Avon High ultimate team takes fifth at state championship tournament

Avon junior Alex Rostenberg, right, looks for room to make a pass against Marianapolis Prep at the recent Division I ultimate state championship tournament. (Photo courtesy Susan Lybeck)

SALISBURY, May 12 – Avon High’s ultimate team finished fifth in Division I at the recent state championship tournament at the Hotchkiss School.

Avon’s only loss in the tournament came to eventual state champion Hotchkiss in pool play. The Falcons (12-4) finished second in their pool and dropped into the consolation pool where Avon beat Marianpolis Prep, 11-7 and Watkinson School-Hartford, 2-0 to finish fifth in their first season in Division I.

Competition is on a field 70 yards long by 40 yards wide with 25-yard end zones. A high school football field is 100 yards long by 50 yards wide with 10-yard end zones.

Teams score points by getting the disc (or Frisbee) into the opponent’s end zone. The disc is moved downfield by passing. Players can’t run with the disc and have 10 seconds to make a pass or it is a turnover. The disc changes possession when it is dropped, blocked or intercepted.

No physical contact is allowed between players and players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.

Sam Weist, right, makes a pass in Saturday’s Division I state tournament against Marianapolis Prep. (Photo courtesy Susan Lybeck)

Avon was seeded ninth in the tournament and finished fifth. In pool play, the Falcons beat No. 2 seed Choate Rosemary Hall, 11-4. Earlier this year, Choate Rosemary Hall beat Avon by one goal.

“Senior captains, Sam Weist, Moshin Mirza and Clarke Waddell played well in the tournament as well as junior Alex Rostenberg, who had a great day offensively and defensively,” Avon head coach Jim Murray said. “Sophomore handler Josh Cote also played well. Senior Mike Lord scored several goals and had several defensive blocks of the opponents passes.  Senior Shane Jones help to break the zone defenses as a mid-cutter.”

Avon’s Josh Cote passes the disc in Saturday’s championship tournament. (Photo courtesy Susan Lybeck)

Murray also praised the defensive efforts of Max Mock, Giancarlo Torres and Wyatt Moulton. “Our man-to-man defense was the key to that turnaround (in the win over Choate Rosemary Hall),” Murray said.

Rostenberg led the way offensively with nine goals and nine assists in the five games that Avon played in the tournament. Weist had a goal and 14 assists while Lord had five goals and one assist. Mirza scored four goals and had three assists while Cote had six goals and an assist.

There were three pools in championship play with the winners moving on to the championship round. Avon beat Choate Rosemary Hall, 11-4 and North Haven, 2-0 but lost to Hotchkiss, 11-7. It was the second title for Hotchkiss, who also won in 2015. Hotchkiss has been in the finals for four straight years.

This is Avon’s sixth year with a team. They played at the Division II level for five seasons, winning the state title in 2015 and taking third in 2016.

In its first year in Division I, the Falcons finished fifth in the Ultimate state tournament.

Connecticut Division I ultimate tournament
At Salisbury (Hotchkiss)
Pool A
Middletown 11, Marianapolis Prep 3
Middletown 11, Fairfield Ludlowe 6
Middletown 9, Sheehan 8
Sheehan 11, Fairfield Ludlowe 4
Sheehan 11, Marianapolis Prep 3
Marianapolis Prep 9, Fairfield Ludlowe 6

Pool B
Wooster 11, Xavier 1
Wooster 11, Newtown 1
Wooster 9, Watkinson 4
Watkinson 11, Newtown 6
Watkinson 10, Xavier 1
Xavier 11, Newtown 10

Pool C
Hotchkiss 11, Avon 7
Hotchkiss 2, North Haven 0
Hotchkiss 11, Choate Rosemary Hall 2
Avon 11, Choate Rosemary Hall 4
Avon 2, North Haven 0
Choate Rosemary Hall 11, North Haven 3

Championship pool
Hotchkiss 10, Middletown 9
Wooster 11, Sheehan 10
Final: Hotchkiss 10, Wooster 9
Third: Middletown 10, Sheehan 3

Postseason Pool B
Avon 7, Marianapolis Prep 6
Watkinson 10, Choate Rosemary Hall 8
Fifth place: Avon 2, Watkinson 0
Seventh place: Marianapolis Prep 11, Choate Rosemary 8

Postseason Pool C
Fairfield Ludlowe 11, Xavier 5
Newtown bye
Ninth place: Fairfield Ludlowe 11, Newtown 10