Montco Community College Esports Team Wins National Championship

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Eric Devlin

December 14, 2023

Before a crowd of more than 50 people watching inside College Hall on Blue Bell Campus,
the Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) Mustangs eSports Rocket League team
capped an undefeated season with a win in the online National Junior Collegiate Athletic
Association Esports (NJCAAE) championship. The 4-3 victory Friday, Dec. 8, was over the Wolfpack of Madison Community College, from Madison, Wis.

Additionally, the Mustangs Overwatch team placed second in its national final in a
3-2 loss to the Tigers of Marshalltown Community College, from Marshalltown, Iowa,
Wednesday, Dec. 6. The Overwatch team went undefeated during the regular season.

MCCC Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation Kelly Dunbar congratulated both teams
on their success.

“I’m really proud of the athletes,” she said. “Being a student-athlete is tough between
balancing academics and competition. Both teams did a tremendous job this season.”

The Mustangs eSports program is the Athletics eighth collegiate sport and its first
all-gender team. The Mustangs eSports team members compete against colleges nationally
as part of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which is composed of more than 170 member schools with more than 5,000 student-athletes.
The Mustangs also compete as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association
Esports (NJCAAE), composed of more than 60 two-year colleges from across the country.

The esports program began at MCCC in the spring of 2020 and has grown from 13 student-athletes
playing Rocket League, to the program now offering six video games titles including
Valorant, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Super Smash
Bros. Ultimate and 85 student-athletes currently listed on the Mustangs eSports roster.

Rocket League student-athletes Joe Romano, of Blue Bell, Anthony Bodenstein, of Norristown,
and Ethan Peyton, of North Wales, called winning the national title surreal.

“I keep expecting it to hit me, but it doesn’t feel real,” said Romano, a 2022 Wissahickon
High School graduate.

“It feels amazing, said Bodenstein, who graduated from Emmaus High School in 2023.
“It feels great.”

“It feels really good,” said Peyton, a 2022 North Penn High School graduate. “We definitely
trained and practiced hard. We were ready for anything. We were flawless in the league’s
regular season, and in the playoffs, we came ready to win.”

Romano and Bodenstein also played together previously on the soccer field this past
season for the Mustangs as goalies. They built on that camaraderie to help with their
play in Rocket League, which is similar to soccer but involves the use of vehicles
to shoot a ball into a net.

“I got to meet and know Anthony before esports season,” said Romano. “I found out
what kind of person he was. Sports is a great way to bring people together. In soccer,
it was unfortunate we didn’t go to nationals. But Anthony said, ‘If we can’t win it
all in real soccer, let’s win it in car soccer.’”

The experience playing soccer and esports at the same time helped Bodenstein to make
friends as a first-year student.

“Coming into to the soccer season, I was nervous and shy. I didn’t know anybody. I
didn’t grow up around Montco,” he said. “Joe and Ethan knew each other. I drifted
towards Joe because he had a Rocket League sweatshirt, so I knew he liked the game
too. He welcomed me with open arms. It boosted my confidence in soccer and esports
because I already made a friend early in the year. Playing two sports is a lot of
fun. It kept me busy. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing. It kept my plate
filled. It was a good first semester here at Montco.”

Dunbar congratulated Mustangs eSports Program Coordinator Jace Winders for all of
the success he’s accomplished in his first semester with the team.

“We have record numbers and competed for two national championships,” said Dunbar.
“He’s done an outstanding job.”

Both the Rocket League and Overwatch teams had tremendous seasons, said Winders, and
he was incredibly proud of their performances.

“With Rocket League, none of the games were close by any means,” he said. “They took
care of business and reaped the reward of that in the national championship. With
Overwatch, I am proud of the way they performed. They faced tough competition. It’s
the best of the best of esports from a community college level. It was a cool experience
for them.

“Overall, I’m super proud of both teams. Both had to go through adversity. From the
playoffs, to playing for a new esports coordinator and assistant coaches, to balancing
school life and performing at such a high level. Credit to the students for being
able to balance life and still be on the grind.”

Winders’ players said he’s done an incredible job as a first semester program coordinator.

“Jace is incredible,” said Romano. “He’s putting in the work with events in front
of a crowd. New outreach, new games, new computers– it’s been really great.”

“Honestly, Jace is everything someone would want in a coach,” said Peyton. “He’s a
friend of the guys. We look at him as one of the guys. He’s easy to talk to and get
feedback. Like Joe said, he’s setting up things. He pushes things to the next level
compared to last year. Like the atmosphere, the general attitude. He’s kind to everyone.
It makes you want to get there early, rather than on time or show up late.”

Bodenstein appreciated the way Winders made time to get to know his players and help
them feel comfortable.

“He’s amazing,” he said. “This being my first semester here, he helped me be more
comfortable in the program, have a good time and do my best. I can’t wait for many
more semesters to come.”

The success the Rocket League achieved during the fall semester can be attributed
to a variety of reasons, said Winders.

“Hats off to students, first of all,” he said. “It’s easy to win with talented students
willing to improve. Also, the coaching staff. Assistant Coach of Esports Matthew Cauto
took three players and made them into a cohesive unit. It’s not just one person or
role. The whole program came together to make it happen.”

Romano agreed. He said Cauto was instrumental to the team’s success and kept players
motivated in situations where things weren’t always going their way.

“You can’t have a good team without a good coach,” he said. “A lot of times if we
were down a goal or a game in a series, he could help us turn it around, forget about
the game, ground us and remember the game plan. He was good at keeping us focused
on the basics. It was not too complicated. He was really good at making us feel comfortable
at being ourselves versus trying to conform to a standard or something we’re not.
It’s a big reason for our success. All three of us found our niche on the field in
a team environment and the support system was excellent at helping us flourish.”

Winders gave a special mention to Dunbar for her support and guidance this season.

“She’s been such a big supporter of the esports program at Montco,” he said. “We would
never have been able to reach this level of success without her. A lot of credit to
her in addition to everyone else in the program.”

In addition to the players and coaching staff, Winders gave special mention to student
Jacob Saltzburg, who handles the production team and broadcasts the games for a live
audience.

“He’s helped break viewership records on our Twitch channel,” said Winders. “He’s
hosted live streams and in-person events. It’s so much different to hear a crowd versus
playing online. It adds a level of hype. This is the championship. He’s really put
in quite a bit of work, almost as much as the students and coaches.”

The players appreciated Saltzburg’s efforts too.

“Being able to come home and see my parents watching the goals I scored builds confidence
and makes me want to come back and be a better player,” said Romano. “It’s not just
me being able to see our wins. It’s my friends and family. Shout out to him. He does
a really good job.”

Following the great success this season, Winders said he already has his eye on the
future.

“It’s a big team effort and huge program win,” he said. “I’m excited to continue
that in the spring.”

For more information about Mustang Athletics, visit the Athletics website.

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.