Maplewood, NJ: The Columbia High School Girls Ultimate Frisbee Team, known as “Sparkle Motion,” ended their spring season with the title “State Champions” for the first time since 2010.
Sparkle Motion began the championship game, which took place on May 28, with a 3-point deficit against the reigning champions, but came back to win in a nail-biting finish of 11 to 9 over West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional.
Delaware Valley Youth League (DEVYL) Coach Ken Karnas, who has coached players from both teams, said Sparkle Motion and WWP “brought an incredible level of play to our championship game!” He also announced after the game that coaches and players across the State selected Sparkle Motion Captain Sydney Mannion as “NJ State Player of the Year”.
Also selected to the First Team All-State from Sparkle Motion were Captain Vivian Welch and Irene Chen. Second Team All-State included Captain Abby Sullivan, Sandy Yang, Simone Heinze, and JV Captain Sabrina Mannion.
Sparkle Motion is graduating 13 seniors this year: Dara Brownstein, Lyra Graff, Amelia Heinze, Simone Heinze, Mila Kisch, Sydney Mannion, Rebecca Neusner, Ciara O’Hanlon-Boone, Priya Pai, Lucy Parry, Holly Stout, Abby Sullivan, and Vivian Welch. Irene Chen and Sandy Yang were announced as 2022-23 captains selected to lead Sparkle Motion next school year. Sparkle Motion has a varsity team coached by Donovan Hugel and a junior varsity team coached by Thea Cogan-Drew.
Sparkle Motion seniors, 2021-22
Excited for the future of the team, Coach Donovan said, “There’s finally a system of belief, trust, and development that is going to take us miles, and watching them all develop into amazing players and people has one of the best experiences of my life.” The Team’s Instagram and Twitter handle are both @chsparklemotion.
Columbia High School posted to twitter after the win:
Hey @SOMSDK12 and @GovMurphy, meet the NJ State Champion in Girls Ultimate Frisbee — the CHS Sparkle Motion Team! They outlasted a tough West Windsor team in a grueling 3-hr matchup to return the Disc HOME where Ultimate Frisbee was 1st invented in 1968 — Columbia High School! pic.twitter.com/gRYCAlhhxl
— Columbia High School Principal (@CHSPrincipalNJ) June 1, 2022
