OK, how did the whole thing shake out? I’ll run through a brief description of each event and then post the results for each event in a PDF format. At the very end of this page will be an Excel file with ALL the results. Look at the top of this page for a link to Overall history. And sorry it took so long to get this up. With computer screen problems, it took me hooking up my laptop to a projector to finally get onto my web pages. Look elsewhere on this web site for some photos. I am still waiting for more to come in and will post them when possible.
ACCURACY
Very moderate wind conditions for the first event. Two rounds cumulative saw Rick LeBeau and Harvey Brandt tied, followed by Merrill Detweiler and Mark Horn, both SGMs. Then it was a tie-breaker between Jeff Kennedy and Doug Korns for the last spot. Jeff won the tie-breaker and then went on to win the Open Division’s first title of the tourney. Beth Verish led the Women. Jack Roddick, 87 years young, set a new age group record of 10 hits. Some folks half (or less then half!) his age didn’t make it to double digits.
SCF
SCF was the first of two events to have WFDF World title sanctioning. And some heavy duty folks were there to contest it. Jack Cooksey was the defending titlist from Ithaca in 2007. Then add Rick LeBeau, Sam Kaye, and Jim Herrick, all tried and true. Jack and Sam put up some big early numbers, and Jack did prevail to defend his world title. But it was Rick who charged into 2nd place, leaving Sam to take 3rd for the second year in a row. Beth Verish threw solidly to win her second event of the day. Jim Palmeri, even though competing as a Senior Grand, set a new record for the Legend’s age group in MTA, hitting 9.53s in the second round.
DISTANCE
Distance was the next event to finish, ending on Tuesday afternoon. We were all saddened on Tuesday morning to learn that Sam Kaye’s grandmother had passed away the night before. Sam, and his best friend Jack Cooksey, had to depart for those family obligations that were more important than mere games. Jack being there to support Sam. Needless to say, Jack was a prime contender for not only distance title but also for the Open overall title.
In Jack and Sam’s absence, some old names, and one new one, came to the forefront. With some very consistent throwing in very light winds, Dan Berman, Andy Lemann (Grandmaster World record holder), Mark Spang (the new guy), Harvey Brandt, and Rick LeBeau made it to the finals. Mark is a local golfer. In the finals, he led the way to the title. All the finalists were within 13 meters of each other, the length of a ddc court. Tita Ugalde, a perennial distance force in Women’s distance, finally broke Beth’s hold on first place.
GOLF
This is were the locals ruled. The course at Roland Park, in Akron, was a mix of tight wooded (and some very long) fairways and open, rolling, grassy areas. A nice mixture and challenging, particularly in the woods were some poison ivy might await wayward shots. Bill Geibel (the course pro for goodness sake!) shot consistent rounds to win by 2 strokes over Mark Spang, with Tom Weeple taking third. The poison ivy and course length took out Beth and Tita, opening the way for Susie Horn to take the Women’s title.
DISCATHON
This the second event to have received WFDF sanctioning for a World title. With Jack and Sam having departed and defending World Champion, Conrad Damon, waiting by his wife’s side for the birth of their first child (Nicholas Mateo, born July 18th), it seemed to leave the field open for some old stalwarts of ‘thon - Rick LeBeau and many time champ Harvey Brandt. And so it was as those two consistently had the fastest times. However, they were joined in the finals by fast newcomer Spencer Herrick, a disc force for the future, along with Dad (Jim) Herrick, and Mark Horn, who was happy to just be there after a disappointing trek through the controlled pace version of discathon (for Senior Grands). Harvey got out early and never looked back, winning in a course record time, with Rick LeBeau taking the silver medal, and Jim Herrick showing that a dad’s ancient wisdom will finish above youthful speed some of the time. Beth Verish returned from lots of shopping to reassert dominance in the Women’s division. Plenty of discs landed in the pond at this course. Check out the photos for a look at the finish line, what some called the best finish gate ever (a shot across a pond, but if you missed you also went down a slope and had to come back up to a very narrow area).
