Recently the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby was won by Maximum Security...ahem, no wait, actually the official winner was a 65.1 long shot named Country House. The 3 year old Chestnut was determined the winner because of an "Objection" that occurred as a group of horses making a dash to the final stretch kinda got "out of whack" so to speak. Race Stewards, who we frequently consider them Officials or Umps, or Refs or Blue...anyway, the officials claimed Maximum Security obstructed some horses or something like that by basically impeding the route another horse was wanting to travel. See, out of whack. Exciting nevertheless and that brings me to the TCL Race for the Top 60!
The 2018-19 Texas Cornhole League Season 9 is thundering down the stretch with many players jockeying for position. As is the case in most seasons, there is typically a good amount of movement as many players are chasing points with the Top 60 being their primary goal. Every year finishing in the Top 60 is one of the most sought after achievements and with it comes a cool jersey and an invite to the end of season Top 60 Tournament. Some of the top players are battling it out with hopes of finishing first in points and being able to proclaim themselves the 2018-2019 TCL Player of the Year. With the 4th Signature event and the State tournament looming, points and where you rank can be critical since this is where the seedings are determined for these events.
As of April 26 the most current points rankings are basically a "who's who" of TCL players. Stuart Foster certainly isn't a stranger at the top of the rankings and leads everyone with 3803.0 points. Foster has had another great year with a near perfect Regional card and very good finishes in the previous 3 Signature Events. Eddie Grinderslev is right behind Foster with 3686.7 points and may need some help in order to make any positive movement. Todd Bridgeman, the current TCL Player of the Year is 3rd and has posted top 5 finishes in the previous 3 Signature Events but hasn't finished with a full Regional card. Brandon Gregor, a former Player of the Year and State Champion is in 4th with 3604.7. BG has a decent Regional Card but not as good as he would prefer with two 2nd place Regional Singles finishes and 2 Doubles wins. The previous 3 players, Grinderslev, Bridgeman and Gregor will miss the last Signature event in Denton due to the ACL Tournament in Arizona, giving others a chance to slide ahead of them. Johnny Seymour who has a near perfect Regional Card is in 5th with 3550.0 and will need to do well in Denton to increase his position. Daniel Vinson is in 6th with 3465.0 and seems to be on a mission here of late. He has added a second league win and a couple of Regional Doubles to his card and with a strong Singles finish in Denton he could make a considerable jump. Josh Groce is in 7th with 3450.0 points boasting strong Signature finishes to date but not as many Regional wins on this year's card. Christina Espinosa is in 8th with 3440.0 and once again leads all the ladies. Adam Utz comes in 9th at 3410.0 sporting a good Regional Card and will be looking for good finishes in Denton. Jason Andrews with 3400.0 points rounds out the top 10 and has a good shot at moving up with a good weekend in Denton.
There have been a slew of tournaments the past few weeks giving players several opportunities to grab wins and those all important points! Many players are trying to improve and maintain their ranks and the movement will be crazy. As I scan the Top 60 and beyond, it will be very interesting to see who can sneak in with late season charges. Even as I'm writing this the standings have changed considerably and just like the announcer at the Kentucky Derby bellowed..."And down the stretch they come"!
Stay tuned y'all, this finish will be a good one.
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