WPH Press, Des Moines, IA, 10/15/21
Follow all of the results from the 72nd Tallcorn With Central Regionals HERE
The 72nd Tallcorn With Central Regionals was held at the YMCA in Des Moines, IA on the first weekend in October, hosting 79 players from ten states and two countries, highlighted by the Men’s Open Singles, featuring many of the game’s best players under 26.
Max Langmack (KS) entered the Tallcorn Men’s Open Singles as the top seed and cruised to the semifinals with wins against Isaac Alberg (MN) and Joey Peterson (IA). Canada’s Michael Gaulton awaited Langmack in the upper bracket semifinals, as Gaulton overcame John Chapman (CO) in the round of 16 and former Race 4 Eight top 20 pro Loren Collado (CA) in three games in the quarterfinals.
Langmack and Gaulton renewed a rivalry that started three years ago at the 2018 Race 4 Eight Houston, in which Langmack edged Gaulton 26-24 in the opening round en route to qualifying for the first time. This matchup would lack the drama of their Houston clash, as the 6”9 Langmack eliminated any suspense with a convincing 21-14, 21-8 sweep to move into Sunday’s final.
“Michael was playing aggressively and shooting the ball down the walls early in the first game,” stated Langmack. “I started to find my serve at 8-6 in the first and was able to score two to three points per inning to take the first game. The second game was similar in the beginning, but my legs were fresher since Michael played a tough tiebreaker with Loren (Collado) in the previous round.”
Missouri’s Ross Colyer (MO) entered the Tallcorn as the second seed and reached the bottom bracket semifinals with victories against Luis Mendez (CA) and Mat Langhorst (MN). Colyer would face current 19-and-under national champion Ray Ure (IL) for a spot in the final. Ure defeated Christian Madsen (MO) in the opening round and third-seeded Ryan Pesch (MN) in the quarterfinals. Ure was able to neutralize Colyer’s hops enroute to a 21-15, 21-12 sweep to meet Langmack in the final.
Langmack and Ure played a sensational final, with the two young stars playing stellar exceptional handball.
“The final was good,” stated Langmack. “Ray was putting down some good back wall shots and shooting well. He also had a good serve down the right. I stuck to my game plan and served down the left and looked to stay offensive. We were back and forth until 12-10 in the first and I pulled away. Ray took a 4-0 lead in the first and I battled back to even the score and eventually took an 18-9 lead. Ray played tough and hit some good back wall kills to catch up to 15-18. I made a diving kill at 19-18 to score the 20th point and was able to close out the match from there.”
Semifinals
Langmack def Gaulton 21-14, 21-8
Ure def Pesch 21-15, 21-12
Final: Langmack def Ure 21-12, 21-18
Langmack teamed with Ross Colyer to slam, defeating Brian Burke and Ryan Pesch in the final.
Follow all of the results from the 72nd Tallcorn With Central Regionals HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer