Des Moines, IA, WPH Press, 9/21/26
Tournament director Jed Mengel, the Iowa handball community, and the World Players of Handball were proud to present the 77th Tallcorn Tournament & Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers at the Des Moines Wellmark YMCA.
R48 Pre Qualifier Singles at the 77th Tallcorn Tournament
Bryan Trejo defended his Tallcorn R48 Pre Qualifier title as the 77th Tallcorn, defeating Nathan Stoffel in two games in the semifinals and Missouri State’s Christian Madsen in a tiebreaker in the final, rallying from a one-game deficit to repeat in Des Moines.
“The final was good,” Trejo would later tell the WPH. “I didn’t really play my best but got it done. Christian came out hot (in the first game) and was killing the ball really well. My game plan was just to keep him on the court and rally to get him worn out. The second game I was in full control and I saw he was getting really tired, so in the tiebreaker I just pushed and started the game off hot with a 4-0 lead. I knew Christian wasn’t going to give up, so I just had to keep pushing and believing in my shots to secure the win and that’s exactly what I did. Christian is a great player and it’s always a battle with him.”
Trejo will redeem his travel stipend and entry at the October 9-11, 2026 Race 4 Eight Portland Classic (HERE)
Semifinals
Trejo def N. Stoffel 21-7, 21-4
Madsen def Z. Wells 21-12, 21-15
Final: Trejo def Madsen 14-21, 21-11, 11-7
WR48 Pre Qualifier Singles at the 77th Tallcorn Tournament
Mankato’s Mollie Dagg was dominant at the 77th Tallcorn WR48 Pre Qualifier, outscoring her semifinal and finals opponents Izzie Klicker and Hannah Grace by a combined score of 84-21.
“I was happy with my performance for the first competition of the season but still some work to be done,” Dagg would later say.
“Mollie was in control the whole match,” added Mankato teammate Bryan Trejo.
Dagg will redeem her travel stipend and entry at the November 6-8, 2026 Tucson Memorial (HERE)
Semifinals
Dagg def Klicker 21-9, 21-2
Grace def Sharkey 21-5, 21-13
Final: Dagg def Grace 21-2, 21-8
“The WPH was thrilled to partner with the historic Tallcorn tournament for the second consecutive year in the Tallcorn’s seventy-seventh year,” stated the WPH’s David Fink. “The winner of the Tallcorn Men’s Open Singles and Women’s Open Singles earned a travel stipend and a entry into a 2026/27 Race 4 Eight. The Tallcorn is always a tremendous event with great fields and the WPH was thrilled to be a part of the event. Thank you to the Des Moines Hinder for donating towards the Tallcorn Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers.”
2026/27 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
Race 4 Eight Qualifier Explained HERE
Follow all of the brackets from the 2026 Tallcorn Tournament HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer