Lawton Public Schools middle schools bring back esports awards

All three Lawton Public Schools middle school esports teams competed at the Oklahoma Scholastic Esports State Championship on Dec. 1 at the Southwestern Oklahoma State Esports Arena, bringing back awards in each title.

In “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”, 16 Lawton students qualified for the top 42 state championship bracket. Collin Johnson of Eisenhower Middle School beat Noah Romero of MacArthur Middle School to be this season’s “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” champ. Collin was forced to the losers’ bracket in winners’ finals by Noah, and battled back for a bracket reset for the state title.

Roman Asencio of Central Middle School battled his way through the brackets to finish in third place, securing a Lawton state podium sweep for “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”. The teams are coached by Madison Lyda at Eisenhower Middle, Dominique Marshall at MacArthur Middle and Josh Koracin at Central Middle School.

In “Rocket League,” Eisenhower beat MacArthur 3-0 in a best-of-five set in grand finals. The EMS Rocket League team consists of Elijah Samuels, Jacob Johnson, Ethan Brejcha and David Monroe IV and is coached by Austin Patterson.

“The teams all played very well,” Patterson said. “It got intense, they managed to put on a really good show. They came to the arena and showed OKSE what we’re all about. When it comes to esports, we’re showing Lawton is the best.”

Braxton Walters, Ayden Bell, Caleb Gunhammer, Kato Klosterman and Austin Stilley make up the MMS Rocket League team, coached by Cody Hilliary.

“The effort was off the charts,” Hillary said. “The players’ energy and time that went into this was amazing. The season didn’t end where we wanted it, but we left it on the pitch. We’re proud of all our players.”

In “Omega Strikers,” Central Middle School beat Canute Middle School in losers’ finals to advance against Tushka Middle School in grand finals, and finished their season as state runner-up. The team, coached by Gabriel Williams, consists of Zaiyn Davis, Ella Markham, Todd Spencer and Jovani Cruz Forty.

“I’m very glad to see my ‘Omega Strikers’ and ‘Smash’ teams perform well,” Williams said. “They’ve exceeded my expectations to the highest, and I’m glad my coaches have taught them well.”

The middle school esports teams will begin their next competitive season in the spring semester.