Colton, CA—This year, the varsity eSports team enjoyed an incredible season. They finished the season 10-2 overall, making it to round three of the PlayVS Scholar’s Cup, a CIF-sanctioned tournament, making for their best overall performance since the team was started in 2022.
The team—Xander Levario, Lewis Bacaneri, Logan Nelson-Guthrie, and Santiago Nieves—competes against other schools in CIF-sanctioned “Super Smash Bros.” matches.
“It was a really rewarding experience,” said Xander Levario about playing in competitive eSports. “We put a lot of time and effort into trying to play as best as possible so we could get into really high placements for the high schools, and it feels pretty good.”
CIF partnered with NASEF, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations, in 2022 to provide gameplay competition for players on a variety of gaming titles including League of Legends, Rocket League, NBA2K5, Mario Kart, and Madden NFL 25.
The eSports head coach, Alexandra Buskirk, is proud of this group of players. “I attribute their success this season to their awesome teamwork. They work together, help each other practice, and give each other feedback when playing different opponents, which I think really improved their skills and the bond between them.”
Dedication to the competition has been a running theme this season. The team has spent more time practicing and perfecting their strategies in game scenarios. As a result, they have scored some victories against tough opponents, like Rialto High and most notably top ranked Clayton Valley Charter High School.
While their main season is officially over, eSports is not done. On May 3 they will be competing at the San Bernardino County Superintendent of School’s third annual Symposium and Tournament at the Dorothy Inghram Center in San Bernardino.
Then, on May 14, the team will be hosting their very first tournament here at Colton High. More than 20 schools have been invited to participate in the event.
