Playing just outside of the famed “Horseshoe” stadium on the campus of Ohio State, the Dickinson Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team earned some recognition of their own at the Division III Ohio Valley Regional Championships on Saturday, Apr. 27 through Apr. 28. The club, known as the Jive Turkeys, placed third at the tournament for their best finish in school history, narrowly missing out on a spot in the D-III national championships.

Dickinson went 3-1 on the first day of competition, highlighted by a 13-11 win over #8-ranked Xavier, the top seed in the tournament, to earn a spot in Sunday’s eight-team championship bracket. The Jive Turkeys beat Pitt-Johnstown, 15-6, in the quarterfinals Sunday morning before losing to Ohio Wesleyan, in a close 15-14 game in the semifinals.

The third-place finish caps off an incredible season for Dickinson, which also included note-worthy wins over Temple, Bucknell, Messiah and Lehigh, who defeated Ohio Wesleyan in Sunday’s championship game to earn a bid to the national championships. The Jive Turkeys ascended to as high as #18 in the Division III college rankings earlier this season. “This weekend solidified what was already a fantastic season for our club as a whole,” commented Alex Vouga ’13. “We made huge strides this year as a team and really got this college’s name out there in the Ultimate community.”

The season may have just ended for the Jive Turkeys, but members of the team have already set pretty lofty goals for next year, as Mike Goemaat ’14 was quick to point out. “We may have fallen just short this weekend, but next year, we firmly expect to go to nationals.”