We had a wonderful night of jamming in the Fredericksburg Fieldhouse Saturday night. A total of 15 teams competed in two pools to see which 8 teams would advance to Sunday’s final round. There was a lot of stellar play across the board, with the overall folks leading the way in each pool. One of the fun aspects of VA States is watching the overall players, who excel at such a high level within all disciplines of frisbee play, take to the jam field to show the crowd their stuff. This was again the case on Saturday night at the Fieldhouse with Jack Cooksey, Tom Cole, Bob Cooksey, Randy Lahm, Glen Whitlock, Harvey Brandt and others showing off their jamming skills. And this after a full day of Golf, MTA and Distance. Very nice work, guys.
The action got started in the Fieldhouse sometime after 9 pm with Pool A. Some of the highlights included:
Jack Cooksey demonstrating that if he set his sights on jamming, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Glen Whitlock brought out that special Canadian brand of eccentricity, going all third world and padiddling too. If you weren’t watching the throw, then you missed why people where oohing and ahhing and applauding when Jens Velasquez and Rob McLeod played. Jens is still the master of variety when it comes to throwing the frisbee. Tim Mackey, Harvey Brandt and Alan Caplin set the stage for the final four groups with some nice individual moves.
Seeded 4th in Pool A and playing smooth and graceful were Lori Daniels and Bruce Page. Next we enjoyed the Upper West Side casual shred courtesy of Jonathan Willet and Doug E. Fresh. Seeded 2nd and playing fantastic this night were Jeff O’Brian, Jake Gauthier and Toddy Brodeur. These guys presented 5 minutes of great flow and shred, with lots of music breaks and high difficulty, moving from indies to spontaneous co-ops and back. The pool ended with a high concept routine from Larry Imperiale, Randy Silvey and Bill Wright. Playing to Elton John’s “Funeral for a Friend” these three guys laid out some impressive co-ops, innovative disc use and some fine moves. It didn’t quite click 100%, tho, that didn’t hinder them from bringing the crowd into the play and generating lots of excitement. Looking forward to what this routine becomes in the coming months heading into Worlds.
Pool B Thoughts:
Bethany and I were in this pool, and I didn’t see all the action, initially missing the first two teams of Jack Stanton, Conrad Damon and Dave Hesselbirth; and Paul Brenner, Chris Horn and Sam Kaye play. We were up third and played to “Lean on Me” by the Glee cast and the crowd really got behind us. Think we were dropless until about the 3:30 mark. After we played, I missed the teams of Dan Yarnell and Chuck Richard, and Jay Moldanauer and Tom Lasher. Up next to last was the Oracle, Joey Hudoklin, and Daniel O’Neill. These guys presented stellar NYC play, mixing up the spins, throws, catches and flow with ease. Finishing off the pool was the team of Arthur Coddington, Matt Gauthier and James Wiseman. Wow, these guys blistered the field with high diff casualness. Flowing well to their music, spontaneous co-oping, big individuals, really a fine routine.
Weather’s been fantastic on the weekend and everyone’s looking forward to another fun day of jamming in the sun. It goes without saying that Laszlo’s Wienie World yet again has set the standard with their generous welcoming of the Frisbee Tribe to Fredericksburg. What a gift they are to everyone.
Here are the results from the first round of play:
Pool A
8th Place: Jens Velasquez/Rob McLeod
7th Place: Jack Cooksey/Bob Cole
6th Place: Bob Cooksey/Glen Whitlock/Randy Lahm
5th Place: Tim Mackey/Harvey Brandt/Alan Caplin
4th Place: Lori Daniels/Bruce Page
3rd Place: Jonathan Willet/Doug E. Fresh
2nd Place: Larry Imperiale/Randy Silvey/Bill Wright
1st Place: Jeff O’Brian/Jake Gauthier/Toddy Brodeur
Pool B
7th Place: Jack Stanton/Conrad Damon/Dave Hesselbirth
6th Place: Paul Brenner/Chris Horn/Sam Kaye
5th Place: Chuck Richard/Dan Yarnell
4th Place: Tom Lasher/Jay Moldenauer
3rd Place: Bethany Sanchez/Rodney Sanchez
2nd Place: Joey Hudoklin/Daniel O’Neill
1st Place: Arthur Coddington/Matt Gauthier/James Wiseman
Thanks for posting, Rodney. Wish I could be there.
Rodney, thank you for the post and commentary on the action. It’s a great venue and always seems to inspire near flawless play by all the greats. p.s. Laszlo thinks the same about you and Bethany.