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All-Timer Tournament: Meet the GMs

By Staff
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Updated: April 28, 2020

Credit: Isabella Gong

As part of our Fantasy Fantasy Tournament series, The Eighth Man’s All-Timer Tournament will kick off tonight at 5:45 pm ET. Each round of the draft will be streamed live on our Facebook page. Two rounds will be completed each Tuesday at 5:45 pm ET until we have finished 14 picks per team. Now, let’s meet the general managers competing to hoist the virtual trophy.

Nik Jablonski has been involved in quidditch for the past eight years, starting in high school. Jablonski’s competitive career has spanned USQ’s Southwest and Northeast as well as MLQ’s East and South. During that time, he won a regional championship as a player with QC Boston, coached Tufts University to both a regional-runner up and a National Sweet 16 appearance and won an MLQ Championship title with the Boston Night Riders as a player and assistant coach. Jablonski’s current pursuits are coaching the nationally-ranked Tufts University. And increasing the quality of film and overall production of quidditch with The Eighth Man, Massachusetts Quidditch Conference and MLQ.

Emily Hickmott started playing quidditch in Fall of 2012. She spent nearly five years chasing for Tufts University and three seasons on the Boston Night Riders. She then moved to Austin and played one year on Lone Star QC, one year on Texas Hill Country Heat and two seasons on the Austin Outlaws. Currently, Hickmott is on the Bosnyan Bearsharks. Outside of playing, Hickmott is in her sixth year as a gameplay director for USQ and second season as the MLQ Events Director.

Fraser Posford has played quidditch for six seasons, predominantly in the United Kingdom for the likes of Southampton QC, the Manchester Manticores, QPL’s Northern Watch and Velociraptors QC. Posford also spent a year in Spain with Madrid Wolves. While at Southampton, Posford won a regional title, a national title and a European medal. He took third place at Spanish Cup with the Madrid Wolves, and–after winning this season’s Northern Cup with the Velociraptors–he is one of only six people to win a United Kingdom national title and both regionals. Internationally, he has represented Spain at the IQA European Games 2017 and his birth country, Hong Kong, at IQA World Cup 2018. On top of his playing career, Posford is an experienced referee who has officiated in multiple EQC finals and the IQA World Cup 2016 final, as well as a quidditch analyst for the Quidditch Post and his own blog, Total Quidditch.

Beginning her quidditch journey in the cape era, Krystina “K-Pack” Packard first picked up a broom as a sophomore in fall 2009 when a few students from Michigan State University started an intramural league. Graduating three years later without an established club team in the area, she moved on to fantasy tournaments and volunteering, including serving as the schedule coordinator for World Cup VI in Kissimmee, Fl. Her return to an official team came with the lesser known Detroit Downriver Dragons and continued with the many iterations of the Great Lakes/Midwest club teams including Blue Mountain QC, Lake Effect Tempest, Lake Erie Elite and now Boom Train, where she is also an assistant coach. She has played in MLQ for the Detroit Innovators and Indianapolis Intensity and is now the assistant manager for the latter. Altogether, K-Pack has over a decade of quidditch experience.

Austin Wallace serves as the IQA Board of Trustees Vice Chair and the IQA Interim Gameplay Director. Wallace also plays for the Vancouver Storm Crows and the Canadian Standing National Team. When not playing, volunteering or working his day job as a data engineer, Wallace takes a break from quidditch by pursuing his hobby as a fantasy quidditch general manager. Of the 20 teams he has drafted, 12 have won their tournament and six made finals.

Ryan Davis started playing quidditch in the Spring of 2016. They started their career at University of South Carolina and rode the bench for an entire semester. Still having played essentially no quidditch, they decided to create Carolina Heat with their friend Joe Goldberg, a team that gathered some of the best players around the Carolinas and brought them under one roof. After moderate success, Davis once again followed their snitch-on-pitch partner, Golberg, and went on to play for Florida’s Finest and then Terminus Quidditch Atlanta. From then on, they tried to get more involved in the community by reffing, snitching and serving as a ranker for The Eighth Man.

The only “World Champion” general manager, Hank Dugie also currently serves as USQ Board Chair. It has been said that he has the best shot to win this whole thing. He began his lengthy and award-winning quidditch career in 2012 while at the University of Texas. In the past eight years, he has coached, managed and played on more than a dozen teams, including fantasy teams in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Dugie prides himself on meeting all the wonderful people the community has to offer and is excited to participate in the Fantasy Fantasy All-Timer Tournament. He has a great eye for talent and looks forward to adding another feather to his metaphorical cap.

Mario Nasta has played quidditch since the 2012-13 season, starting as a chaser and seeker at RPI for two seasons before his transition to beater. Together with Teddy Costa, he built the RPI program over five years, evolving from losing every single game at his freshman regionals to a Sweet 16 and Elite Eight run in his final two seasons. After RPI, Nasta transitioned to club quidditch with the Bosnyan Bearsharks for two seasons before starting a new club team, Revolution, with Costa. Nasta has also played every season of MLQ, beginning his career with the New York Titans then transitioning to the Boston Night Riders. Awarded East MVP during his first season with the Night Riders, Nasta is known for his ability to block, and his snitch on pitch play with Leeanne Dillmann. Nasta loves quidditch, and it’s always been his goal to help shape the future of the sport by encouraging smart play styles which get every single player involved in every possession.