In the Fortnite category of State eSports, a team of four Louisville students placed sixth in the state on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Seventh grader Cody Bax, sophomores Chance Parrill and Kole Holmes, and junior Lason Hoo competed against twelve rival schools from the comfort of the Louisville eSports room.
Better yet, the Mario Kart team placed second in a different round of state eSports. They competed on Thursday, April 16, 2026. This thriving team consisted of seniors Lincoln Heins, Jacob Hrabik, Dominic Lypsis and Tucker Buck.
These teams were carefully crafted throughout this year, and the students competed to be on the different four-person teams.
Cody Bax reflected on the skilled team: “We did scrimmages, generally on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This was to find out who would be the best team for state.”
The coach of this successful squad is Mr. Simons, who has been in the eSports program for over 9 years at Louisville.
“He makes it super fun, it’s really nice having him as our coach. And he knows a lot about gaming since he’s been in charge for so long.” Parill noted.
Although Simons is incredibly qualified, most of their practices are student-led and independent. At a typical practice, students will be playing any of the 6 games (Rivals, Fortnite, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros) by themselves, or competing against each other or other schools.
eSports is an activity open to 7th-12th graders, and it comes with an extremely flexible schedule. Many students are able to game while also playing traditional sports or having a fairly busy work-schedule. Parrill stated, “You can really make new friends. I feel so much more connected to my friends now, and way less shy than I was.”
Cody Bax also talked about the benefits of eSports, “It helps me get out my competitive energy, and I really like to play against other people.”
eSports is one of Louisville’s most winningest programs, with 3 state championships and 5 state runner-ups in the past 5 years. eSports is a team filled with grit, fun, excitement, and medals, and there are many reasons why lots of students from all different backgrounds are interested in joining.