Photo by Skip Lawrence Urbana seniors Tommy Carroll, left, and Devin Lum are part of an Ultimate Frisbee team that won the Maryland state high school championship this year.

"I was kind of late figuring out what I wanted to do," Carroll said.

Carroll leaned on an extracurricular passion he picked up as a cross country runner -- the relatively unknown sport of Ultimate Frisbee -- to help him finish up his academic requirements for graduation. His task was to create an Ultimate Frisbee club at Urbana .

"I knew I wanted the club, and we had decided over the summer we wanted the club," Carroll said. "I had two days until I had to turn in my proposal, and I was like, 'Why don't I just make this my senior project? We're doing it anyways.'"

What he and his buddies did last summer was toss around the Frisbee, mess around in their spare time and play pick-up games for fun. Less than a year later, his project, and that hobby have put the Urbana High Ultimate Frisbee team on the map -- and not just in Frederick County.

After a whirlwind school year full of dedication and learning on the fly, the squad is Maryland's state high school champion in Ultimate Frisbee, and will play in the national tournament next season.

And, in case you're wondering, Carroll got an 'A' on the project.

"It didn't seem like work to me," Carroll said. "I just wanted to see how far we could go."

Carroll collaborated with classmates and friends Devin Lum and Ricky LeFever last summer to come up with the idea. All three had an interest in Ultimate Frisbee, and all three applied that enthusiasm to their schoolwork.

Carroll organized what was originally just an after-school club. He stuck flyers all over the walls of Urbana High, with space for those curious to provide basic information. The sheets were dropped into a shoe box for Carroll to review, a task which resulted in much more than he bargained for.

"Over 250 people signed up," Carroll said. "I had to cut over 200 people to actually make it worthwhile."

Carroll worked with his project advisor to whittle down the candidates to a reasonable number. They scoured the school's yearbook, and did some deep thinking before Carroll himself was faced with making cuts, and picking the team.

"I basically tried to pick people who were serious about it, and wanted to come out and play," he said. "It was tough."

The club members were seen flinging discs around the gym after school during the fall and winter months, and when weather permitted, they'd find space on the high school campus -- sometimes even the tennis courts ----to sharpen their skills. But when Urbana graduates and Carroll's friends Dean Eastlake and Charlie Hobbs -- each of whom played on the Ultimate Frisbee team at Messiah College -- came home during a break from classes, they gave the Frisbee club a clinic on the game.

"They came down to teach us some fundamentals, get us some plays, and teach us strategies," said John Carroll, Tommy's father and a voluntary coach and sponsor for the team. "That was crucial to our success."

Tommy Carroll received his grade for assembling the ultimate club by the end of the fall term, but wasn't ready to let go. He kept the club together and active, meanwhile making phone calls and writing e-mails to get the club ----which became an actual competitive team -- into tournaments, and a league called the WAFC (Washington Area Frisbee Club).

With little to gauge themselves besides their five-day-a-week practices, when March 18 came and Urbana faced Bethesda-Chevy Chase in its first official game, there were more than enough jitters to go around.

"We were so nervous," LeFever said. "We had no clue to what to expect."

The Hawks got an overwhelming 13-3 win. The Ultimate organizations Urbana was involved in offered three levels ----A, B and C -- with C for beginners, and A for experts. After a tournament on April 21 in Richmond, Va., the Hawks made the jump from C to A.

"It was Tommy's decision," John Carroll said. "He said, 'Let's go for it. It will only make us better.' So that's where we've been."

Once the Hawks became a bona fide team, Lum rolled out his project idea. To cover league and tournament fees, and to provide the team with the minimal, yet necessary equipment for the game of Ultimate Frisbee, he designed and sold Frisbee discs printed with an "Urbana Ultimate" logo.

As the Hawks traveled, he sold his product to students in Urbana 's hallways, other teams, enthusiasts and fans. Of the original 100 Frisbees he ordered, he estimates less than 20 remain. And at $10 apiece, the team has broken even on its budget.

"Tommy wanted to start the club, and we needed a lot of Frisbees, obviously," Lum said. "So I decided to do mine on that."

Lum received a 'B' on the project for his efforts.

"By the time it was due," Lum said, "I only had a few left."

LeFever chipped in to the plan by creating an Ultimate Frisbee tournament for students, early on in the process. He said the turnout was minimal, but for those who tossed the disc around that day, the awareness of the game, and the interest, started to increase.

"No one really knew about the sport then," LeFever said. "But it was still fun to put together."

The trio got sophomore Paul Grabowski's attention. A tennis player his entire life, Grabowski willingly hung up his racket when spring rolled around, picking up a disc instead.

He did it even though his mother disapproved.

"She did not want me to stop playing tennis," said Grabowski, who along with his sister made a run in doubles in last year's county tennis tournament. "But Ultimate is just more fun. It's more of a skill game, I guess. And I feel like I'm better at Ultimate."

His long limbs and leaping ability helped the Hawks cap their experimental first season with four wins in five games at the state championship event, held May 19 in Catonsville. They finished the season 16-1, and as of today are the 41st-ranked youth team by the Ultimate Players Association in the country.

The catch is, Tommy Carroll, Lum and LeFever, along with four other seniors will be gone from the Urbana squad next season. Now much more than a senior project, underclassmen like Grabowski will be called on to pick up where Carroll -- the team's mastermind ----left off.

"I had to do all the dirty work. I'm going to pass that off to someone else," Carroll said. "I might just show up to help out."

Now that Grabowski has made a career change athletically, he admits he'd oblige.

"I think Ultimate was a better choice," Grabowski said. "I liked Tommy doing that stuff, but if I have to, I will.

"It's a lot of fun, and I want to keep doing it."