A look at the Albany High School ultimate frisbee team’s historic undefeated season.
Gwen Pingree, Photos by Che Holts
After placing eighth in nationals in 2025, the Albany High School ultimate frisbee team was not satisfied. Returning nearly all of the same players this year, the Cougars bounced back and put up one of the most dominant seasons in high school frisbee history.
This historic season started in October when the Cougars went to Seattle for a national qualifying tournament. They competed for two days against local Pacific Northwest teams and ended up winning to get the bid to nationals. Current senior, co-captain, and president of the club, Matt Wong says, “It was the beginning of the season so our chemistry wasn’t really there yet but we focused up and locked in.” Despite the tournament being last minute, the Cougars punched their ticket to nationals with ease.
When the first semi-national games came up in fall, the Cougars were ranked number one in the nation and held that rank for the entire season. Senior Co-Captain Nate Urbania says, “It was a blessing and a curse at the same time because you have that expectation but it also gives you the confidence of being the favorite.”
In preparation for nationals the Cougars put a big emphasis on conditioning. Junior Dara Fisher says, “We only had practice a couple of times per week. During practice we did a lot of running and sprints. Everyone was also expected to do additional conditioning on their own time.”
In May, at Spaghetti Western, a two-day tournament and qualifier for nationals, the Cougars advanced to the finals by defeating Green Canyon, Utah 10-9. They then beat South Eugene, Oregon 13-9 in the tournament final. This completed a perfect 29-0 undefeated regular season.
Then came the High School National Invite in Salem, Oregon in June. The Cougars played six games throughout the weekend. When talking about the competition level, Wong says, “It was hard. It’s a national tournament so every team deserves to be there. They all have different strengths and skills.”
In the final game, Albany once again faced Green Canyon from Utah. It was a close battle, but in the waning seconds of a tied game, Jasper Graf hucked the disc to Muhammad Awais. With that play, the Cougars won 13-12, completing their historic season. Urbania says, “I remember storming the field with my teammates, we all just started crying actual tears of joy. It was kind of indescribable.” The Cougars final record was 35-0.
With the national championship win, the Cougars received an automatic bid back to nationals for this upcoming season. Seven seniors have graduated, so there is a big gap to fill. Around half of the core from last year remains, and the team will look quite different. When asked about this season, Junior and secretary of the club, Ethan Owen, says, “Obviously the way the team is looking right now is definitely not what we are going to look like at the end of the season. There is still a lot of work to be done and it is exciting to see where we will go.”
Since the ultimate team is considered a club sport, they do not receive any funding from the school. When asked about how the team was able to afford going to tournaments, Owen says “We have done bake sales, written grants to the Albany Education Foundation and asked for family donations. This year since nationals is in Virginia, we will need to do a lot of fundraising.” Another challenge is field space; the ultimate team has the lowest priority for the field, and they almost always have to practice in the dark on either the softball fields or at Ocean View.
Being a club team does come with some benefits. When asked about them Owen says, “It is helpful to be able to practice year round. It helps us develop more as a team. Frisbee is not a sport that you can learn in one season; you need to build it over a long period of time.”
This 2025-2026 team put up the most dominant season in Albany’s ultimate frisbee history and will not be forgotten.
