2022 NASA tournament a success

Published 1:43 pm Monday, August 15, 2022

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Tournament officials said Monday that the 2022 Native American Sports Association (NASA) Softball Tournament last week in Poarch and Atmore went well.

The softball tournament brought together teams from Tribes from around the country. This year’s teams included from the Poarch Creek Indians, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Seminole Tribes of Florida.

PCI Sports Coordinator Jake McGhee said the tournament, which lasted from Aug. 11-13, went off well despite rains that came through on Friday.

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“We did get some rain on Friday, and that put us back, but it didn’t push us back too much,” McGhee said. “We were able to stop where we weren’t too far behind.

“Our great staff got after it and put a lot of work on the fields,” he said. “Overall, I thought we did a great job and ran a really well-ran tournament.”

McGhee said of the 76 of the 79 teams that registered participated in the tournament.

Those placed first through second in each division included:

  • Men’s – The Arrows of Choctaw Indians, first place; Half Breeds of PCI, second place; and Southern Native of PCI, third place
  • Women’s – Mississippi Sparks of Choctaw Indians, first place; The Natives of Choctaw, second place; and Intensity of Choctaw, third place
  • Co-ed – Suicide Squad of Choctaw, first place; Hot Heads of Choctaw, second place; and Creek Elite of PCI
  • Women’s Legends – The Natives of Choctaw, first place; Poarch Creek Lady Legends, second place; and C-Nation of Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, third place
  • Men’s Legends – Poarch LA Legends, first place; The Highlights of Choctaw, second place; and MBCI Pushka, third place
  • Women’s Trailblazers – Four Corners of Choctaw and Cherokee; and Ohoyo Ishtadaba of Choctaw, second place
  • Men’s Trailblazers – LA Trailblazers, first place; the Native Trailblazers, second place, both of PCI

The Native American Youth Organization (NAYO) and NASA tournaments will be held in Philadelphia, Miss. in 2023. The next time Poarch will host both tournaments will be in 2026.