Sam Heck, foreground, and Isaac Shuckahosee focusing on their set of races that resulted in three first place finishes out of four. Photo by Cyote Williams

South Tama had their final Esports racing meet on March 3, and the outcome showed how talented this program is.

With a large group of home fans in attendance at the high school commons, the Trojans put on a high-level display of racing against Woodward-Granger and Centerville.

“Have fun, be smart and race hard,” Coach Mike Carnahan said to his first two racers, Hayden Morris and Roman Hill.

South Tama found themselves at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the first set of races, with the Trojans sitting at 32 points, followed closely by Woodward-Granger at 28 and Centerville in a close third with 24.

Sam Heck and Isaac Shuckahosee were the next pair of racers to take the controls. Heck was on a different level despite being on the same tracks as the other competitors. In his four races of the second set, Heck ended with three first place finishes. Shuckahosee was also serviceable, finishing in second place twice.

This stretch of races saw South Tama extend their lead to twelve points with the scores set at Centerville 42, Woodward-Granger 57, South Tama 69.

In the third and final set of races it would be up to Alex Babinant and Corbin Bergman to hold onto their first place lead, and hopefully propel them into State.

That’s exactly what they did. Despite some antics that included throwing a blue shell at their own teammate, Babinant and Bergman brought it home for the Trojans.

With three first place finishes and two second place finishes between them, it proved to be more than enough to lead South Tama to a blowout victory with a final score of Woodward-Granger 70, Centerville 72, South Tama 110.

The victory saw South Tama secure their spot in the state tournament in the program’s first year, edging out Iowa City West for the fourth spot out of five total by four points.

South Tama racers and their finishes:

Hayden Morris (5th, 4th, 1st, 3rd)

Roman Hill (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)

Sam Heck (5th, 1st, 1st, 1st)

Isaac Shuckahosee (4th, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd)

Alex Babinat (2nd, 1st, 1st, 3rd)

Corbin Bergman (1st, 4th, 2nd, 4th)

Final Division Standings:

Linn-Mar 814 points

Nevada CSD 786 points

Gilbert 741 points

South Tama County 703 points

Iowa City West 699 points