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Castro and Hardin clinch Barton eSports third National Championship
Costello earns National Runner-Up finish
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Kindric Castro and Adam Hardin of the Barton Community College eSports team clinched the program’s third NJCAAE National Championship Sunday afternoon, earning a 4-0 sweep over Iowa Western Community College in the NJCAAE Call of Duty Cold War 2v2 National Championship.

Other Championship results saw Chance Costello earning an NJCAAE National Runner-Up finish in Madden 22, falling to Suffolk County Community College Saturday evening 41-21 and 35-7.

As a squad, the Cougars concluded the spring season with a 68-38 overall record with Kindric and Castro ending their campaign at 12-1 and Costello finishing just shy of a perfect season at 10-1.


COD: Cold War Gunfight 2v2 Recap

The duo of Kindric and Hardin advanced into their second straight National Championship following Thursday’s 4-2 victory over top-seeded Calhoun Community College.

Looking to bounce back from the falls National Championship defeat to Navarro College, the pair entered Sunday’s title match-up determined and focused, never missing a beat grasping the opening map at Game Show 6-2 for the early 1-0 match lead.

Playing the second map in the duo’s least favorite place inside the ICBM, Castro and Hardin found themselves trailing 1-0 for the first and only time on the afternoon, until the twosome rapid fired four straight rounds snatching all momentum. Splitting the final four rounds, Barton grabbed a 2-0 match advantage in the best of seven series, taking the second map 6-3.

Heading to Gluboko for the third map, the Cougar couple were practically flawless rattling off four of the opening five rounds before sealing up the final two rounds, earning a 6-1 victory and pulling within one map of the National Championship. 

Sensing the title within reach and holding a 3-0 map lead, the Cougars jetted out to a quick 2-0 edge in Nuketown, but the Reavers would battle back, knotting the map at 2-2 and eventually tying it up one final time at 3-3 after splitting the fifth and sixth rounds. Castro and Hardin went for the final kill, capturing the final three rounds to clinch the NJCAAE National Championship with a 6-3 map triumph.