Ironman Challenge
Once a member of this exclusive endurance challenge, Heath Grimm decided a family vacation was more important than draft attendance perfection. Some will say family comes first, but who are we to judge? 2023 Tulsa wasn’t the same without Heath in the house. Nate Skaar and Mike Manderfeld continue to set the bar.
Scoring Big Doesn’t Pay Off
In 2012 (St. Louis), Ben Daley scored a whopping 153 points, which is 10th all-time in the Draft. With that total and overall rank, you would think he would have won it, right? Ben took 5th in 2012. 5 of the top 11 overall scores in history come from the 2012 season.
St. Louis: The Gateway to Inflated Scores
It’s no secret that St. Louis has hosted more NCAA Tournaments in the last 21 years than any other city. 8 to be exact. With that said, it is a bit surprising that 15 of the top 20 scores in draft history all came from an event in St. Louis.
You Down with the Sickness?
Chad Unsicker has participated in the last six events (2017-2023). Of those six, he is already a 2x All-American with a win his first year in 2017. He followed up 2017 with a 3rd place finish in 2018. Though he missed the podium in 2019, he had a respectable finish of 17th overall.
Consistency is Key
Joel Thompson carries the highest average score for anyone with 5+ years of participation with 124.46. With exactly 12 years, Joel is a 3x All-American and has worn the chin-cock three times as well with 9th place finishes in back-to-back years of 2015 and 2016 and most recently, 2023. Historically, his results are as follows:
- 2003 – 12th
- 2008 – 28th
- 2009 – 33rd
- 2012 – 2nd
- 2013 – 19th
- 2014 – 20th
- 2015 – 9th
- 2016 – 9th
- 2017 – 8th
- 2019 – 1st
- 2021 – 14th
- 2023 – 9th