay. He played crucial points on O and D line and deserves the first team nod.
Here is the great Ultiworld article on Noah Saul: http://ultiworld.com/2016/03/07/brother-underrated-player-ultimate/
Mitch Willis: Mitch is an animal in the air. The battle between him and Ian Adams was awesome to watch. He shuts people down, and he literally owns the air. This future fighter pilot without a doubt deserves the nod, possibly even the POTY award.
Photo creds: CC Wasabi Ultimate Facebook page
Alan Villanueva
Alan is the magic man when it comes to throws. Just when a zone looks like it is working, he drops a bomb. Furthermore, this attack was calculated, he doesnāt just huck and pray, he sees a spot and right when the defender takes a misstep, he drops the bomb. Alan also has the highest vertical on our team, and would go head to head with all of the top ācuttersā in our region if he played D more often. Spencer Patterson of JBU is a good player, a great freshman for that matter, but he plays within their system, he cuts and makes a short throw, and then cuts again. Alan has been given the keys to Air Forceās offense; he makes plays and does it well. No question, Freshman of the Region, possibly Freshman of the year for D-III. First or Second, at the very least on one of the two teams.
Colin āScootā Laskodi
Colin, like Justin is an underrated player. They both do the same thing, just from different positions. In our ho-stack, Colin is almost always the first cut in, and almost always gets the disc. Sometimes heāll dump it; sometimes heāll put it deep. Colin is great at what he does and is Air Forceās most reliable cutter. Definitely deserves some attention.
Trevor Browning
Trevor is an athlete who is completing his development into an ultimate player. Trevor is our d-line stud and always takes the hardest under 6 foot matchups (6 ft and up is for Mitch). He shuts down whatever comes at him and makes plays. Trevor can get up and get layout Dās. If anyone was watching the finals, a huck was put to space and Trevor was playing D on Spencer Patterson of JBU and for a good quarter of the field all eyes were on them as it was a footrace. Both players gave it their all and were neck and neck until they both dove and Trevor came up with the D (A play basically like 0:19-0:26 in Jimmy Mickleās Callahan video linked below). Top three defender in the region, like Colin, definitely deserves some attention
Colorado College
Grant Mitchell
I played against Grant at YCCās a few years back and he was awesome. He has only grown as a Frisbee player and definitely taken a huge leadership role for the team. In almost every point they scored he had something to do with it. Dirty lefty handler. Great breaks, quickness, and high releases. No question 1st team
Ian Adams
Ian is a huge athletic cutter who has throws and great ultimate IQ. HE always knew what he needed to be doing in order to make his team successful. He would dump, huck, and clean up garbage throws all around. Definitely a 1st team pick.
Jason Bair
Bair is a quick handler with hops and huge layouts. Bair and Grant run the CC offense. Whether it is give and goās, or hucks deep this kid has it all. If the O-line turned it, you could expect Bair to be tight on his man waiting for the right moment to bid and get a second chance at the hold. First or second team pick, your choice, definitely on one of the two teams though.
Number 39 on Colorado College-had orange/pinkish nike mercurials I think?
I donāt know what this guys name was, but he was a large part of CCās defensive success. He was constantly tight on his man, making skyās and layouts when reasonable. You could tell he had good ultimate training. Definitely deserves some attention.
Joel Fischer Katz
Joel was CCās defensive leader whose passion for the game was illuminated in his play. He had great throws, great defense and great bids. Deserves some attention.
John Brown
Ethan Penner
I saw him play once, did not really know who he was until I was told later, but I was impressed by his massive hucks and bids. I wish he could have made it to regionals, but I guess weāll just have to see at natties! From what Iāve heard heās a 1st team all region lock.
Spencer Patterson
Dude is FAST. He cuts hard, gets open. and knows how to use his body. He was one of JBUās most dominant cutters and canāt wait to compete with him in the coming years. All-Freshman team nod.
Aric Powers
The JBU we saw on Saturday was different from the one we saw on Sunday. The reason was Aric. He quarterbacked their offense and everything went through him. Deserves the 1st team nod.
Mines
Patrick Boyker
Kid has handles and does some really nice throw and goes. Too bad he didnāt have more pieces around him. Iād put him second team, but definitely on one of the two teams though.
Rice
Abhijit Brahme
Dude had hops like no other. And like @riceultimate said he won then the game against cc with his sky. I believe it was over Grant Mitchell. He made an acrobatic catch positioning his body so he would not foul grant even though it was his air space. His handler movement was quick and so was his handler d. Solid 2nd team pick.
Alex Heath
Alex is an on the field leader. In the game against Truman State, he was doing it all, going deep, hucking, and playing goo D. In our games this weekend, I donāt remember him being much of a factor, but I remembered his presence in the Truman State game. Mitch Willis, or whomever we put on him blanketed him and thatās why we went on large break runs. I actually talked to Mitch today and said he was definitely a threat- good breaks, good skyās, overall good player.
Johnny Frolichstein
Like Heath, wasnāt much of a factor against us. When I did see him play against Truman he was dropping bombs, but because of the wind, more often than not they were out of bounds.
Truman
Brendan Cirillo
Brendan impressed me with his speed, quickness, and arsenal of throws. During our game he scored 3 or four points by just burning his man deep or up line. Solid power cutter- good throws, and when they scored, he normally had something to do with it. 1st or 2nd team, like Boyker . At the very least on one of the two teams.
My personal choices
1st Team All-Region
Mitch Willis
Justin Miller
Ethan Penner
Aric Powers
Grant Mitchell
Ian Adams
Brendan Cirillo
2nd Team All Region
Abhijit Brahme
Alex Heath
Colin Laskodi
Patrick Boyker
Jason Bair
Trevor Browning
Alan Villanueva
Thanks,
Noa
1 Like
Reading through the comments, they all seem to be pretty much what I would put besides the addition of Grant Bruner from JBU to at least 2nd team if not 1st. He has been the anchoring Handle for JBUās D-line all year. I have yet to see someone who can stop him from getting the disc when he wants it. Saturday at regionals even after only taking 3 points off he was still unstoppable. Keep in mind he is only a sophomore. For my votes below I want to note I am torn about not having Johnny on 1st team. With how teams finished I believe the top three teams deserve/earned two spots each. Johnny is very easily a 1st team player.
Fist Team:
Mitch Willis, AF
Grant Mitchell, CC
Ian Adams, CC
Ethan Penner, JBU
Aric Powers, JBU
Alex Heath, Rice
Alan Villanueva, AF, (FOTY, ALL-Freshman)
Second Team:
Johnny Frolichstein, Rice
Patrick Boyker, Colorado Mines
Grant Bruner, JBU
Spencer Patterson, JBU (FOTY, ALL-Freshman)
Jason Bair, CC
Justin Miller, AF
Brendan Cirillo, Truman
Honorable Mentions:
Zach Cotter, Colorado Mines
Chewy, CC (Donāt know his real name)
Josiah Johnson, JBU (FoTY, ALL-Freshman)