A Hawaii dodgeball team is coming home world champions, again.
Following an intense competition at the eighth annual Dodgeball World Championship & Convention in Las Vegas over the weekend, the 12-member Mix Plate Crew of Honolulu triumphed in the Open 8.5 division.
Going into the three-day competition, the crew had hoped to sweep all five divisions in which it was entered. Still, the dodge ballers came home with the most coveted title, according to Bazel Larosa, one of the team’s founders.
"The Open 8.5 is the most important division, with over 30 teams, so I’m so stoked and happy we took that one," Larosa said by phone from California.
The Mix Plate Crew also competed in the Coed Foam Ball, Open Foam Ball, Coed 8.5 and Open Stinger divisions.
"I have to say the competition was pretty tough this year," Larosa said.
Last year the team secured world titles in the Coed 8.5 and Open Stinger divisions.
"It was crazy this year because it seemed that everyone was excited to see us," Larosa said.
The Mix Plate Crew defeated the Arizona Rampage to win the Open 8.5 division.
“By our second round with Arizona, the crowd was cheering for us so loud,” he said. “It was nuts. Everyone was so hyped up because everyone wanted us to win.”
Other team members are Josh Letoto, Niki Ogata, Cody D’Amato, Brittany Balanay, Jarrett Silva, Jessica Letoto, Erik Leong, Jared Westenhaver, Deon Togami, Andrew Hong and Jared Letoto.
To celebrate their victory, the team headed to Disneyland and will return to Honolulu Wednesday.