Joey Tate, Landon Hollingsworth and Brent Worth
Bethany Tate, from the loss side, downing sister Noelle along the way, wins 18U Girls title
For the 18 and under boys (16) and girls (9) who competed in separate events at the 2023 Junior International Championships final, regular-season event at Wolf’s Den in Roanoke, VA last weekend (Sept. 16-17), there was likely a mild sense of comfort knowing that no matter how either of the events turned out, the ‘party’ wouldn’t be over for at least another month. As the last regular season event (#8) for each group, the last two tournaments essentially settled the year-end ‘point standings’ question, which, in turn, factored into who advanced to the official, invitational end of the party in Norfolk, VA when they would compete again, in separate championships, during Pat Fleming’s International Open events from Nov. 1-4 in Norfolk, VA.
Five of the top 10 girls in the standings battled in the last 18U Girls event, finishing 1st through 5th, though not in the same order as their standings. Six of the 10 18U Boys in the standings competed in their last event, finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th, though like their female counterparts, not in the same order as their standings. As it turned out, Courtney Hairfield and Skylar Hess ended up tied for the top spot, with Jordan Helfrey, Bethany Tate and the (not competing) Skylynn Elliot in 5th place. On the boys’ side of the standings battle, Brent Worth came into and out of the event in the top spot, with Landon Hollingsworth, Jas Makhani, Joey Tate and a (not competing) Payne McBride in 5th place. The end result of all of this points maneuvering means, in essence, that most of the top finishing participants in the last regular-season event will move on intact to the 18U Championships in Norfolk.
It was fitting in a lot of ways that two of the most consistent competitors and one-on-one opponents against each other in the 18U JIC division over the past three years, Hollingsworth and Tate, opened up and closed the last event of the season against each other. In the opening round of play, the two of them went double-hill before Hollingsworth closed it out and advanced on a four-match trip to the finals. He got locked up in a second double-hill fight, against Logan Whitaker, and then defeated Nick Fiore 7-5 in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
In the meantime, Brent Worth, a third ‘side’ to the Hollingsworth/Tate rivalry and, significantly, friendship as well, over the past three years, opened his campaign with a 7-2 win over Tanner McKinney and then got tested, double hill, twice. First, against Conner Scruggs and then, in a winners’ side semifinal, Jas Makhani. He moved into the hot seat match, where Hollingsworth sent him off to the semifinals 7-4.
On the loss side, Tate got by Hunter Zayas, Conner Scruggs and Niko Konkel, all 7-4, before picking up Fiore, defeating him 7-3 and advancing to the quarterfinals. Makhani drew Whitaker, who’d defeated McKinney 7-3 and Jayce Little 7-1 to reach him. Makhani advanced 7-3 over Whitaker to join Tate in the quarterfinals. Tate defeated Makhani and then, Worth, both 7-5, and got his shot against Hollingsworth in the finals; not their first and from the look of things, not their last in the years to come. Hollingsworth won this round 9-2 to chalk up his second 18U Boys title of the year.
Skylar Hess and Bethany Tate
Bethany Tate overcomes an early loss to claim her second win on the JIC season
After opening her quest for the final 18U Girls title of the JIC’s regular season with a 7-1 victory over Sabrina Long, Bethany Tate ran into a familiar rival in a winners’ side semifinal, Skylar Hess, who’d already won two of the season’s seven events, one of them by defeating Tate in the finals, and was clearly ‘gunning’ for a third. Bethany was looking to finish the 2023 JIC season with her second win. It was a recipe for a tight match and true to form, it went double hill before Hess prevailed to face Jordan Helfery in the hot seat match. Hess sent Helfery to the semifinals 7-2 and claimed the hot seat.
Moving over to the loss side, Bethany Tate ran into what has seemed to become an obligatory match against her younger sister, Noelle. They’ve traded a few wins and losses in critical spots over the few years that they’ve been battling against each other on the JIC. In this particular setup, each knew that if they won, they’d be facing the 18U Girls’ division’s standings leader, Courtney Hairfield in the quarterfinals.
They almost came to double hill, but Bethany edged out in front near the end and defeated her sister 7-5. She took out Hairfield 7-2 in those quarterfinals and then, eliminated Helfery 7-5 in the semifinals.
With the race extended to 9 for the final match, Tate went to work. They battled back and forth for much of the match, but as she’d done against her sister, Bethany edged out in front in time to close it out and win her second 2023 18U Girls title.
Invitations will be offered to 16 boys and eight girls for participation in the two 18U Championship matches in early November. Pretty much everyone mentioned in this report will be invited, along with a few who didn’t participate in this final event of the season for both divisions. It’s impossible to know who the actual participants may be, because on occasion, invitees either can’t or for whatever reason, choose not to accept the invitation and it will be offered to the next in line, based on the tour standings that existed at the end of the final event.
Before those Championships happen, all three Tate siblings, along with Kennedy Meyman (who finished 10th in the 18U Girls standings), Savannah Easton, Payne McBride, Hayden Ernst, Jas Makhani, Adrian Prasad, Hank Leinen, the Vaughan brothers (Garrett and Greyson), Samuel Henderson and Sofia (The Pink Dagger) Mast will be flying to Klagenfurt, Austria to represent the USA in the World Junior Championships from October 19-22.
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