The Arlington High School boys ultimate frisbee team broke through in a bruising second half on Saturday, taking home the 2025 High School National Invite crown in Allentown after a 15-9 win over Edina High School.
The Arlington Pumahs of Massachusetts, ranked No. 3 in the country by tournament organizer Ultiworld, were the only top team to win their pool on the first day of play Friday. After a close 15-13 semifinal win, the Pumahs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in a matter of seconds in the final.
“It’s a feeling that I’m gonna chase for the rest of my life,” senior Luke Hedlund said of the victory, who scored four goals in the final.
Quick offensive holds were the story for the Pumahs, who tired out Edina’s offense and swatted frisbee discs out of Edina’s hands. In muddy conditions, which caused tripping and diving all across the field, both teams’ offenses were efficient in the first half.
Arlington coach John Rice said the game plan was to “do literally what we’ve done this entire season.”
“I told the guys, before we even got to nationals, we’re not adding a bunch more stuff,” he continued. “We watch film on one team and not really anything else. We just play our game.”
Arlington coach Simon Stone, who has led the Pumahs since the team formed in 2015, called the players “incredibly dynamic.”
“A lot of them have played together for so long that what you saw here today was a very natural flow of things,” Stone said. “We want to keep that going forward.”
It was a tough loss for Edina — who made the trip to the СŷƵ from Minnesota — as they lost the national final in 2024. The team was led by seniors Eddie Johnson and Walter Hipps on Saturday; both made impressive diving catches and controlled the team’s offense in the first half.
But Arlington began to read patterns, and their forces — a defensive strategy in ultimate frisbee — hyped up the Pumahs and gave them the momentum needed in the second half in front of over 200 in attendance.
A big catch from Hedlund, in which he nearly hurdled a defender and jumped feet off the ground, was the dagger to help Arlington lead 11-7. Senior Henry Michael was wide open minutes later to give the Pumahs their 12th goal.
Arguably the most impressive play of Saturday’s match was a heroic block by junior Peter Carlsmith. Almost immediately after the block, he dashed down the field into the endzone to make a catch for a 13-8 lead.
The 15-9 win was sealed after senior Cameron Levine threw a backhand across the entire field, placed perfectly into the endzone as the Pumahs rushed the field.
All the Arlington players were strong frisbee players, one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, according to tournament organizers. But Rice emphasized that many of the Arlington standouts played various varsity sports, giving them the skills to quickly pick up a fast-paced sport like ultimate frisbee.
“They’re in shape here year-round,” Rice said. “They’re not just getting in shape for the spring season.”
One of the local teams from Pennsylvania, Wissahickon High School, finished third and won the tournament’s “Spirit Award.” Open World Learning, a team also based out of Minnesota, finished fourth out of the 16 boys teams participating.
“I would say connecting with all the younger guys has been one of the best experiences of my life,” Michael said. “And just growing together as a team has been incredible.”
Andreas Pelekis is a freelance writer.
