Fire is catching as things heat up at Day 2 of HSNI, but only one team can emerge unscathed
June 16, 2026 by Delaney Higgenbottom in Recap
SALEM, Oreg. — The sun was shining on Saturday in Salem! Only 12 teams remained in bracket play with a chance to win the national title. Endurance was the reigning theme of the day, with each team striving to outlast the others so that they might just make it to the end.
The Prequarters: Four Teams Fall
Nathan Hale 13-9 HB Woodlawn
Nathan Hale claimed this one over Virginia representatives HB Woodlawn from the very start, leading 7-4 at halftime. A big factor of Nathan Hale’s dominance was another successful day of offensive connection between Helen Golden and U20 World’s player Lily DiGioia – this duo proved to be near unstoppable on Day 1. Both teams ran some of the only vertical stack offense we saw today in the girls’ division, and Nathan Hale’s turned out to be brutally effective against HB Woodlawn’s person defense.
El Cerrito 13-8 Four Rivers
The two teams took two very different approaches to pregame prep: Four Rivers was talking business in a team huddle while El Cerrito line danced to “Cotton Eye Joe.” In the start of the match, Four Rivers’ horizontal stack was clearly stumped by El Cerrito’s powerful person defense, despite an incredible game performance by U20 World’s tryout attendee Sylvia Guillaume. Rani Millstein and Nora Draut showed off on O-line as a remarkable handler/cutter duo, part of the driving force that carried El Cerrito forward into the quarterfinals.
Holy Family Catholic 10-9 Strath Haven
Holy Family Catholic scraped through to quarterfinals with a one-point victory over Strath Haven. The game began looking considerably treacherous as Holy Family Catholic broke it open 5-1 – but the Pennsylvanians were not easily deterred. By the time Holy Family Catholic took half, Strath Haven managed to bring the score up to 7-5 with nothing but pure will (and more than a little help from star player and U20 team member Alice Rieger). Genevieve Regala impressed once again, constantly serving as the center of Holy Family Catholic’s offensive action.
Roosevelt 11-6 CRLS
The last place seed Cambridge Rindge went head-to-head against the defending national champions, putting up an unexpected battle for a spot in quarters and really making Roosevelt work for it. Helena Demissie continued to impress in the handler space for CRLS. She remained cool under the pressure of her opponents and showed off a creative range of throws. On the other side of things, Roosevelt senior Kelsey Matz finally got the chance to show off her cutting skills on the national stage after sitting out last year’s HSNI with a torn ACL.
The Quarterfinals: Goodbye, Garfield
Holy Family Catholic 13-7 Garfield
It’s hard to believe that the same Garfield that went 2-1 in pool play and put up such a nonstop fight to universe point against El Cerrito took this hard of a loss to Holy Family Catholic. The latter has been a bit of a wild card this tournament, but has proven their resilience especially with only bringing a roster of 11 players.
Jaden Schlosser hit Alexandria Wilker in the end zone to take half for Holy Family Catholic at 8-4. Throughout the second half, Holy Family Catholic’s bulletproof defense forced turnover after turnover, and even U20 World’s star Nor Luloff could not deter her team’s eventual defeat. Garfield’s offense got in the final word nonetheless, as they sent a big crossfield flick to the end zone for the last point of the match during hard cap.
El Cerrito 12-10 Lincoln
The showdown between Lincoln and El Cerrito began looking like the Californians were going to easily run away with the semifinal spot, but Lincoln pushed on, finishing just one point short of El Cerrito at half, 8-7. The game remained close in the second half, but El Cerrito’s Roxanne Ransdell ended things with a quick score.
Washburn 10-8 Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s side stack was immediately shut down by Washburn’s zone defense within the first few touches of their quarterfinal matchup. Roosevelt returned the favor with a zone defense of their own, a tactic that a large majority of teams found to be effective here in Salem. Samantha Flynn-Rollin scored a callahan (the second one we saw this weekend in the girls’ division!) to tie the game 2-2 for Washburn.
The beginning of the game was a slow grind for both teams, the long points being especially difficult in the harsh heat. Washburn’s Charlotte Eskola was the star of the show in the end, scoring three times in a row to first tie the game 8-8 and eventually finish things off.
South Eugene 14-8 Nathan Hale
South Eugene came into this matchup as the favored victor for clear reasons, but Nathan Hale didn’t let them get away with it easily. The game took off to a quick start as South Eugene ran the score up to 6-2 in the beginning of the first half, courtesy of Isabellah Holland-Kelly and U20 tryout attendee Dana Herrmann grinding on offense. Meanwhile, Grant Gillepsie owned the sky on defense and denied anything that Nathan Hale throwers attempted to put in the air.
Nathan Hale worked their hardest to catch up for the remainder of the game with the DiGioia sisters leading the charge. This quarterfinal was extremely turnover heavy and fairly windy, so although Nathan Hale was not able to progress in the tournament, they still managed to wear out South Eugene for their future games.
