Where the Elite North Region Stands
Written by Tyler Greer, edited by Dan Levine
With the final round in each region before Nationals upon us, The Dodgeball Tribune will weight in on Elite Dodgeball’s regions and what to look forward to (Thank you Rolena Thomassin for creating the Standings). It’s going to be an exciting four weeks!
A Two-horse Race
The Open 8.5 Division in the North has really come down to TC Boosh, Chicago Task Force and … everyone else.
To people outside the region, Task Force is the big surprise here. Though they have their captain and former All-Star in Niko Nodal, their roster changed massively with some departures and the additions of former North All-Star Mark Trippiedi, Kelvin Koster, and Alex Watkins. They have proven to be Boosh’s biggest test with a runner-up finish in Round 1 and a first-place finish at Round 2. They find themselves deadlocked with Boosh (each with 22 total points), who were the presumable favorites prior to the beginning of the season.
TC Boosh’s roster has stayed the same since last season. With Eric Stone and Cody Foley as corners, opportunities for game-changing plays from Derek Johnson, Isaac Mross, and Jeremy Bizzle have abounded.
Others in the mix for a Top 4 finish: EVERYONE. Kraken owns the third spot with 12 points and Kaiju is clinging to fourth place by a single point with nine points, so each of those positions are up for grabs. Notorious and Rogue are tied at eight points apiece just behind Kaiju, while now-underdog Dynasty is lurking with five points, hoping to get back in the fold.
Predictions: I see Kraken holding one of those two spots, as Connor Klopcic, Paul Hillebrand, and Tony Stumpo have not only played soundly this season, but continue their legacy as arguably the best team in the North at identifying and coaching up the next generation. They have had the most turmoil and roster changes of any team in their region year to year and still compete regularly for a Top 4 finish.
Call me a homer, but I do think Dynasty has a much better Round 3 and makes it in to the Top 4. To do so, however, they will most likely have to knock off Boosh or Task Force on the way to at least the semi-finals (which will likely decide the fate of those top two teams). Despite their poor season in Open 8.5 thus far, this doesn’t seem unlikely. Round 3 in Open 8.5 is make-or-break for Dynasty and their legacy of owning the North these past four years (especially when you include Pinch). A finish out of the Top 4 will be an embarrassment to a team that has won the North two of the last three years in Open 8.5.
The Pinch Division is Hanging On…Barely
Dynasty has locked down the Pinch division this season, as Notorious is in the third spot and just hasn’t looked the same as they did last season when they almost knocked off Dynasty for the region and for the Pinch National Championship. Brandon Meisel’s addition could not have been more beneficial for Dynasty as Jalen Gardner’s departure has been all but forgotten with their two first-place finishes this season. Final Justice has slid in to the two-spot this season behind the crushing tandem of Payton Schuster and Captain Kevin Nguyen. Frostbite is in fourth place with with Gamecocks and Kraken just a point behind.
Predictions: Another Pinch crown for Dynasty.
The Pinch Division has seen a slow decline in attendance which has led to Elite running its first Coed No-Sting division in the North alongside the normal pinch one as a second division.
The (Temporary) Coed No-Sting Division
For years, players in and outside of the North Region wondered if no-sting could ever make its way into their region. This round, we’ll finally get an opportunity to test whether this division that has become so successful in the West and East Regions can bring in players and teams.
Predictions: I will be very curious to see how many teams will be in this division, considering it will directly compete with the Pinch Division. But even with the division at a size of around six teams, it would certainly be a move in the right direction. That said, I think Boosh runs away with this division: they’ve proven in the last few Nationals that they are a top Coed team in all ball styles. Rogue and — if Kaiju decides to jump ship from the Pinch Division — will likely challenge for the top spot, but so too could any other makeshift teams or players that decide to make an appearance at this round.
All-Star Predictions
From viewing live streams and discussions with a few members of the North Region, we expect these players to be near-locks to make the men’s All-Star team (or, at the very least to be in the conversation):
— Mark Trippiedi and Kelvin Koster from Task Force.
— Jeremy Meadows and Jeremy Bizzle from Boosh.
All four of these players have been instrumental in their teams’ successes this season and their teams are without question the two best in the North.
— The next two spots are definitely up for grabs and we think the following players are likely to be in the mix: Colin O’Brien (Dynasty), Myles Garner (Kaiju), Connor Klopcic (Kraken) and Mike Riley (Notorious).
The women’s all-star team is harder to predict since there still is no Women’s Division in the North. That said, in previous years we were able to get a good idea of “North” women based on their performances in other regions.
Here are our picks thus far:
— Paige Peterson (Finesse), Rebecca Shappell (Final Justice), Tanja Kaiser (Witness) and Marcy Grimmond (Clash) seem to be shoe-ins based on their outstanding play in the North, East and West this season.
— Marjan Samadi (Witness), Stephanie Ness (Clash) and Lauren Dwyer (Heat) seem to be right there as well (and a possible switch of Ashley Cook, though she’s planted her roots firmly in the West now).
