STC Seniors Roman Hill (left) and Nolan Salas (right) signed with MCC for the potential to earn an eSports scholarship this fall. Photo provided by the South Tama County School District.

On Wednesday, March 1, South Tama County High School Seniors Roman Hill and Nolan Salas signed with Marshalltown Community College for the opportunity to play eSports at the next level.

“We’re hoping that even more than one [of our] players will earn a scholarship. Of course, it all depends on how they do in the fall with MCC. Their coaches are going to hold tryouts. We’re pretty confident we should get at least one scholarship winner, but more importantly than that, it’s a neat feeling to see these kids succeed and move on with something in their future, like eSports, to help them out,” said Coach Mike Carnahan.

Both Hill and Salas want to try out for MCC’s Mario Kart eSports team, along with Hill’s passion for Overwatch 2 and Salas’ need to smash in Smash Bros.

“Smash Bros. is definitely the game that I wanted to join eSports for. That’s the one I’m good at,” said Salas.

Both STC seniors will be competing for an eSports scholarship to MCC.

“The scholarship isn’t guaranteed…yet,” said Hill. “I plan on going there for two years for my general credit classes before going to Iowa State for possibly agricultural engineering. Haven’t fully committed to it yet.”

As for Salas’ college plan, he wishes to pursue a degree in theater at the University of Northern Iowa after two years at MCC.

“I performed at the Gallagher Bluedorn [Arts Center] at UNI. It was fantastic. That’s where it started, where I found theater as my true passion. The number of people [approximately 700] hearing the applause, it’s an experience I’d never felt before,” said Salas. “I’m excited and nervous, but I think it’s more excitement to see where I can go and what I can do with eSports.”

eSports at STC has provided both seniors with opportunities they didn’t imagine possible.

“I like playing eSports. Playing with people I don’t know well has always been fun because I like meeting new people and developing new relationships. I love the people that are in eSports. Most of them are fun to be around,” jokes Salas. “They help you out, they reassure you, and it’s a really positive community.”

While they’re racing to compete in this season of Mario Kart and towards graduation, Hill and Salas want to encourage others to join the eSports team at STC.

“Even if you don’t play video games, you can certainly join eSports because we have a very positive reinforcement team. Don’t be scared. It’s a very open community,” said Salas.

“Just try it. You’re going to miss out if you don’t,” said Hill.

Carnahan is simply excited to see eSports being widely embraced so quickly.

“I’m just super happy this sport has taken off and been embraced by the school district, the student body, and the community. I’m super proud of the students who have earned their way to play after high school and participate in college,” said Coach Carnahan. “You can just see that it helps students completely come out of their shells and boost their confidence. This is going to give them something to hang their hat on. It makes them proud and lays the foundation for their future success. I’m excited about the future aspects of eSports as STC.”

With the upcoming Mario Kart Deluxe 8 season starting soon, Hill and Salas, along with the other six seniors on the team, are hyped for their last season at STC.

“I don’t want to necessarily ‘leave a big one,’ but I definitely want to impact how practices go and how people can learn to have fun while also learning a few things about eSports,” said Hill. “Personally, eSports is a lot on mindset. [It] isn’t physically demanding like football or soccer. It’s a big mental game. If you go in there worried sick because I used to do that during our Smash Bros and prior Mario Kart season. I used to be so worried, which greatly affected my gameplay. But if you go in there, take a real deep breath and say ‘I’m going to do this,’ 98% of the time you’re going to do it.”

Coach Carnahan is doing everything he can to help support this season’s team in making it to state again.

​​“We’re a returning state tournament qualifier from our first season last year. We’re looking at our team, and we’re pretty confident. We’ve got a good team, top to bottom [and] looking forward to this season,” said Coach Carnahan. “It’s fun. The kids seem super excited and enthusiastic about it. They want to improve their playing. That’s always a sign of a good group of teammates. We will be stressing cooperation amongst the team and sportsmanship instead of just going at this and trying to do their individual best.”

The eSports varsity team has their first game on March 21 at 4 p.m. in the South Tama High School Commons Room, and Coach Carnahan wants to encourage everyone in the community to come to support these players, “We hope we get some fans here to show their support and check us out.”