The Semifinals: South Eugene Barely Squeaks By
South Eugene 8-7 El Cerrito
Nails: bitten. Heart rate: elevated. This clash might have been the most exciting game we saw this weekend in the girls’ division. South Eugene was an intimidating opponent going into the game, with most teams unable to do much damage so far this weekend.
El Cerrito was unphased. “Fierce” is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about El Cerrito. This team unrelentingly raised the bar on defense, forcing turnover after turnover on their opponents. El Cerrito’s cutters then burned their defenders on offense and stayed constantly hungry for deep looks.
Grant Gillespie (South Eugene) and Jaylin Liu (El Cerrito) were a matchup made in heaven, with both players posing threats in the deep space and having already proven their dominance on defense. The majority of the game was spent with either team gaining a one point lead, only for the other team to score and bring things to a tie.
The game went to universe point as soft cap went off with both teams sitting at 7s. In an epic finale, eighth grader Aria Bear cut deep to the end zone to catch the game-winning point for South Eugene, thus clinching the Oregon team a spot in the final. If we know one thing for sure, it’s that 14-year-old Bear is going to be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of her high school career.
Washburn 14-11 Holy Family Catholic
Washburn did not find their path to the championship game to be nearly as nerve-racking as it was for South Eugene, matching up against Holy Family Catholic in the semis. Both teams struggled against the blazing heat of the turf fields, especially after coming straight from their quarterfinal matches, and a funky wind increased the quantity of turnovers from even the best players on the field.
But the first half progressed exponentially and Washburn ran away with it 8-3, having made quick work of Holy Family Catholic’s attempt at person defense. U-20 World’s player Kumari Okumura showed off a particularly impressive game, making difficult catch after difficult catch for her team.
Holy Family Catholic returned in the second half to make one final stand, with Ruth Findley scoring two back-to-back to bring the game up to 13-9. In the final minutes, Leah Kalin got a crucial block to get the disc back for Washburn followed by a toe-in score by Charlotte Eskola, thus punching their team’s ticket to the championship.
Championship: Washburn Makes a Clean Sweep
Washburn 14-6 South Eugene
Nobody expected the absolute carnage of South Eugene’s loss to Washburn on Saturday evening.
For half of a decade, South Eugene has remained one of the top dogs of high school ultimate. South Eugene has appeared in the final game for the past four years, threepeating championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and coming up second to Roosevelt in 2025. One thing that sets them apart is their depth: star players can make a team good, but South Eugene’s overwhelming amount of skill is what makes this team great. The Oregon state champs also own the sky — they tended to come down with more high shots than any of their opponents. Their semifinal against El Cerrito was the first time they even looked mortal in this tournament.
Washburn quickly gained momentum, taking the first half 8-4, and from then on the snowball just wouldn’t stop rolling. Both teams used zone as their main defensive system, but Washburn’s offense against it was what made the team superior overall. Riley Gage, Kumari Okumura and Charlotte Eskola horizontally swung the disc with impressive patience until cutters were able to create safe opportunities for the team to progress downfield. Washburn delivered impeccable defense on Saturday night; it looked like they were simply playing catch with some friends, not vying for a national title.
Washburn played with a subtle dominance that fed from their discipline, team chemistry and strong fundamental basis. Even when faced with the South Eugene defense that shut down nearly everyone else this tournament, they remained calm under pressure, choosing the safe options to keep the disc moving while still waiting for the right opportunity to set up a bigger play into the end zone. This Minnesota team also demonstrated some of the most consistent and accurate throws we saw out of every team.
Meanwhile, South Eugene became progressively more frustrated and frantic as they watched the game begin to slip out of reach. Dana Herrmann and Sonja Dorsch made impressive plays of their own and showed extreme tenacity in their efforts to get the game under control, but ultimately failed to get the ball rolling for South Eugene.
Washburn sealed the deal as Charlotte Eskola skied a South Eugene player in the end zone, earning her team their first national title in history.
Washburn star and central handler Riley Gage ascribes Washburn’s championship win to the team’s positive mindset and high levels of effort throughout their regular season and into HSNI. “We just had that grit, I think,” Gage said.
Teammate Lydia Jorgenson seemed to agree that hard work was what carried the team so far. “I trust [my teammates], and I know that we could do it,” she said. “We worked so hard, got a lot of good practice in Minnesota, and I know that we are the grittiest team ever.”
All-Tournament First Team
Nora Luloff (Garfield)
Alice Rieger (Strath Haven)
Riley Gage (Washburn)
Kumari Okumura (Washburn)
Charlotte Eskola (Wasburn)
Jaylin Liu (El Cerrito)
Kyla Hurt (South Eugene)
All-Tournament Second Team
Kelsey Matz (Roosevelt)
Grant Gillespie (South Eugene)
Lily DiGioia (Nathan Hale)
Eddy Drake (HB Woodlawn)
Dana Herrmann (South Eugene)
Rani Millstein (El Cerrito)
Violet Yap (Alameda)
