competitions against one other school. In the new format, all eight players compete at the same time, versus two from each team (six total) in the old format. Do these changes help or hurt Gilbert? Staudt isn’t sure, not at this early stage of the season anyway. “We’re still figuring that out,” he said. “We’ve played two matches and won both pretty convincingly, but it is different. It helps when you have arguably the best player in the state on your team leading the charge though.” And now we get to the good part. That best player we keep re- ferring to is senior Miles Britt, who is one of up to six players on the roster who will compete in esports at the collegiate level. Britt will attend Northwestern College in Orange City in the fall. What makes Britt so good at Mario Kart? For starters, he puts in the time. He’s constantly playing the game, and when he doesn’t have a controller in his hands, he’s watching video of other players or researching tracks. A year ago, Britt opened up the state championship match against ADM and Nevada by winning four consecutive races
versations with the coaches at Marshalltown Community Col- lege. The fourth spot on the varsity during the early portion of the season has been occupied by freshman Elijah Dahlstrom, who got his feet wet competitively by helping the Rocket League team reach the state semifinals this past winter. With the Larwick twins and others capable of stepping in when needed, Gilbert has the talent, depth, and experience to compete with any team in the state. Staudt also thinks last sea- son’s state tournament run should help when it comes to confidence. Playing in person is completely different and it took the Tigers a few years to be able to shed the nerves. “We admittedly struggled with the in person state before breaking out (last spring),” Staudt said. “That in person is really a different feel and you don’t understand until you get there. But this year we have the leadership and know what to expect, so I don’t anticipate that being an issue.” State will be held in Marshall- town from May 19-21, and the Tigers certainly expect to be in attendance. And with the skill at their fingertips, don’t be sur- prised to see them come home with a big trophy once again.
Freshman Elijah Dahlstrom (left) and senior Hunter McLaughlin (center) are members of the Gilbert varsity Mario Kart team, as the Tigers look to win a second straight state title this spring.
to put Gilbert into a comfortable lead it never relinquished. In other words, he slammed the door shut, and Staudt says he’s even better this spring. “In my coaching career I’ve had a lot of opportunities to be around kids who were that next level of greatness, and Miles is one of those generational kids who is on that next level,” Staudt said. “You just have to sit back and admire it while you have it. It’s going to be hard to fill his shoes next year because he gives advice to other players in a constructive way and he shares his knowledge. It’s not just about him, he’s never been that way.” Playing in the No. 2 spot for Gilbert is fellow senior Carter Hodgen, who is a stellar player in his own right. Britt and
Hodgen have been at the front of the Gilbert team for four con- secutive years. “Carter is really, really good, too, and he’s been instrumental and has had a big-time impact on the success of our program over the last four years,” Staudt said. “The nice thing about Carter and Miles is they just have that connection and that bond. They’re still talking to each other between rounds about races and strategies.” Hunter McLaughlin, another senior who has been a four- year team member, also returns from last season’s title team. McLaughlin, Hodgen, and the Larwick twins, Evan and Ian, all could join Britt as collegiate es- ports players. Staudt says McLaughlin, Hodgen, and the Larwick twins have all had con-
T roy Staudt sits back and gets comfortable in- side the Gilbert High School LMC as he watches his Mario Kart team members go through a practice on a recent Tuesday afternoon. The veteran coach of the Gilbert esports program has a good reason for watching from a distance — he’s built a well-oiled machine, so to speak. The Tigers are the defending state champions. They have ar-
guably the best player in the state. OK, so you could prob- ably take the word “arguably” out, but we’re trying to stay dip- lomatic here. And they bring back other talented players from last season’s unbeaten crew. So, yeah, Staudt likes where his team’s at as it attempts to hoist the state championship hardware for a second straight spring, but he also knows noth- ing will be given to the Tigers. They’re going to have to earn it.
“It’s fair to say we’re going to be one of the top teams in the state, but I’m hesitant to say we’re the best,” Staudt said. “But our goal is to make the championship game again and be competitive again. We aspire to be the best team in the state again.” The Division I champion a year ago, Gilbert is a member of Division 3 in Class 2A this spring where it will take on the biggest schools across the state. Format changes to the
season and the actual matches are also something the Tigers are still getting used to. In the old format, there were six players per varsity team and matches involved three teams. Now, only four players for each team compete on varsity and the matches are head-to-head Above, seniors Ian and Evan Lar- wick, Miles Britt, and Carter Hodgen enjoy competing against one another during a recent Mario Kart practice. Gilbert is the defending state champion.
44 GAME ON | SPRING 2025
SPRING 2025 | GAME ON 45
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