WPH Press, 2/22/22
The 2022 Houston Race 4 Eight marked the first WPH pro stop outside of Tucson, AZ in 719 days and the event did not disappoint! Thanks to the Houston Handball Club, the WPH staff and broadcast crew, and the players, the 2022 Houston Race 4 Eight provided incredible highlights and memories.
2022 Houston Race 4 Eight Highlights
- Killian’s semifinal performance: 2022 Houston Race 4 Eight director Ron Cole said in his lifetime of 60 years of watching the best handball players in the sport, he’s never seen played handball played at that level
- Catriona: Outscored her three opponents by a combined score of 90-12 – domination is an understatement. Catriona continues to be the most dominant athlete in sport
- Sam Esser continues to climb: After his best finish at the R48 January Classic (fifth), Esser matched that in Houston, overcoming Shorty Ruiz in a tiebreaker in the round of 16, notching his career-best win against Danos in the semifinals of the fifth place playoffs (25-23), then defeating arch nemesis Leo Canales for the second consecutive tournament (25-22)
- Mikaila Esser played next to her husband Sam in adjacent fifth place finals, and like her husband, clinched fifth
- High drama: The R48 produced one of the most competitive tournaments in recent memory. “I never remember seeing so many competitive matches in the round of 16, those matches almost always were blowouts,” stated WR48 pro and R48 fan Ashley Moler
2 seed Lucho trailed Loren Collado 1-11 in game one before rallying to win in two games
5 seed David Fink trailed Bill Mehilos 9-12 in game two before rallying to win in two games
6 seed Stephen Cooney upset in a three-game thriller by 11 seed Max Langmack
7 seed Leo Canales pushed to a tiebreaker by the 10 seed Abraham Montijo
8 seed Shorty Ruiz dropped in a tiebreaker by 9 seed Sam Esser
- The Houston Handball Club leaves no stone unturned: Ron Cole, Chuck Reeve, Jim Krepper, Sandy Gaitz and the rest of the HHC ensured that all players and fans were treated to endless hospitality and appreciation. Thank you to the HHC!
- The R48 final: A tale of three parts, the Killian and Nash clash provided more twists and turns than a Northern California highway – Killian dominated the first in seven minutes, Nash turned the tables in a 47-minute second-game chess match, Killian overcame nine unforced errors in the third to score the final eight points of the match to win his nineteenth R48 title
- New faces emerge in the R48 Elite: after the departure of some of the Race’s greatest players, young stars Sam Esser, Leo Canales, and Max Langmack have emerged to ensure the Race will continue to be the most exciting place on the planet for top handball
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer