In a semester that saw athletic teams like soccer, cross country, and swim and dive all make it to state to much fanfare, one newer program also reached that pinnacle of high school competition in Missouri. Competing against programs across the state, Rockhurst qualified for the Missouri Scholastic Esports Federation (MOSEF) state tournament in 2v2 Rocket League, finishing fourth overall.
This is the first year the still-new esports program competed in MOSEF. Making it to state was really icing on the cake of a successful season.
“I knew we were going up against teams that have done this for years, who have multiple varsity and JV teams who play year round,” coach/moderator Gabby Kelsch Bledsoe said. “Knowing that we had that competition across the entire state, my goal isn’t to win, it is to help them develop as people and have fun.”
The Rocket League team of senior Xavier Aleman and juniors Vinny Gronberg and Drew Shepherd beat Christian Brothers College High School 3-2 in the quarterfinal match on Nov. 18, qualifying for the state tournament in Sedalia on Dec. 5.
Advancing to the Final Four of the bracket, they then faced Van Horn High School, the two-time defending state champion (and soon-to-be three-time state title winner) in a best-of-five match. The Falcons blanked Rockhurst 3-0, dropping the Hawklets to the consolation third-place match, where they lost to Hannibal 4-2.
While a fourth-place finish might not have been what they were hoping for, it was still a milestone achievement in their first year participating in MOSEF.
“We were going in there with good spirit, happy we even qualified for an in-person match for state,” Aleman, the lone senior, said. “…We were going up against some really good schools that have been at it for a few years, but I think we represented ourselves well.”
Esports mirrors the traditional athletic structure, with scheduled practices, scrimmages and matches each week across fall, winter and spring seasons. The team regularly scrimmages other Missouri schools, reviews film and competes together outside of school, practicing for competitions and building camaraderie.
“We usually scrimmage weekly with other schools around Missouri, and on the weekends we like to play together as friends, but we always keep it a little bit competitive,” senior Overwatch player Miguel Chavez said.
The program has varsity teams in Rocket League and Overwatch, two popular games requiring strategy, communication and teamwork. Rocket League is a two-player game combining soccer and rocket-powered cars, while Overwatch is a six-player game where players take roles and work through military-like missions. Along with these games, Rockhurst esports supports competitive chess through the Chess Club and will add additional games in the spring season.
“Our fall season was Overwatch and Rocket League, which we added last year, but the spring semester starts with Mario [Super] Smash Bros. and Marvel Rivals for MOSEF,” senior Overwatch player Joshua Brown Hays said.
MOSEF is a statewide league that organizes competition by sections competing in fall, winter and spring seasons. Rockhurst’s fall season saw them face schools such as Fort Osage, Lexington, Wellington and others in the Kansas City region. In Overwatch, the team advanced to the MOSEF sectional finals but lost, just missing the state tournament.
Beyond competition, Rockhurst leaders saw esports as a way to provide more opportunities for students.
“You look at the esports room, and you see dozens of guys in there who have found their community and their friends and a place for themselves to have fun and grow,” Kelsch Bledsoe said.
The idea to start the program began during the 2024-25 school year, when STEAM Director Tyler Baker helped raise interest. After months of planning and students taking initiative, a small group formed.
“Mr. Baker wanted to start the team, and so he kind of reached out to some guys and during Activity Period,” Brown Hays said. “We all met up and talked about it. He got like five people together, and we all really wanted to play, so we formed our first Overwatch team.”
From there, the program grew quickly and Rocket League was added. It is set apart as a blend of competition and community. While the games are the primary focus, building community is also important. Team members bond through the ups and downs of the season, building trust with each other that carries into each match played.
“As an administration, we saw esports as an avenue for students to grow personally, and be open to growth,” Kelsch Bledsoe said. “We saw there’s an avenue of pursuit for students who don’t do traditional athletics or who have interests elsewhere and this is a way for kids to find community.”
The team prioritizes communication and trust as keys to success. Unlike traditional sports, coaches are not allowed to communicate with players during matches, placing responsibility for coordination and planning fully on the players. The players perform under pressure and adapt to situations with each other’s support throughout games.
“Communication is extremely important, because you always have to call out who you’re targeting or else you’ll all get mixed up,” senior Overwatch player Brody Jacobson said. “Teamwork, of course, is very important because it’s a team game.”
Looking ahead, the program hopes to expand to varsity and junior varsity teams across multiple games in upcoming seasons.
“In the years to come I see the program growing and I see us fielding more teams,” Kelsch Bledsoe said. “I see us expanding, hopefully, to three or four games with varsity and junior varsity teams.”
With plans already in place to add more games in the spring, the Hawklets are hoping to compete in MOSEF championships in those as well–especially after this first season laid a strong foundation.
