OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 13, 2019) -- Oklahoma Christian's newest club sport, Ultimate, will make its debut Saturday and Sunday at the Rookie Ride at West Bank Soccer Park in Tulsa.

Among the teams the Eagles could face this weekend are Missouri S&T, John Brown (Ark.), Kansas State, Oklahoma, Arkansas State, Northern Colorado, Drury (Mo.), Missouri State, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.
 
This fast-growing sport has grown tremendously in popularity on college campuses over the last 15 years. The first college Ultimate game was played in 1972 between Rutgers and Princeton and in the past few years, the sport has grown to include more than 18,000 student-athletes across 800-plus college teams.
 
Gabe Cabrera will coach this new OC sport and has quite the résumé to do so after playing both collegiately and professionally as well as starting a similar program at OC's sister school, Ohio Valley (W. Va.).
 
The Eagles will compete at the Division III level of Ultimate, playing in the Ozark Conference of the South Central Region.
 
"This is a very competitive conference and region," Cabrera said. "I'm excited to see where we stand."
 
Eight teams in the South Central region finished last season ranked in the top 30 and three of those schools (John Brown, Truman State (Mo.), and Missouri S&T) are in the Ozark Conference with the Eagles The Eagles will also have the opportunity to play against some Division I schools this season, including the six in the field this weekend.
 
"Just having the opportunity to play these teams every time we take the field is exciting," Cabrera said. "It will give us a reading of how OC will fare at the national level."
 
Cabrera is excited about the group of players he has this season.
 
"So far practices have been going relatively well," Cabrera said. "The players are taking in new information and critique in a way I haven't seen at other schools and they are putting in the effort to do things the right way."
 
Freshman Kevin van Roosmalen from Rosmalen, Netherlands, is one of the Eagles stepping into a leadership role this season. Roosmalen played for the Dutch national team and is currently training for the pro combine in Dallas this winter.
 
"Kevin is an all-around player," Cabrera said. "We've only had the opportunity to see him playing at 50 percent effort, which is insane because his throwing abilities, knowledge of the game and raw athleticism already have people talking."
 
Seniors Chad Edwards from Lucas, Texas, and Ryan Campbell from Southaven, Miss., and junior Ben Helm from Midlothian, Texas, have also stepped up this preseason leading the team on the field with their knowledge of the game, athleticism, effort and disc-handling skills.
 
Junior Nathaneal Nix from Royse City, Texas, and sophomores Logan Henley of Edmond and Tyler Ogletree of Yukon have also done a great job this preseason and have shown much improvement, Cabrera said. They will help to bring a stabilizing presence to both sides of the disc.
 
"They have done a lot to get the rookies throwing daily, even outside of practice," Cabrera said. "This is out of a want-to get better rather than an obligation to practice, which is great to see."
 
The team will also consist of senior Yash Chitale, junior Austin Kemp (Plano, Texas) and freshmen Larry Crooks (Fort Gibson), Zak Larey (Springdale, Ark.), Evan Card (Hartford, Conn.), Garrett Houston (Heyworth, Ill.), Ethan Mooney (Edmond) and Veronika Brinkley (Houston, Texas).

Cabrera said he encourages his fellow Eagles to come watch OC's Ultimate team to see what the sport is all about.