California Players Shine in National Youth Tournament Series Championship
After months of tough competition at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, this past weekend youth players from across the country called the Club their home for the 2017 National Youth Tournament Series (NYTS) Championships. The NYTS program aims to provide opportunities for youth players to compete against their peers in outdoor polo tournaments. Throughout the summer, over 400 participants played in NYTS qualifying tournaments at outdoor clubs throughout the United States, leading to four zones and two East vs. West teams being selected to represent their region.
Jake Klentner was selected to represent Zone 1 while Cory Williams and Bayne Bossom were chosen to represent the West for the inaugural year of the East vs. West Invitational Challenge. Harrison Azzaro (Zone 1), Conrad Kissling (Zone 1), Nico Escobar (Zone 3), Lucas Escobar (Zone 3) and Macki Weisz (Zone 3) have strong ties to SBPRC as well, playing in youth tournaments over the past several years.
The West team took home the silver in the East vs. West Invitational Challenge. Bayne Bossom was awarded Most Valuable Player and “Blanca” owned by Cory Williams was named Best Playing Pony.
Though the Zone 1 team fell short to Zone 3 in the semi-final round, the fierce foursome, Harrison Azzaro, Jake Klentner, Conrad Kissling and Sloan Stefanakis swiftly defeated the Zone 2 team in the Consolation Final.