DOUBLE DISC COURT
Always one of the premier events at the big overall tourneys, and even with a smallish field, this year was no exception. Old names like Al Bonopane and Scott Zimmerman were brought out to join players ranked high in the world standings, such as Rick LeBeau, Dave Hesselberth, Jon Cohn, and Mark Horn. Pool action on a couple of levels brought us to the semi choice which had a lot to do with determining which two teams would meet in the finals. Dave Hesselberth / Harvey Brandt won that choice by going undefeated in the top level pool. That allowed them to choose Jon Cohn / Al Bonopane in the semis. Making the other semi match up a high powered show down between Mark Horn / Scott Zimmerman and Rick LeBeau / Jim Herrick. Dave and Harvey won in two straight games and then settled in as Rick and Jim won the first game of a best of three, only to have Mark and Scott rally for a victory in game two. It was a hard fought and skillfully played match to the end as eventually too many errors gave the win to Rick and Jim. Scott Z still has what it takes to be one of the top DDC players and it was great to see him out on the court once again.
Then it became an all out battle in the finals. Dave and Harvey looked like they were on cruise control, taking the first of the best of five. But Rick and Jim dominated games two and three and seemed in total control. Dave and Harvey had to rally back and took a big lead in game four only to see Rick and Jim whittle the lead away. Dave and Harvey finally put away game four. Game five was almost a repeat of game four, losing big lead but finally ending it with a victory for Dave and Harvey. All told, Rick and Jim were out on the courts for almost five hours. Jim wore every shirt he owned as the heat and humidity were a huge factor. The Women’s division saw only two teams this year, with Beth Verish and Tita Ugalde dominating Susie Horn and Marygrace Clark in the finals.
FREESTYLE
Again, a small field did not detract from the quality of play. The wind did pick up for both afternoon’s of freestyle action. And all the jammers used it for lots of air brushing and wind work. A wonderful sound system DJ’ed by injured jammer Phil Cappa provided a great venue for all. All sorts of players made it out onto the field as this was the last opportunity for overall points. Folks who you never thought of as stylers put on a great show. Doug Korns and imported specialist Steve Scannell (we know he can play all the events!) were the cream rising, taking the open division title. Slightly injured Rick Williams paired with Harvey Brandt to take second, while hot Dale Crawford found Dan Berman to fill in for his regular partner Phil, taking third. On their last fumes of the tourney, given the kind of DDC day they had, Rick and Jim brought it out one more time for a crowd pleasing turn of freestyle. If you have never seen Jimmy Herrick jam, you don’t know what you have missed. Same with Jim Palmeri, for that matter. Maybe video exists. Anne Goh was another visiting specialist and used a non-scoring throwing partner (ok, it was Steve Scannell as if you didn’t know) to take the Women’s title over Tita and Beth.
THE OVERALL
The main focus of this event was the OPEN DIVISION OVERALL title. This was the first US Open since 1998 and we are looking forward to keeping it alive. We had a lot of things going against us this year in trying to field the numbers we had in Ithaca. The economy had to be a factor and there were a slew of late injuries to expected participants. Jack Cooksey, tied for second last year in Ithaca, was certainly missed and would have been a major factor.
In the end, it was two of the names you have seen in the above paragraphs that led the way. Strangely enough, these players also finished 1-2 in the last US Open, ten years ago. With consistent finishes, and no finish below 7th, Rick LeBeau placed second in the 2008 US Open. And again, he had to settle behind Harvey Brandt, who had two first places and no finish below fourth in any event en route to the US Open Overall title. Rounding out the top five, it was Senior Grand Mark Horn with a solid third place, ever present Jim Herrick placing a gutsy fourth, and consistent Andy Lemann in fifth.
In the WOMEN’S DIVISION, you are probably ahead of the game in picking solid Beth Verish as the 2008 US Open champ. Beth was victorious in four of the seven events, dominating the field. Marygrace Clark edged out Susie Horn for second.
In the JUNIORS DIVISIONS, it was domination in all three of the age divisions. Spencer Herrick actually place ninth in the Open overall while playing alone in the Under 19 age bracket. Jeff Palmeri and Kevin Palmeri (yes, sons of Jim Palmeri) fought it out in the Under 16 age group, with Jeff getting the upper hand each time. Age has it’s advantages. But watch out for Kevin’s forehand in distance. Jeff Korns likewise dominated his cousin and good buddy, Dylan Bellinger, in the Under 12 age group.
It was another wonderful week of overall action. Those who missed it should feel regret because we don’t get these “frisbee family” opportunities all the time. Everyone went home with memories of a fantastic week, hosted by the warm and welcoming Lancaster, PA, area folks. Special thanks to Scott Lash, the leader of this event. He did a masterful job of putting together a special event. Next year, will bring the WFDF World Overall to Jacksonville, Florida. Not too soon to start planning.
