Cornhole tourney a first for Marysville brewery

More than 70 cornhole players from across the Puget Sound area descended on a Marysville brewery for an afternoon of camaraderie, competition and tasty food and drinks.

5 Rights Brewing Company, operating out of the former Carr’s Hardware building in downtown Marysville, hosted the first Hometown Throwdown, a cornhole tournament, on July 17. The one-day event was organized by Emerald City Cornhole.

“Bar none, the people. The best people you can find,” Lynnwood resident Blaine Horton said about why he’s played cornhole for about three-and-a-half years. He was part of a two-person team competing against nearly 40 other teams, some of whom came from as far away as Pierce County and Skagit County.

Horton’s sentiments were echoed by Tyler Gillette, a Renton resident participating in the tournament. “I love the camaraderie. I love coming out and playing the game.”

The event took place at 5 Rights Brewing’s recently constructed pavilion located behind the brewery. “This place is built for community events,” said RJ Whitlow, owner of 5 Rights Brewing Company.

Play started at 11 a.m. with round-robin competition playing on 11 pairs of boards. Teams were then divided into an upper bracket and lower bracket to play a double-elimination tournament.

In the end, Ruben Medina and Rich Goessman took first place in the upper bracket bringing home an $800 prize. Steve Simmons and Boun Lameny placed second, Tyler Tomberlin and Mike Patrick placed third and Eric Rainaud-Hinds and Ryan Brown placed fourth.

For the lower bracket, Shane Bradford and Tay Olson won first place and a $100 prize. Phill Olson and NJ Niblack placed second, Cameron Herrara and Xavier Austin placed third and Bob Windrick and George Conrad placed fourth.

Emerald City Cornhole is based in Marysville and plays Wednesdays at 5 Rights Brewing. The group started about three years ago with 10-to-12 people throwing bags at various breweries in the area, said Suzzanne Schalo, of Emerald City Cornhole. She is also a regional director for the American Cornhole League.

The Marysville cornhole group currently has about 60 active players.

“It’s really picking up momentum in the Pacific Northwest,” said Steve Smith, a Marysville resident who is one of the tournament’s organizers.

Schalo said everybody had fun playing cornhole at 5 Rights Brewing on Saturday.

“We’re hoping to make it an annual event,” Schalo said.

Emerald City Cornhole has an active Facebook page highlighting future events. For more information, email [email protected].