HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College Esports program recently finished its most successful season to date this past week, culminating with a national runner-up finish and 46 victories among all programs this fall.

"Our motto coming into this semester was taking everything to the next level, and our students exceeded that expectation," said Catawba Valley Esports head coach Cody Dalton. "I am proud of all of our Red Hawk student athletes for the dedication, teamwork and resilience that they displayed all fall. I couldn't be prouder of what they accomplished, and we hope for even more success in the spring."

The RH Red VALORANT team, which was one of two Red Hawk VALORANT teams to qualify for the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) playoffs, completed its fall season with a 10-1 record and national runner-up finish. Team members included captain Jesus Andrade-Chavez, Krilling Vang, Cristian Baquiax, Sky Lee and Omar Rueda Vazquez.

This was one of three top-eight national finishes for the Red Hawks during the fall competition.

Nistelrooy Ordonez — the CVCC Esports program's first-ever competitor in the video game FIFA '23 — finished with a top-four finish nationally after advancing to the tournament semifinals.

The Red Hawk Call of Duty Vanguard team consisting of Donavon Ervin, Hector Santamaria, Jerron Turner-Clark and Devante Moore also finished top eight nationally.

Ethan Stiles won the first-ever Super Smash Bros Ultimate playoff game in program history, and the duo of Juan David Morales and Santamaria won the first playoff game in Call of Duty Warzone duos.

Overall, the CVCC Esports team finished the fall with a 46-14 overall record, including an 11-7 mark in playoff games in five different game titles.

The Catawba Valley Community College Esports program will be hosting its second annual 24-hour stream this Friday starting at noon. Proceeds raised from the stream will benefit student athletes in the program.

The stream will take place on the program's official Twitch page — twitch.tv/cvccredhawks