The second week of April marked the beginning of the post-season for the St. Olaf Berzerkers (Zerks) Ultimate Frisbee Team. The Zerks ventured to Missouri to play in sectionals, finishing second and setting themselves up in a strong spot for regionals. Their season brought them all over the Midwest, coming out on top at Midwest Throwdown and going 4-3 at the 2026 “Huck Finn” tournament. This past weekend, the Zerks competed for a chance to make it to nationals in Waukegan, Ill.
St. Olaf is a part of the North Central (NC) Region, which was allocated three team bids to the 2026 nationals. These bids are decided based on the performance of teams during their season. In 2025, there was only one bid allocated to the Division III Men’s NC Region, and the Zerks were upset in the game to go to nationals. This was a hard blow after winning the National Champion title in 2024.
Members of the Berzerkers are satisfied with how their season has been going. In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Ian Westerberg ’28 said, “Last year was very rigid and system-based. This year, we have tried to be less prescribed in our approach, which I think has yielded some good results.”
Westerberg, a sophomore captain, has been playing ultimate frisbee since he was nine years old and did so competitively all throughout high school. He expressed how rare and special it would be to be able to represent St. Olaf Ultimate at nationals, something only 16 teams from the nation get to do each year. “We all think we have the pieces to be successful. It would really mean a lot,” he said.
Jonas Geere ’26 has been on the team since his freshman year. He enjoys the sport of ultimate frisbee, but deeper than that, he does it for his team. The team is the most integral part of the sport, and at the root, that is what brings so many people to ultimate frisbee.
“It’s a super fun sport,” Geere said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I get to play it with all my friends. I love it. I would play even if I didn’t get along with the group of guys here, but I do. And it’s not just a team; it is a brotherhood.”
Looking ahead to the future of frisbee, both Geere and Westerberg have strong hope for ultimate frisbee to become something even more integral to St. Olaf. “I think that, while Zerks and [Vor]tex have had success in the past, it has been on the backs of strong class years and not institutional success from the teams. So, I would love to … get as many people as we can at tryouts, be active recruiting, and really build a strong [frisbee] culture,” Geere said.
Ultimate frisbee has existed for quite some time, but there has been a steady increase of participation in the sport, and it has slowly become more mainstream. Geere urged anyone thinking about trying ultimate frisbee to come out and play.
“It is such a fun time, and I would suggest it to any high school athlete — or even [people] who didn’t play a sport,” Geere said. “It is an extremely great way to stay active and make friends within a great community.”
“It’s a great place to be to still be competitive and have that drive even if you aren’t wanting to commit to a varsity sport,” Westerberg said. “The bonds in frisbee are really special; the spirit that surrounds every team is like no other.”
The Zerks went 4-0 on Saturday at regionals and secured the third bid to nationals on Sunday, April 19. They will join the St. Olaf Vortex Women’s and Non-Binary Ultimate Frisbee Team for a chance to win another championship in Waukegan, from May 16 through 18.
