ICC SPORTS UPDATE
Some say things tend to slow down during the winter in Idyllwild. That is true… unless you are part of ICC sports!
With high-action games on the volleyball courts at Buckhorn Camp, to buzzer-beaters on the basketball courts of Idyllwild School, to rapid-fire ping pong tournaments at Town Hall, and now with the latest sport – acrobatics and power tumbling – there is something for all athletes during the winter time on the mountain.
Let’s dive into some highlights, starting with Adult Basketball.
Adult Basketball
We are about halfway through the 2025 season of ICC Adult Basketball and things are heating up on the court as there are three teams tied for second place.
When the draft occurred back in January it was evident that Palms to Pines Electric were going to be the team to beat – and so far no one has done so.
Led by captain Carl Dewese and supported with the talented cast of Toby Posey, Michael Smith, Sean O’Keeffe, and Chad Szopinski – Palms to Pines Electric are sitting comfortably at the top with a 6-0 record.
The Black Panthers came close to defeating them in Week 2 (they lost by 2 points) and are currently tied for second place along side with Bomb Squad and Green Hornets – all with a 3-3 record.
The Monsters started off the season hot by winning their first two games but took an unfortunate turn as they lost their captain Michael Mapel due to injury; they have been on a 4-game losing streak since.
With Brian Kretsinger now in the captain’s chair, it would be an ideal time for the Monsters (currently at 2-4) to turn things around this week in order to keep up with the pack, as the playoffs are only 3 weeks away.
ICC Adult Basketball Standings
RANK/TEAM WIN LOSS
- Palms to Pines Electric 6 – 0
- Black Panthers 3 – 3
- Bomb Squad 3 – 3
- Green Hornets 3 – 3
- Monsters 2 – 4
- Santa Rosa 1 – 5
Adult Volleyball
The current top two teams of the ICC Adult Volleyball League – Village Hardware and Idyllwild Brewpub – both notched another victory under their belts before the Presidents Week break. Village Hardware vanquished over Pino Tree Service and Idyllwild Brewpub handled business with Red Kettle – both in a clean 3-game sweep.
Red Kettle did earn their third win of the season by defeating Adams Electric 3 games to 1 and moved up one position in the standings.
Idyllwild Garage and BBI Construction were previously tied for third place, until they faced off with each other on Feb 11 – and once the dust settled it was Idyllwild Garage who won the match and secured the sole third place position, as BBI Construction drops to fourth.
After the Presidents Week break, BBI Construction went on a hot streak to win both their matches trying to catch up with their competitors. However both Idyllwild Garage and Village Hardware won their matches so the rankings stayed more or less the same.
It’s a close race for second place as Idyllwild Brewpub (7-3), Idyllwild Garage (6-3), and BBI Construction (6-4) are all just one game apart from each other.
Village Hardware continues on their road to glory as they have yet to lose a match, now with 8-straight victories on the season.
ICC Adult Volleyball Standings
RANK/TEAM WIN LOSS
- Village Hardware 8 – 0
- Idyllwild Brewpub 7 – 3
- Idyllwild Garage 6 – 3
- BBI Construction 6 – 4
- Red Kettle 3 – 8
- Adams Electric 2 – 6
- Pino Tree Service 0 – 8
ICC Ping Pong – 2025 Winter Tournament
Current reigning ICC Ping Pong champion Derek McDevitt (USA) made his return to the ping pong tables as he was seeking his third straight 1st place finish.
McDevitt won the Summer 2024 and Fall 2024 tournaments. His main competitor is Christer Raith (Sweden) who won 2nd place in the Fall 2024 tournament and was the only one to defeat McDevitt in a match.
New to the competition were part-timers father and son Nader and Arian (“Ari”) Mirhoseni from San Clemente, California.
This tournament was in a round-robin format where each competitor faces each other once, and the ones with the top-three best records go on to win their “bag of prizes” and have their names etched into history on the ICC Tournament Champions plaque.
After all the games were played over the course of two hours, it was no surprise that the top two finishers were once again Derek McDevitt (1st place with a 7-0 record) and Christer Raith (2nd) place at 6-1).
The 3rd place finisher, however, was quite a surprise as the teenager from San Clemente Ari Mirhoseni fared well against the competition and took 3rd place with a 5-2 record (congrats, Ari!)
And a very special congratulations goes to Derek McDevitt for winning 3-straight ICC Ping Pong tournaments – way to go, Derek!
The next tournament will be the Spring 2025 Tournament – scheduled for May 4th, 2025.
