Ultimate Frisbee is on the rise. In 2022, they could barely even field a team. Now, they have a full Varsity and JV boys’ roster and their Varsity boys are coming off a third-place finish at state.
“I’m very satisfied with how we did last year; we tied for the highest finish in program history,” reflected Coach Christian Contreras.
Led by star cutter (player who plays most downfield) Emmet D’Anastasio and a strong defense, Evanston was excellent last year, helping them dominate Neuqua Valley in the third-place match, outscoring them 13-2.
This year, the Kits hope to build on that success by going the distance and winning the state championship. However, this won’t be easy with only ten returning players out of 22. The Kits will need some new players to step up if they want to achieve their goal. Coach Contreras hopes to succeed on the national stage.
“In the next couple of years, if we can compete to make the national championships, that would be excellent,” stated Contreras.
High School Ultimate is a newer sport in Illinois, not having a state championship hosted by the governing body, Illinois Ultimate, until 2017. Illinois Ultimate organizes and manages youth ultimate across the state, as ultimate is not yet recognized as an official IHSA sport.
“In Illinois, we’re a big sport, but we aren’t well connected, we’re not an IHSA sport yet,” voiced Contreras.
Despite not having much history in Illinois, other states such as Minnesota have much more history with Ultimate, as Minnesota has had state championships for over 20 years. If the Kits aim to contend on a national level, competing in tournaments with schools from other states with more-developed ultimate culture, like Minnesota, will be key.
Another goal for the Kits is to fully develop their girls’ teams. Currently, they have a Varsity DISCO team, but as the sport evolves in Illinois, a separate team for beginners and less-advanced players may be needed for Kits to keep up and succeed on a state level.
