While last year may have had some ups and some downs, the 2025-2026 season has so far been very successful for the MTHS Hawks’ Esports program. Led to victory by some of Terrace’s promising talent, the Rocket League and Street Fighter 6 teams both claimed victory against many schools in their seasons this year. But only half the year has passed, and there are still teams playing every week, and teams to look forward to during the spring season.
Led by senior Sebastian Bailon, the Rocket League team had a record of three wins and two losses this season, making it to the first round of playoffs. They had a slow start during the preseason, but were able to score wins against Central Kitsap, Lake Stevens and Sedro-Wooley High School. Unfortunately, the team would then lose three to nothing against Lake Stevens in the playoffs. Rishav Raj, a lead player on the team had this to say on the season: “Two players really stood out and helped us make playoffs, James Bollen and Jason Perkins. These two were the main MVPs of the team, managing to pull amazing, technical goals off to tie and win games.” While the season may not have ended in victory, the team is proud of their performance, and will undoubtedly work to improve by the fall season of 2026.
While the Rocket League team found victory, the Street Fighter 6 team found domination. Led by senior Adrian Suharjoto, the team competed in eight best-of-five matches, and never lost a single one. In fact, they never lost a single round, winning 3-0 eight weeks in a row. They even beat Nooksack Valley High School in the finals to win the championship for the second year in a row. Conlan Macleod, Adrian Suharjoto, and Elijah Driscoll performed exceptionally well in the finals match, which was played live in the HUB to an audience of students and parents. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team dude. The amount of communication and energy was amazing this year, and it was so nice to have someone to back me up when I was in need.” Said Suharjoto.
But for Rocket League and even more for Street Fighter 6, next year’s teams may have some trouble finding enough players. All three of the varsity players in Street Fighter, and two of the Rocket League varsity players are seniors, and will be graduating this year. “The future for our teams are bright, you can help by becoming a member too!” said Raj. And when asked about next season, Junior Xavier Cunningham had this to say. “I hope that I manage to get enough members on the team, and train them up well enough, that we can at least perform at all next season… first place is still the goal, but I don’t know what spot the other teams are at.” Clearly next year will be an uphill battle, but it is also clear that the Hawks Esports teams will be giving it their all next year to win.
Even though there are doubts for next year, this year is only half over. Currently, there are two games being played in the winter season, Guilty Gear Strive and Marvel Rivals. Guilty Gear Strive is another fighting game similar to Street Fighter, featuring high speed and high intensity one-on-one gameplay. Unlike Street Fighter however, Guilty Gear is competed individually rather than in teams of three. Marvel Rivals, on the other hand, is a 6 vs 6 game featuring various popular marvel characters, each with unique and complex tools at their disposal for protecting your team and dispatching the other team. Both winter teams have had a rocky start, with the Guilty gear players top scorers being Xavier Cunningham and Dewey Jones, each with a record of two wins and one loss, and the Marvel Rivals team has a record of two wins and two losses, scoring a win against Lincoln High School in the first week of the season, and a win against Colville High School in the fourth week. Marvel Rivals captain Aiden Crane has identified the season’s star player thus far as Oliver Layman, playing Captain America. “[Layman] has good game sense… he’s a really good generalist.” Said Crane.
And past the winter season is arguably the biggest game of the entire year, Super Smash Bros Ultimate. This game often has the largest attendance of any game in the year, fitting as the game has a roster of 82 unique characters, allowing for countless options that leads to every match being different. It is also a very big deal within the league, having an in-person event for the final matches. It may be an uphill battle for the Hawks, but it is one they are prepared for. “The outcome of the season will depend on three things, those being the internet situation, the amount the team practices, and if everybody shows up for the matches.” Said team captain Conlan Macloed on the outlook for the season. “If people practice a lot, the team doesn’t have to play on a hotspot, and everybody shows up on gameday, we should do pretty well.” Hopes are cautiously optimistic for the rest of the program, but the team is working hard every week to practice and prepare for the season.
The Esports season always has ups and downs, and each year the players work to improve on their previous performance. We’ve seen this each year with Rocket League, Street Fighter, and Super Smash Bros, whose teams improve each year in hopes of making it further in their leagues. One thing the program is determined to improve on as a whole is their team size. As Raj put it, “The future for our teams are bright, you can help by becoming a member too!”
