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St. Olaf Men's UltimateA history
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Frisbee at St. Olaf College: pre-'90s
Throwing frisbees has been synonymous with college for decades upon decades, and St. Olaf College is no exception. Much of the history of ultimate and frisbee at St. Olaf is now found through the digitally archived editions of the Viking, a yearbook that ran from 1905 through 2007.
Frisbees were first invented in the late 1930s and began being mass-produced in the late 1940s. They took to popularity, particularly among youth, in the '50s and '60s, and the sport of ultimate was invented in 1968.
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After that initial mention, the frisbee prevalence took off. The first photo of a frisbee was two years later in 1979, and the playing of frisbee was also mentioned in the context of party-goers at Heathstock, which does nothing to shake the stereotypes around frisbee. Shortly thereafter, in 1985, the first photo appeared of someone actively playing with a frisbee.
(Above) A photo of the Ultimate Club practice in their second year of existence, and the first year they were covered with a page in the Viking. 1994.
The Beginning of Ultimate: '90sAfter decades of a frisbee presence on campus, an organized men's ultimate frisbee club was finally formed for the spring of 1993, which is the first instance of the term "ultimate frisbee" being used in the Viking.
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(Below) One of the earliest mentions of frisbee in the Viking, in the context of the yearly spring party Heathstock. 1979.
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(Above) Further coverage of the Men's Ultimate Club from their debut in the Viking. 1994.
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The Men's Ultimate Frisbee Club was first given its own section in the yearbook in '94, and from then on it was mentioned in some capacity nearly every year.
In the early years, the Club was simply known as the Men's Ultimate Frisbee Club. In 1997, the Viking first refers to the club by its new name: "The Congo." By 2000, the Viking cites that the men's team is now known as Sanuk, which it quotes as being "a Buddhist approach to living life at a laid back and relaxing pace." |
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(Below) Coverage of the Men's Ultimate Club from the 1995 Viking.
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The fall of 2001 was a big year for the program. First off, it was the first year of hosting the annual Exit 69 tournament. It was also the time that the A-team changed their name once again, this time to the "Berzerkers," as it has remained for the past 20 years.
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(Below left) St. Olaf Ultimate coverage in the 1999 Viking. (Below right) Coverage from the 2000 Viking.
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Growth of the Club: '00s and '10s
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By the early 2000s the club was firmly established on its feet, playing some years with as many as three teams. The newly-minted Berzerkers continued to hold their own against D-I competition, with the 2003 and 2004 teams being among the best in program history to date, featuring a strong core of talented players. In 2004, the Zerks were able to hold their own against top teams such as crosstown Carleton CUT (9-15) and finished 4th in the region, losing out in the game to go to D-I Nationals.
For the rest of the 2000s decade the Zerks continued to finish middle of the region. In 2006, the team took onboard their first coach in program history, '04 graduate Dave Truesdale. He would coach for the '06, '07, and '09 seasons, with the '08 season being the only one he didn't coach and the only one in which the Zerks didn't qualify for Regionals. |
(Above) From the 2001 Viking.
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(Above) Practice in 2004, courtesy of the Viking.
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In 2010, the game was changed when D-III competition was created for schools with enrollment under 7,500 students. The Zerks switched over to D-III, despite it not being taken seriously by the ultimate community at the time.
In 2012, the Zerks made program history by qualifying for D-III Nationals for the first time, where they went on to an impressive T5th-place finish.
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(Above) Practice in 2005, courtesy of the Viking.
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The ensuing years saw varying levels of success, but three years later in 2015 the Zerks repeated the act of qualifying for Nationals virtue of a 2nd-place Regional finish. There they fought to a mid-level T9th-place finish.
The Modern Club: recent past and presentA big 2015 graduating class saw the team take a big step back in 2016. The following years saw the Zerks making steady progress back to the top level, but always finishing out as mid-Region finishers. In 2019 they returned to the market for a coach, bringing on '09 graduate Caleb Szydlo. The team continued the upward trend, falling just short of Nationals in 2019, and then being halted by the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, which saw both the 2020 and 2021 spring seasons canceled.
The upshot was a 2021 series held in the fall, which allowed the Zerks to continue their march with the retention of the past two graduating classes. They also brought on two more coaches: '19 graduate Aidan Clements, and the return of former coach and '04 graduate Dave Truesdale. It was, results-wise, the most successful Zerks team ever, winning their first recorded Conference and Regional titles, before finishing with a program-best T3rd-place finish at Nationals. The Zerks one-upped themselves in Spring 2022, falling in the National Championship for a 2nd-place finish. In 2023, the Zerks again turned in a T3rd-place finish before finally breaking through in 2024 and winning the first National Championship in program history TL;DR |
(Above) An honest reflection by our current coach and wordsmith Dave Truesdale '04. Courtesy of the 2004 Viking.
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Frisbee has come a long way at St. Olaf over the decades, and it continues to rise as the Zerks seek to establish themselves as top-level ultimate competitors.
