Utah State Aggies Handball

The Utah State Aggies are an American handball team, representing Utah State University,[1] in collegiate tournaments organized by the United States Handball Association.

History

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Handball started as a class at Utah State in 2001 by Herm Olsen as a result of, what he felt was, declining participation in the game in younger generations.[2][3] He coached the team for more than 20 years, instilling a "tradition of winning"[4][5] in the program, and oversaw the development of 11 individual national champions, two doubles championship teams, and led the Aggies to Men's and Women's national team championships in 2022.[6][7] Olsen was named the US Handball Association Coach of the year in 2021.[8]

In what proved to be his final year, Utah State was co-coached by Olsen and Stacey Marble during the 2022-2023 season.[9] The Aggies won a Combined national team championship and another Men's national team championship.[10] Following Olsen's retirement, Marble assumed full control of the team ahead of the 2023-2024 season.[6]

Championships

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Team Championships

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Year Combined Men's Women's Site
2022[11][12] A-Division A-Division Missouri State University
2023[10] A-Division B-Division Tucson Racquet Club
Total 1 2 1

Individual Champions

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Year Division Player Site
2009[13] Women's C-Division Krista Allen University of Minnesota
2011[14] Women's Division 2 Shyla Sadderwhite Missouri State University
2012[13] Men's Division 2-Challenger Rob Castelton Missouri State University
2013[15][16][17] Men's Division 1B Ryan Campbell Arizona State University
2014[13][18] Men's Division 2A Jonathan Larson North Carolina State University
2014[13][18] Women's Division 2A Kaneesha Goodworth North Carolina State University
2015[19][20] Men's Division 2-Intermediate Andy Graves Pacific University, OR
2016[21][4] Women's B1-Division Jeanne Hancock University of Minnesota
2017[22][5] Men's Division 3C Jarod Jensen Arizona State University
2017[22][5] Women's A1-Division Lindsey Boetler Arizona State University
2018[23][24] Men's B3-Division Jarod Jensen Missouri State University
2024[25] Women's B1-Division Rachael Fisher University of Minnesota
Total 12

Doubles Championships

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Year Division Player Player Site
2013[15][16] Men's Division B Ryan Campbell Jonathan Larson Arizona State University
2018[23][24] Men's Division B Jarod Jensen Logan Jensen Missouri State University
2024[25] Women's Division C Jillian Young Cambria Cannon University of Minnesota
Total 3

Head Coaches

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Years Coach Team Championships Individual Champions Doubles Championships
2001–2022 Herm Olsen 2 11 2
2022–2023 Olsen/Marble 2 0 0
2023–Present Stacey Marble 0 1 1

References

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  1. ^ "Hard News Cafe » Blog Archive » USU's club sports win national championships but get little support". Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  2. ^ Mears, Amanda (September 14, 2007). "Handball Class". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ^ Jessop, Clark (February 5, 2003). "COLUMN: Handball–where there's a wall, there's a way". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  4. ^ a b Emerson, Taylor (2016-04-16). "USU handball continues winning tradition". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  5. ^ a b c Emerson, Taylor (2017-03-27). "Aggie handball tradition carries on". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  6. ^ a b Caldwell, Jacee (February 25, 2023). "'The game for life:' USU Handball team headed to nationals to compete". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  7. ^ "National Champions". United States Handball Association. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  8. ^ "Past Award Recipients". United States Handball Association. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  9. ^ "Martin Mulkerrins Inspires at Utah State". WPHLiveTV. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  10. ^ a b "National Champions 2023". United States Handball Association. 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  11. ^ "National Champions 2022". United States Handball Association. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  12. ^ "Community news submission: USU handball team shines at national championship". The Herald Journal. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  13. ^ a b c d "Collegiate NOC updated 2024.xlsx - Google Drive". docs.google.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  14. ^ Hemsley, Landon (March 16, 2011). "Aggie handballer takes divison II national top spot". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  15. ^ a b "National Champions 2013". United States Handball Association. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  16. ^ a b "Hard News Cafe » Blog Archive » Aggie handball players win national singles, doubles titles". Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  17. ^ Lundstrom, Curtis (February 28, 2013). "Handball: Bringing home the hardware". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  18. ^ a b "Proclamation: USU National Champion" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "National Champions 2015". United States Handball Association. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ^ Mangum, Weston (2015-03-23). "Aggies shine at nationals". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ^ "National Champions 2016". United States Handball Association. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  22. ^ a b "National Champions 2017". United States Handball Association. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  23. ^ a b "National Champions 2018". United States Handball Association. 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  24. ^ a b Lomeli, Lauren (March 14, 2018). "USU brothers capture handball national championship". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  25. ^ a b "National Champions 2024". United States Handball Association. 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-08-06.