The Revision Vanquish’s Bantam inline hockey team can solidify its position as the No. 1 club in the western United States – if not the entire nation – after winning its age division (16U) at both NARCh West Coast Finals and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games over the summer.

The excitement started at June’s inaugural NARCh West Coast Finals at The Rinks-Huntington Beach Inline when the Vanquish defeated the HB Groove, 4-0, to win the top-tier Bantam Platinum title.

Vanquish made amends for an earlier round-robin loss to the Tour Cowboys with a 3-1 semifinal victory to advance to the championship game against the Groove.

Revision brand manager Nebeel Gerges called Revision’s Bantams “special” because of their youth.

“I think it’s great to note that the team is comprised entirely of first-year 16U 1999 birth-year players, so they’ll look forward to defending their championship next year,” Gerges said. “It’s a very rare for a first-year team to win a NARCh Platinum division.”

The Revision squad had another great run at July’s AAU Junior Olympic Games at The Rinks-Corona Inline by winning two overtime contests in the 16U AAA playoffs to hoist its second national championship trophy within a month.

Lukas Uhler, assisted by Conner Smith, netted the overtime winner in Revision’s 4-3 semifinal victory against the Tour Cowboys, while Cooper Haar scored an unassisted goal with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to lift Revision to a 4-3 win over the Pama Cyclones in the championship game.

Haar led RV with seven points in its five games at the AAU Junior Olympic Games – all wins.

Revision’s Bantam squad wasn’t the only team in the program to taste success at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.

The RV Squirt team finished runner-up to the Alkali High Rollers by a 1-0 score in the 12U AA championship game, while Vanquish’s 18U AAA team finished with the bronze medal by edging the rival High Rollers, 6-5, on late goals by Jackson Faught and Cayla Barnes.

“(Goaltender) Brooke Marella played an awesome game in the (12U AA) final,” Gerges said. “She kept us within one goal the whole time.”

NARCh Nuggets

RV finished runner-up to the Pama Cyclones in the Pro division at NARCh West Coast Finals. Gerges noted it was the third time in four years and the second consecutive that the Vanquish had qualified a team for the NARCh Pro division finals.

RV’s 21U Junior division team defeated the Mission Bauer Outcasts to also win a gold medal at NARCh West Coast Finals. Gerges said that – with the exception of Garrett Haar – the team’s roster is comprised solely of roller hockey players.

“We’ve been chasing the 21U NARCh Platinum championship for the last three years – all these players have been with me for the last five years – and I couldn’t think of a more deserving group,” Gerges said.

Stephen Verstegen finished as the high scorer in the division for the Vanquish.

RV also posted a runner-up finish in the Midget Platinum division to the Outcasts to just miss a clean sweep of titles in the 16U, 18U and 21U brackets at NARCh West Coast Finals.

Revision’s Coby Downs finished as the high scorer in Midget Platinum.

“The fact that we were able to win both the 21U and 16U divisions while making the finals in 18U bodes very well for the future of our Division I and Pro teams,” Gerges said. “It gives us a lot of pride to represent Southern California in the most talented and difficult divisions to win.”

The two NARCh Finals attracted a total of 387 teams – 208 teams at the West Coast Finals in California and 179 teams at the East Coast Finals, which were held in July in Estero, Fla.

Jaxson Cover of the Cayman Islands set a NARCh record for most goals (56) in one weekend at the Florida tournament.

Next up for NARCh are two major tournaments in San Jose: the Nor Cal Cup over Thanksgiving Weekend and the 2016 NARCh West Coast Winternationals in mid-January.

– Phillip Brents