Washington finishes second in IAHSEA state tournament

Washington wrapped up just its second season as an Esports program with another strong finish at the Iowa High School Esports Association state tournament. The Demons finished second place in the Class 2A Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament for a second straight year.

The Washington Esports team entered Saturday’s tournament at the B.A. Niblock MCSD Orpheum Welcome Center in Marshalltown as the No. 1 seed in the 2A bracket. The Demons took down Fairfield and Estherville-Lincoln Central 2-0 in the first two rounds before falling to No. 2 seed Williamsburg 0-2 in the finals.

Despite coming up just short of a state title, the Demons continue to set the standard in 2A. Washington went 7-0 in the regular season to earn the top seed. In its first two years as a program, the Demons only have two losses, both coming in the state championship match. In 2024, Washington also went 7-0 in the regular season and fell to Forest City in the finals.

“I don’t feel like I can take a ton of credit for the success,” Washington coach Drew Ayrit said. “The players really run this machine and they bring their own talents and passions. So in a large part, they’re putting in the hours themselves doing their research, learning how to improve.”

The Demons also have reason to believe they’ll make another run next season. All of the members of this year’s varsity team are eligible to return to try and get the Demons over the hump after back-to-back second place finishes.

Washington hoping to grow Esports program

The success of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team over the past two seasons serves as a promising sign for the future of Esports at Washington. The Demons currently field teams for SSBU as well as Mario Kart 8, which competes in the IAHSEA’s spring season.

The IAHSEA offers Esports in the fall, winter and spring. Teams can compete in Rainbow Six Siege along with SSBU in the fall. Overwatch 2, Rocket League and Smite are offered in the winter. Marvel Rivals and Valorent along with Mario Kart 8 are played in the spring.

Starting with SSBU and Mario Kart were intentional moves when Washington began its Esports program in 2024. Both games don’t require as many consuls to practice, but Ayrit is optimistic that with the right investment, Washington’s program will continue to grow and eventually offer more options for students interested in the joining the team.

“The next games that we want to participate in we’re going to need to get quite a few consoles because they’re more team-oriented games,” Ayrit said. “So we’re going to need about 12 consuls and then we’re looking to hopefully add Rainbow Six Siege in the fall and Rocket League in the winter and then Marvel Rivals in the spring. So we’re hoping to have a couple of options, and I think that would just increase our numbers even more.”

The Demons don’t plan on fielding any teams for the games this winter, but the interest and support within the school’s community have planted the seeds for expansion. Ayrit said he received messages of support from coaches of Washington’s traditional sports programs when the Esports team made its run to state last year. On Thursday, the team was given a sendoff parade around the school with classmates cheering the players on as they made their way through the halls.

“I thought it was pretty cool that they did something special for us considering, it may be Esports but we still qualified for state,” junior David Ide said. “So I thought it was pretty cool how most people still came out just to support us.”

Ayrit encouraged community members interested in helping the program to reach out. He expressed his gratitude for the support the program has received already as it continues to offer additional opportunities for students to be involved in extracurricular activities.

“There’s been a lot of support in the community and its been a really nice surprise,” Ayrit said. “I’m of the mindset that the more students we can get involved in other things, there’s lots of studies that show the better results they’re going to have later in life.”