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Harrisburg, PA – Scholastic esports were shining brightly in the UPMC Health Sciences Tower at Harrisburg University (HU) this week as the university hosted the Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PSEL) Spring Season Finals.

Esports teams from Pennsylvania middle and high schools traveled to HU on May 28 to compete for the PSEL Spring Championship titles in Chess, Rocket League, and Valorant. HU was the official host for the event, which saw more than 150 attendees from competing schools, plus staff and vendors. Sponsors of the event included InsightSpectrum Industries, Shenandoah University, Misericordia University, and Harrisburg University.

Before the competition began, four panelists kicked off the day with a career panel, covering roles in esports and computer science. Featured panelists included Justin Null, a Chief Software Architect at DESBY Technologies; Mykiah Bonhom, Product Specialist – Esports at Spectrum Industries; Lynzie Wagaman, Assistant Director of Esports and Partnerships at Harrisburg University; and Jacob Layton, PSEL intern and rising senior in the Esports Management degree program at HU.

The panelists covered questions ranging from their backgrounds to advice they wish they’d had when they began their careers. Jacob Layton shared his insight on branching out and trying new things:

“If you are scared to get into something for the first time, just know that you’re not expected to get it right. You’re expected to just learn from everything that you’re doing. Everything you’re doing right and everything you’re doing wrong, just take something away from it and it’ll be the best thing you can do for yourself.”

After his duties as a panelist, Layton produced the PSEL Twitch stream for the day by running the broadcast and observing the games.

The matchups for the grand finals included:

Middle-School Chess

  • Pine Grove Area Middle School vs.
  • Downingtown Middle School

High-School Chess 

  • Parkland High School vs.
  • Great Valley High School

Middle-School Rocket League

  • Southern Lehigh Middle School vs.
  • York Academy Regional Charter

Unified Rocket League

  • Selinsgrove High School vs.
  • Pine Grove High School

High-School Rocket League

  • Owen J. Roberts High School vs.
  • Reach Cyber Charter School

High-School Valorant

  • Lower Moreland High School vs.
  • Manheim Township High School

After the career panel, students jumped right into the competition, beginning with Chess.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Downingtown Middle School was unable to attend the event, which gave Pine Grove Area Middle School the PSEL Middle-School Chess Spring Championship. Pine Grove did play a show match at the event, pitting two teammates against each other and allowing them to showcase their skills.

In High-School Chess, Great Valley High School took the win over Parkland High School in a swift head-to-head matchup to become the PSEL High-School Chess Spring 2024 Champions.

Rocket League was the star of the show, as it featured three matches throughout the day. Kicking off the action, Southern Lehigh Middle School took on York Academy Regional Charter School. After a hard-fought match, Southern Lehigh Middle School won the series 2-1 in overtime, becoming the PSEL Middle-School Rocket League Spring 2024 Champs.

Following Middle-School Rocket League, the Unified teams took to the pitch to battle for their title. In another close matchup, Pine Grove High School won the PSEL Unified Rocket League Spring 2024 Championship 2-1 over Selinsgrove High School.

The final Rocket League matchup for the day pitted two great teams against each other. Despite a strong start in game one with two goals from Reach Cyber Charter, Owen J. Roberts High School brought it back by scoring three goals to take game number one, followed by winning game two. Consequently, the match, the series, and the PSEL High-School Rocket League Spring 2024 Championship went to Owen J. Roberts High School.

The final title of the day was the Valorant High-School Championship featuring Lower Moreland High School and Manheim Township High School. Lower Moreland had a strong start in game one; game two proved to be another dominant performance from Lower Moreland, to take the PSEL High-School Valorant Spring 2024 Championship title.

Interested in competing in esports or learning how to produce professional esports events? You can learn more about Harrisburg University’s Esports Management BS degree program here, or follow HU’s varsity esports team, The Storm, below:

Photos of Harrisburg University courtesy of PSEL

ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY

Harrisburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics. For additional information about the University’s affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717-901-5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on XLinkedInInstagram, and Facebook.