BOULDER — Sunday meant finals day for the small ball divisions at the 2025 Junior Three-Wall Nationals, and there was no final players and spectators were more excited for than the 19 and under match between Tucson’s Ayden Brule and Colorado’s own Eli Gutierrez. The juniors and local players packed the park to watch these two junior stars go at it.

Gutierrez had defeated Brule at the Junior Four-Wall Nationals this past December and that had stuck with Brule. He brought his A game to Boulder and was determined to win.

The pair were even for the beginning of the first game before Brule caught fire with his serve that went out the door down the left. He rode that to a 21-11 victory. Game two Brule picked up where he left off and jumped out to a 13-0 lead, playing near perfect Handball. Gutierrez refused to go down easy in front of his home crowd though and kept battling. It took Brule four match points to close out Gutierrez before he finally finished it off 21-11. Both finalist are already amazing players. Brule is 18 while Gutierrez is 16, so there is a good chance they will be seeing each other again.

In the 17 and under it was a battle of Albuquerque residents and friends Alex Guajardo and Angel Valenzuela. The two play often at their home court and know the others game well. Guajardo was the stronger player today and kept Valenzuela out of the front court for the majority of the match in his 21-15, 21-13 win. Guajardo slammed the 17 and under with the win.

Azriel Gomez completed the slam in the 13 and under by defeating Luis Cordova III in two convincing games. Gomez has improved so much in the past year and continues to practice 4 times a week in Tucson. He is dedicated and a future star in the sport.

Thank you to the Colorado Handball Association for an incredible tournament with phenomenal hospitality all weekend. The juniors were well taken care of. A special shout out to Jon Gutierrez, David and Donna Mosley, Stan Dunleavy and Reggie Vair for their hard work each day that included being the first to show up and the last to leave. Lastly, thank you to the junior coaches who brought their kids to compete and are working hard for the future of our sport.

_____________________________________________________________________

BOULDER– On Saturday we were greeted with more beautiful weather and we also crowned our first champions of the weekend in the Big Ball singles events. 

In the 19 and under we had the highly anticipated final of Eli Gutierrez and Ayden Brule. Brule looked like he was on a mission in the match as he crushed the ball and pushed Gutierrez all around the court en route to a 21-6, 21-10 win. The pair will also face off in the small ball final tomorrow morning. 

In the 17 and under big ball final we had a rematch of the final last year between Alex Guajardo and Angel Valenzuela who are both based in Albuquerque, NM. Guajardo won last year’s event in a tiebreaker but he only needed two competitive games to defeat Valenzuela this year. 

In the 13 and under big ball final, Azriel Gomez finally broke through and won his first gold medal by defeating Luis Cordova in two dominant games. Gomez had around six silver medals but had never taken first place before. He stopped that trend by dominating Cordova. They will also face off in the small ball final tomorrow. 

There was plenty of great handball on the court but the highlight of the day was probably the new player clinic. The United States Handball Association partnered with the Play Boulder Foundation to introduce new juniors to handball. From Noon to 1:30pm all the matches stopped and top players Abe Montijo, Jon Gutierrez, Ivan Burgos and Sam Esser took the time to introduce handball to 10 new juniors. They had a blast and will have the opportunity to join the Colorado Youth Handball Association, which many seem like they want to do. 

Small ball finals will be played tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for the results!

_____________________________________________________________________

BOULDER — We couldn’t of asked for a better day to kick off the 2025 Three-Wall Junior Nationals at the East Boulder Recreation Center Friday. Sunny skies and a beautiful mountain background surrounded the facility as the juniors took to the court. 

The Colorado Handball Association took great care of the juniors and kept them well fed and hydrated throughout the day. They needed it as there was some fierce action on the courts. 

Tucson’s Liam Schnaar and Juarez’s Luis Cordova III played more handball than anybody today and were apart of some exciting matches. They played eachother in singles of the big ball 13 and under division. After Cordova won the first game convincingly, Schnaar bounced back to shock the crowd and win 21-19 in the second game. Schnaar could not keep it up in the tiebreaker as Cordova won the final game 11-2. Despite falling short in the match, Tucson coaches Abe Montijo and Ivan Burgos were in agreement that the match was some of Schnaar’s best handball yet. 

Schnaar was on the right side of a tiebreaker later in the day when he and his partner Azriel Gomez rebounded from a first game loss to Adrian Valenzuela and Arial Flores to win in a tiebreaker. 

Cordova was on the wrong side of a tiebreaker later in the day as he and his partner Angel Valenzuela fell to Alex Guajardo and Luan Cordova in heartbreaking fashion 11-10.

Top seeds in the 19 and under and rising stars in the sport Eli Gutierrez and Ayden Brule cruised in their opening matches. They look to be on a crash course to face off against eachother in the finals.

Stay tuned for more updates! 

_____________________________________________________________________________

The 2025 Junior Three-Wall Nationals will kick off in Boulder, CO this weekend where juniors all around the region will be competing for a National Championship! The divisions will range from 19 and under to 13 and under. The courts are located at the East Boulder Community Center at 5660 Sioux Drive, Boulder, CO 80303.

The tournament is headlined by current 19 and under four-wall champion and Colorado native Eliseo Gutierrez. He will have his handfuls though with junior rival and ranked pro Ayden Brule along with other hungry competitors.

In the younger divisions, many rising stars continue to improve and will look to show that off this weekend as they battle others in their age divisions. Stay tuned to this page for updates from the tournament!

Opportunity for new juniors to learn Handball!

This year we are excited to partner with the Play Boulder Foundation and invite any 19 and under youth to come learn the game on Saturday, July 12th from 12pm to 1:30pm. This event is FREE to the juniors and they will receive a free swag item. After learning the game, juniors will have the opportunity to join the Colorado Handball Youth group and continue to play.