Monkeyball

An impromptu Labor Day Monkeyball tournament took place in Jackson after it looked as if nice weather might bless the day. 15 participants descended on a backyard two-court Monkeyball arena to see who could claim the bragging rights they had so freely been dispersing since one participant attended the recent World Championships.

Round one saw a strong showing from Russ Reid who tossed so well many believed he had been secretly sneaking onto the courts by full moon’s light to practice, giving the only 15 – 0 spanking of round one. Dave Johnson sadly lost a marathon match to the eventual bronze medalist Greg Inosencio in an overtime game the refs are still questioning as many of the spectators had fallen asleep, possibly even one of the participants.

Round 2 held a merciless rout by Ned Huestis on his own daughter Beckitt LePeak, 15-0, who refused to give up her drinking hand to toss Monkeyballs. However, her husband stepped up to defend her honor in the 3rd round even though she was cheering against him.

The loser’s bracket saw intense action as well.  Toby LePeak came out with two strong wins but then lost again apparently distracted by butterflies or possibly a hang nail. Lindy Inosencio also had a strong run winning three hard fought matches in a row but then falling apparently due to a sudden onset of acute “monkey elbow???” (No one else had ever heard of it either).

Ned Huestis eventually fought his way back to face Ryan LePeak in the championship match, but Ryan’s two-a-days in the three weeks after receiving the official Monkeyballs from Frushour paid off with a 15–8 win. The trash talking continued after the tournament as many participants threatened strong comebacks in future events. The excitement generated is sure to bring even more participants in the near future.

Champion: Ryan LePeak
Runner-Up: Ned Huestis
# of Players:15