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Team is 1 of only 2 teams in history of Lake Mills school to win back-to-back state championships

For many years, high school sports have been a resource for students to gain skills, develop discipline and learn how to function as a team. But not all sports take place on a field or court. Some take place in a computer lab.

Over the last five years, the Lake Mills esports team has made a name for itself and gained statewide recognition.

Molly Holtan, Lake Mills’ elementary music and middle school band teacher, has led the high school esports team for two years. She is the team’s designated esports coordinator, as well as coach for all the different sports. She said she knew very little about esports when she started, but has learned a great deal from her students.

“There’s no way I could do it without their expertise and their knowledge,” she said.

Holtan explained she took on the leadership role to make sure the club is still around when her son is in high school. She said esports is more competitive than she initially expected it to be.

What is esports? High school senior Chike Ikefuama said it is essentially competitive video game playing. The Lake Mills esports team is open to grades 9 through 12.

Currently there are seven games available for the Lake Mills team to play and compete in. Some games, Ikefuama said, are similar to wrestling because players compete one-on-one. Other games are team-based and take more planning and strategizing, he said.

Some players participate in all the games that are available, while others focus on honing their skills in one or two particular games. This can be especially helpful if the student is involved in multiple extracurriculars throughout the year like another sport or band. There is a fall, winter and spring esports season players can take part in.

“It goes year-round, but the teams vary,” Holtan explained.

The Lake Mills esports team had relatively humble beginnings when it was formed in 2019. It had three computers to work with and, therefore, a limited number of games students could play. However, the team was able to channel their resources from the Iowa High School Esports Association and WTCA.

“Every year we get like $1,000 from the association to spend, so we saved up,” Ikefuama said. WTCA also donated three computers.

Despite being different from athletic activities like football or basketball, esports bears a striking resemblance to other sports in the sense that there are varsity and junior varsity teams, local and state competitions and academic criteria students must meet to participate.

All students must be passing their classes to be on the esports team at Lake Mills School.

“It’s basically just like a regular sport except we’re playing on the computer or on the Switch,” Holtan said.

Senior Matthew VerPlanck is the team’s newest member, having moved to the Lake Mills area in the fall. He said he joined the team because he enjoyed playing video games for fun.

Holtan said she was impressed with how welcoming the team was to VerPlanck.

“That’s the part that I really like is that I feel like all of these people that are in this room are very accepting and very kind when it comes to teaching each other how to play the game,” she said.

Competitions for esports are organized and hosted by the Iowa High School Esports Association. State championships are held in Marshalltown, Iowa, about three hours from Lake Mills.

Teams engage in a tournament style competition. There are commentators talking about the games as they happen, and the games are live streamed for schools to watch remotely. Following the competition, representatives from college esports teams can talk to players that did well and try to recruit them to go to their college and join their esports team.

The Lake Mills esports team has gone to state competitions for SMITE, Overwatch and Mario Kart. However, it is Super Smash Bros that has given them their esports claim to fame.

The Lake Mills team won the Super Smash Bros state championship two years in a row in 2023 and 2024.

“There’s only two teams in the history of our school that have got back-to-back state championships,” said Holtan. The two teams are esports and cross country.

This year, the team has goals to go to state competitions for games other than Super Smash Bros.

Ikefuama said the team has been wanting to go to the Overwatch state championship for four years. They would also like to send a Mario Kart team to state in 2025.

Locally, the oldest members of the team have been speaking with Lake Mills school administration about possibly hosting an esports event at the school. Ikefuama explained they would scrimmage with other players from the area and have commentators, similar to larger competitions. He said he hopes people remember his senior class and think, “Remember what they did when they were seniors? They made a whole event.”

Holtan also said it would also be fun for the high school students to organize an esports club for middle school students. She hopes to keep the team going for years to come.

“It’s definitely more awesome than I ever thought it was,” she said.