Hood River, OR, WPH Press, 6/22/25
Written by Nick Flores
The 9th annual Hood River Invitational, by the WPH, was held on Saturday, June 21st at the Elks Lodge in Hood River, Oregon. The Stenberg family once again hosted the invitational event, which has become a fan favorite in the Northwest. Forty handball players from across the region arrived in beautiful Hood River on Friday night and Saturday morning to enjoy the camaraderie and hospitality the Hood River Invitational provides.
The tournament format splits players into two divisions, pairing partners together based on skill level.
Division Two
The division two finals saw a repeat champion, as 2024 champion Ivette Heredia (Hillsboro, OR) carried her partner Luke Gmazel (Salem, OR) across the finish line, defeating Vern Lousignont (Klamath Falls, OR) and Pat Hartford (Hood River, OR) in the finals match.
Division One
The division one finals also had a repeat champion, as 2017 and 2019 champion Kyle English (Beaverton, OR) reached the finals with his partner Dan Kersey (Springfield, OR). On the other side of the bracket, MAC handball coach Austin Biddle (Banks, OR) and Philip Stenberg (Beaverton, OR) advanced to reach the finals.
Team Biddle/Stenberg won the first game with Biddle hitting crowd-stunning kill shots and Stenberg making multiple diving re-kills, leading the crowd to chant “PHIL-IP,” “PHIL-IP” after each play. Going into game two, English was determined to force a tiebreaker and went into clampdown mode, winning the second game in less than 15 minutes. The tiebreaker started evenly matched, with English and Biddle trading side-outs. English began to lean on his WPH pro experience, digging deep to pull away and close out the tiebreaker for his 3rd Hood River Invitational championship.
After the handball competition, the season-ending banquet was held in the Elks Lodge banquet room. The beneficiary of this year’s tournament was Issac Bell, a young man battling bone cancer. The Stenberg family was proud to announce that the 2025 Hood River Invitational had raised over $5,000 to help Isaac with his medical bills. Isaac was in attendance for the banquet to tell his story and thank the participants.
Thank you to the Hood River Handball Association and the Stenberg family for hosting this amazing event. To learn more about the HRHA, please contact them at hoodriverha@gmail.com.
Thank you to the World Players of Handball for their continued sponsorship of the Hood River Invitational. To learn more about the WPH, please visit www.wphlive.tv.
Nick Flores, Chairman
Oregon Handball Association
www.OregonHandball.org