Four members of the North Shore Rollers log rolling team traveled to Hudson, Wisconsin to compete in the Harold Fischer Memorial log rolling tournament held at the Hudson YMCA on Saturday, April 13. Despite some great competitors, all four placed high in the meet, with Dominic Wilson placing first in the U10 boys. Front: Taylor Everson. Standing behind her are Paige Everson and Dominic Wilson with Wellesley Howard-Larsen in back.
In just its third year, the Harold Fischer Memorial log rolling tournament held in Hudson, Wisconsin, at the YMCA has grown into a large event, with many of the top amateur competitors from throughout the region attending. It is both a testimony to how well the meet is run, and to the growth of log rolling as a sport.
Four members of the North Shore Rollers braved a long drive on snowy roads on Friday afternoon, April 12, to get to the meet held the next day, and all did well, but none better than Dominic Wilson.
Cheered on by Coach Jenny Atkinson, who traveled from Stillwater to watch her team, and helped by Tony Everson, who came down with his wife and two daughters, Wilson, age 10, kept his focus and dominated the Boys U10 division.
After rolling against a strong field in the round robin competition, Dominic came out in first place. Wilson’s footwork was phenomenal all afternoon, and he won all of his matches while taking few falls himself. This was Dominic’s first win in a big meet, and his happiness was evident.
“I was really surprised that I won. The other kids were really good,” said a broadly smiling Wilson after receiving his gold medal.
Wellesley Howard-Larsen also faced a strong field in the Girl’s U13. Because most of her competition was experienced, they would roll for 2 minutes on a 2-log and when no one would fall off, then switch to a 3-log. Like Dominic, the goal was to win 3 falls out of 5 to take the match. Although the matches were fiercely fought, Wellesley beat the first five girls she faced 3-0 without taking a fall. That set her up to compete against Olivia Pappadopolous, who also hadn’t taken a fall. The match was long and hard, with Olivia winning the last two falls on a 4-log to take the match 3-1. It was the first time Wellesley had rolled in competition on a 4-log, which is just a little bit bigger than a toothpick and is under water most of the time as it spins.
Neither Wellesley nor Olivia lost in the second round of competition, and they ended up in first and second place.
Despite getting a bloody nose early in the meet, Paige Everson rallied to place second in the Girls U10 division. Paige’s little sister, Taylor, rolled like a champ and finished third in the Co-ed 7 and under division. Although there was limited competition in the last two brackets, the Everson girls got some well-needed experience and each show great promise in their age groups.
Atkinson, a Stillwater high school teacher who holds eight-world titles in either log rolling or boom running, was fired up after the meet.
“The North Shore Rollers have a lot of great young rollers coming up,” said Atkinson, adding, “I can’t wait to get back north to work with them.”
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