Julian Middle School in Oak Park can now boast a state title after one of the four teams making up the Julian Ultimate Frisbee Club went undefeated at the Illinois State Championships in Joliet on June 2.
The club’s Julian A squad captured the state title “for the first time in school history,” according to District 97 officials. The team beat rival Fox Valley Fusion. Julian B took third-place after beating Neuqua Valley.
“Meanwhile, in the tournament’s B Division, Julian X and Y put forth a great showing and racked up several impressive victories along the way,” D97 officials pointed out in a statement.
Andrew Seymour, Julian’s choral director, who founded the club in 2012, said in an email that Ultimate Frisbee has quickly grown into one of the school’s most popular sports.
Seymour also founded the Ultimate Frisbee Club at Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2010. Two teams from that club were among 30 high school teams that competed at the state championships.
In Ultimate Frisbee, there are no on-field referees; instead players are expected to enforce the rules themselves. Similar to football, they score points by catching the Frisbee in their opponents’ end zone.
According to USA Ultimate, the sport’s governing body, Ultimate Frisbee was developed in 1968 by high school students in New Jersey.
“A concept called ‘Spirit of the Game’ governs all our interactions both on and off the field — in practices and competition at the highest level,” Seymour said. “The basic principles of playing hard, but never at the expense of the rules, and love of the game are wonderful lessons for young people.”
Seymour said the Julian club has more than 100 members and regularly brings multiple teams to youth ultimate tournaments in the Chicago area each year.
“We have had an amazing group of volunteer coaches this year, including John O’Brien, a Julian teacher; Nate Moncrieff, a Julian alum; and parents Tony Moore, Stacy Fifer, Kathy Hymson and John Conour,” Seymour said.
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com
Members of the Julian Ultimate Frisbee Club
Julian A
Alex Hymson
Andrew Shapiro
Bryce Wilson
Elliott Edwards
Jack Watters
Jeremiah Nelson
Luke Owen
Malik Pintado-Vertner
Matthew Fielding
Nick Owen
Peter Zurawski
Reid Wilson
Sam Debush
Simon Wellner
Tyler Moore
Julian B
Alexander Hamblin
Elliott Whitmore
Gabriel Leal
Henry McEachen
Jack Heflin
Jack Trimarco
Jackson Wagemann
Jaziah Harper
Joshua Wood
Lincoln Beecroft
Michael Michelotti
Nicholas Retterer
Ronen Wittenberg
Shea Sturtevant
Vilas Advani
Julian X
Alex Dolipschi
Anja Frickx
Anthony Grant
Brody Weaver
Connor Kitley
Cooper Janning
Dominic Trotta
Ellen Conour
James Hurt
Liam Clifford
Michael Goto
Nicholas Schneider
Rob Johnson
Zion Sosa
Julian Y
Aidan Underwood
Andrew Kohler
Benjamin Wefel
Caleb Roberts
Eli Colegrove
Evan Colegrove
Henry Knoepke
Jackson Hauser
Koji Lemke
Luke Fougere
Micah Hauser
Quinn Testore
Stuart Lippincott
Tavi Calin-Jageman
Will Mullen