SFCC esports finishes fall season strong at national playoffs

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) ESports team qualified 13 of 15 teams for the NJCAAE Playoffs during the fall season.

SFCC was represented in chess by Glen Holt and Joe Bland. This was the first semester for SFCC ESports to compete in chess. Both players advanced to the postseason.

SFCC was represented in Fortnite No Builds by Keiren Lewis and Isaak Smith. They lost their first match in the playoffs.

"It was a very close match that came down to the tiebreaker map," said Head Coach Jacob Coleman.

SFCC was represented in Fortnite Builds by DJ Burns and Daniel Ortiz. They lost their match in the second round.

"They had a fantastic season," said Coleman. "They were dominating every team that they faced. They had a great record, the unfortunate part of Fortnite is there can sometimes be some randomness, luck does play a factor in it and sometimes luck does not play in your favor."

SFCC was represented in Call of Duty by the team of Daniel Ortiz, Morgan Green, Drake Britton Miller, and Brooklyn Correa.

SFCC was represented in Super Smash Bros. by Stetson Mahin and Ethan Wietz. Both players made it to the postseason and both players got a bye in the first round and were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs.

SFCC was represented in Overwatch by Trenton Hardy, Rayna White, Jacob Oilar, Hayden Asbury, Dylan Davis, and Doug Tallon.

"They had a great season," said Coleman. "Overwatch is a very competitive and difficult title. We had a great season going in the playoffs but unfortunately got matched up with a very good team."

"Our Valorant team was our most green team this season," said Coleman. "They were building chemistry. It was very new for some of the players. It was building season, but we saw a lot of progress throughout the season. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the playoffs."

That team was made up of Chloe Levasseur, Ryder Wirt, Devon Balke, Isaiah Snyder, Sebastian Meyer, Duncan Wilkinson, and DJ Burns.

SFCC was represented in Mario Kart by Isabelle Ballard, Kadence Hargrave, and Allison Long-Hathcock.

"Allison and Kadence advanced to the playoffs," said Coleman. "Kadence advanced all the way to the quarterfinal round. Allison advanced to the round right before quarterfinals. All those players did a fantastic job."

"Our Rainbow Six Siege team had some really big shoes to fill," said Coleman. "We've had some great success in Rainbow Six Siege. I put us in a premier series which is an exclusive tier. It is designed for the best of the best in College Esports. Every match was really stiff competition. We did fantastic throughout the regular season. We got fourth in the Region."

That team consisted of Matthew Kreisler, Jacob Tylar, Trenton M Toler, Drake Britton Miller, and Landon Ashworth.

The Rocket League team advanced all the way to the quarterfinals and lost in the tiebreaker round.

"We didn't end where we wanted to, based on our performance last year," said Coleman. "Advancing to quarterfinals is nothing to be disappointed about. There's a lot of teams that competed in Rocket League."

That team consisted of Wesley Albin, Jemyle Thomas, Dametriuz Hernandez Smith, and Logan Pursifull.

The SFCC Warzone team was made up of Morgan Green and Daniel Ortiz. The team finished third in the country.

"They are absolutely phenomenal," said Coleman. This game mode is a very tough game mode. We also put these players in the premier series. This mode is designed for the best players. We were able to secure second place in our geographic region."

Coach Coleman was pleased with what he saw from the entire team this season.

"We set the bar pretty high for our teams," said Coleman. "You can't complain about 13 of our 15 teams making it to the postseason, that's quite an achievement. We saw an increase in the number of students as far as retention and new enrollment. I am proud of my kids and what they did during the semester. Overall, it was a fantastic season and I'm looking forward to the spring."

David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics