South Lakes athletes compete in the UltimateFrisbee youth championship in Colorado

By Matt Reider, staff writer

Seven South Lakes Seahucks and their coach participated in the 2026 Ultimate Youth Club Championships in early August. Photo left to right: Coach Eric Miner, Zane Mott, Roman Moreno-Hines, Matthew Hazlin, Jackson Snell, Colin Willer, Thomas Murphy, Stephen Reider, Coach Chris King. Photo by Matt Reider

Since 2005, Ultimate Frisbee teams from around the country have traveled to compete in the Youth Club Championships (YCC). The championship emphasizes fun, athleticism and the “spirit of the game,” which places responsibility for fair play solely on the athletes rather than officials.

This year, Virginia fielded two teams: the U20 Mixed Division Virginia Vanguard and the U20 Boys Division Virginia Vortex. The Mixed Division included 13 teams, while 16 teams competed in the Division II Boys competition.

The journey began in March, with tryouts held at RAC Field in Fairfax from March 13 through May 1. Players from across the state competed together as coaches evaluated them and selected the final rosters. Practices began three times a week toward the end of the school year at Oakton High School or Lake Fairfax Park.

Earlier in the summer, the teams competed in other tournaments. The Vortex played together in Durham, North Carolina, at July’s Southeast Showdown and later competed in the Battle for the Beltway at Lake Fairfax Park on July 18 and 19.

Although players were selected from throughout Virginia, the Reston-South Lakes “Seahucks” team was well represented. The Vanguard roster included Zane Mott, No. 5, and Matt Hazlin, No. 17. South Lakes coach Eric Minor also served on the Vanguard coaching staff.

The Vortex included South Lakes players Colin Willer, No. 12; Roman Moreno-Hines, No. 16; Thomas Murphey, No. 23; Jackson Snell, No. 22; and Stephen Reider, No. 52.

Pool play began Aug. 1, at Aurora Sports Park in Aurora, Colorado. The second-seeded Vanguard went 1-1 in Pool B, defeating LA Sky 13-2 in its opening game before falling to KOI of Lexington, Kentucky, 13-10.

The 12th-seeded Vortex won one of its three pool-play games. It opened with a 13-6 loss to Illinois Illusion, followed by a 13-7 loss to COSmic Colorado. The team finished the day with a 13-4 victory over Connecticut Harpoon.

The Vortex struggled in crossover play, losing to Charlotte Flight before falling 11-10 to Colorado Cutthroat in its first bracket game. The teams traded points after the Vortex took an early 1-0 lead, eventually reaching a 10-10 tie before Colorado scored the winning point and sent Vortex to the 13th-place game.

Vortex responded with a 13-4 victory over Connecticut, matching its earlier pool-play score against Harpoon. Jackson Snell led the team with nine points, followed by Levi Morrow with seven and James Smialowicz with six. Gavin Smith recorded 24 assists over the team’s seven games.

The Vanguard had a stronger tournament, defeating Equinox of Montpelier, Vt., 12-10 in the play-in game to advance to the quarterfinals. Vanguard then defeated MN Superior 13-9.

In the semifinals, Vanguard faced KOI, which jumped to a 4-0 lead before Vanguard answered with a point. Trailing 7-3 later in the game, Vanguard rallied to close the gap to 7-6, but KOI scored the next few points to win 10-7.

Vanguard then fell to the Madison Mufabots of Madison, Wis., 14-10, in the third-place game.

Carter Anderson led Vanguard with nine goals, while Ellie Cymrot and Abigail Glassman each had eight and Gretchen Schmitt had seven. Hazlin recorded 20 assists for Vanguard.