NJCAAE Week 6 Sees Success For LCCC In Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Valorant
November 8, 2024 - - The Lorain County Community College Esports team wrapped up Week 6 of the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports fall season on Friday. Throughout the week, teams and competitors positioned themselves to grab a playoff spot in next week's final week of competition.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 1v1 – Best-of-Seven
Heading into the final week of the SSBU fall season with an undefeated record is Colby Cabrera (Amherst, Ohio/Marion L. Steele HS) who knocked off his Tier 2 opponent from Muskegon College in a 4-0 sweep. Cabrera also defeated SUNY Jamestown Community College and Rose State College in Open Series (Tier 3) competition.
In his six Tier 2 matches this fall, the sophomore has refused to lose, literally, even one single round in contender series play. In 24 total rounds played, he has wiped the floor with his opponents winning all 24 with a perfect 6-0 match record heading into the final week of play. Another perfect day in week 7 and he will most assuredly take the No. 1 seed in the Tier 2 playoffs.
Robert Rogers played in three matches on Tuesday, winning all three. Playing two Tier 1 matches, Rogers won in four rounds against Northwest Florida State College and then swept SUNY Onondaga Community College. He holds an 8-2 record going into the final week of competition.
Nehemiah Hopkins (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria HS) won his fourth match in a row when he defeated off Catawba Valley Community College in Tier 3 competition. Hopkins also holds a perfect 4-0 record in Tier 2 competition.
Mario Kart 8 – 1v1 – Best-of-Seven
Rogers got back in the win column for his ninth and tenth wins of the fall after defeating Terra State Community College and Harrisburg Area Community College. Roberts is 10-2 this fall in Tier 1 play.
Colin Zielinski suffered his first loss of the regular season after falling to Danville Area Community College in seven rounds. He is currently 5-1 this season.
Valorant – 5v5 – Best-of-three
The Tier 1 squad picked up their second win of the season to lock up the No. 4 seed in the playoffs in two weeks after dispatching Johnston Community College in two rounds (13-6 and 13-8). Brody Taylor had 45 kills while Kylie Zeman had 19 assists. Mason Henderson (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion HS) had 14 bomb plants for the Commodores.
The Tier 3 squad, made up of Justin Kozelka (Munson, Ohio/Ohio Virtual Academy), Cadence Buckles (Elyria, Ohio/LCCC Early College), Gilbert Chambers (Collins, Ohio/Edison HS), Jacob Brown (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria HS), and Braylon Zeman (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS) earned a win against Northeast Iowa Community College. Justin Kozelka had a team-high 42 kills. Buckles, Chambers, and Zeman all had 20+ kills for LCCC.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Crew Battle – 1v1 – Best-of-Three
To finish up the week, three Crew Battle squads in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate won all three of the matches they played in on Friday. LCCC 1 (Robert Rogers, Gabriel Beckstrom (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS), Colby Cabrera) team defeated North Central Technical College in two rounds. Rogers led his team with nine knockouts.
LCCC 2 (Josh Conde (Lorain, Ohio/LCCC Early College), David LeBron Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS), and Christopher Gonet (Lorain, Ohio/LCCC Early College)) defeated Herkimer County Community College in two rounds. Gonet had a team-high seven knockouts.
LCCC 3 (Nehemiah Hopkins (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria HS), Joshua Wagner (Ckeveland, Ohio/LCCC Early College), Jason Thomas (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS), and Yaniel Collazo (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria HS) defeated Lake Region State College in three rounds. Hopkins led his team with 17 knockouts.
Next Up:
The final week of the fall season in the NJCAAE will commence next Tuesday where playoff positions will be solidified in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart, and Valorant.