‘One of the teachers was like, let’s do this; then it happened’

The story behind the GACTC eSports teams

Melissa Krainer, Reporter|April 14, 2023

Game time. The eSports team members, known as GACTC GOATS, pose in the lobby of the St. Francis JFK Center on the day of the fall tournament. Diehl is grateful to have had the opportunity to meet other students who have the same passions as him. “I am happy that I can find people who like the same things as me,” Diehl said.

On Dec. 3 at St. Francis University, senior Isaac Rossman settled into a gaming chair and steadied himself. We can do this, he thought. We can win this championship.

And that’s exactly what they did.

“Everybody was very excited that it was the first year that we got into this [eSports] program together, and then we took our team all the way up to the highest level we could; then we won. It was really good. It was great,” Rossman said. “Hopefully we can do that again this time around.”

The Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center (GACTC) implemented an eSports program as an extracurricular activity for the first time this school year. Students compete against other area high schools through two divisions, which are based on skill level, and two games, Rocket League and Valorant.

Rossman is the captain of the Division I Valorant team. Along with his four team members—Marcus Amerine, Jackson Whitaker, Aiden Quirin and Aaron Smith—Rossman earned a $500 annual scholarship to St. Francis University after defeating Penn Trafford in the fall championship.

“[The eSports teams] are a really good opportunity. It landed me a scholarship up at St. Francis,” Rossman said. “That’s where I’m going to go to school to continue playing eSports for them.”

The Division II Rocket League team yielded similar results. Camden Lafferty, Ian Frantz and Daniel Kelley battled Hollidaysburg in the finals after a regular season finish of 4-1 and emerged victorious.

The remaining two divisions also made it to the finals. The Division I Rocket League team finished the regular season with a 6-0 record, but lost to Forest Hills in the championship game. The Division II Valorant team lost to United in the championship after an inaugural regular season record of 4-0.

“The first few matches of the season are like the scrimmages. Basically, the fewer matches you win in the scrimmages, the lower you get put on the bracket until you’re not on [the bracket],” freshman Liam Diehl said, describing the eSports match-up process. “The people who win the most are guaranteed a spot. That’s just how it works, so they can test everyone’s skill, and they can get rid of the people that might not win as much.”

The idea of introducing eSports teams into the GACTC is accredited to the collaboration of the EMET proctor and the computer networking teacher, Tim Keener. The eSports coaches are instructors at the center; Brian Kelley, John Williamson, Dusty Mauk and Keener, who is now retired, advise students on their gaming strategies.

“In the fall season, we tried out for [the eSports teams]. I was originally a substitute for the [Valorant] team until a lot of people quit, and then I got moved up to Division II. For the spring season, it was rushed, and we didn’t get to hold any tryouts,” Diehl said.

Rocket League games are typically held on Tuesdays or Wednesdays every week, and Valorant games are on Mondays. The matches are live streamed weekly. More information about the eSports teams can be found on the GACTC website.

Both Rossman and Diehl are feeling confident for the spring season ahead.

“As long as we practice enough, I know we’ll beat them in the championships if we just all play as a team and work together,” Diehl said.