Des Moines, IA, WPH Press, 9/21/25
Tournament director Jed Mengel and the Iowa handball community were proud to present the 76th Tallcorn Central Regionals & Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier on the third weekend in September at the Des Moines Wellmark YMCA.
Tallcorn R48 Pre Qualifier Singles
The second R48 Pre Qualifier event of the 2025/26 season produced a thrilling final. Top-seeded and R48 #26 Ross Colyer allowed just twelve points in his two upper bracket matches on his march to the final, while third-seeded Bryan Trejo survived two close games in the bottom bracket semifinals against Midwest rival Christian Madsen to advance to the final.
Very little separated Colyer and Trejo in the final, with Trejo scoring 49 total points to Colyer’s 47.
Trejo surged to a one-game lead in the final, as both Trejo and Colyer were scrambling for every point.
“The first game was a battle with some great rallies and both of us on the floor,” Trejo would later say.
Colyer forced a tiebreaker by changing gears in the second and showcasing his precise back wall kills.
“Ross just broke me down in the second game and was shorting everything,” stated Trejo. “I did not do a good job keeping the ball off the back wall and I paid for it. He came out on top and I knew the tiebreaker was going to be a battle.”
The tiebreaker mirrored the first two games, with the two future Race 4 Eight stars tied at nine.
“The tiebreaker was close the whole time, as we were both really tired still battling,” stated Trejo. “Ross ended up getting a cramp at 9-9, so I knew I had an advantage and just needed two points to end the game. Lucky for me, he skipped the last two and I ended up winning.”
“The final went was good,” stated Trejo. “It was a battle with Ross he did not give up. It was just a great match. Ross is a great player and knew he wasn’t going down easy.”
Trejo will waste no time cashing in his Race 4 Eight travel stipend, as he will play in the 2025/26 season’s first stop in Portland on October 10.
Semifinals
Colyer def Safford 21-6, 21-1
Trejo def Madsen 21-15, 21-18
Final: Trejo def Colyer 21-17, 17-21, 11-9
“The WPH was thrilled to partner with the historic Tallcorn tournament in its seventy-sixth year,” stated the WPH’s David Fink. “Thank you to tournament director Jed Mengel for adding the R48 Pre Qualifier to the 2025 Tallcorn and for running an outstanding event.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 Tallcorn Tournament HERE
2025/26 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
Race 4 Eight Qualifier Explained HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer