The ISU Paintball Club struggled its way through the 44-team field at the Collegiate Paintball National Championship Saturday at the Challenge Park Xtreme in Joliet, Ill.

The Cyclones entered three squads in the event — red, gold and blue — and they finished at No. 10, No. 14 and No. 34, respectively.

Upon entering the tournament, the Cyclones were in the hunt for the National Championship, but equipment problems hampered the teams’ performances.

Mike Ramsey, the club’s tournament coordinator, said the team had expected to finish in the top three.

“We were by far one of the top five teams there,” Ramsey said. “It turned out to be a rough day, especially with our markers not working correctly.”

In the first game, against top-rated and eventual national champion Illinois, the gold team was mismatched five players to three, due to a pair of ISU players not having workable markers.

“My marker jammed within the first 10 seconds,” said club president Tim Rash. “After that, I wasn’t able to defend my side of the field.”

In addition to equipment problems, mental errors plagued the gold team during the semifinal round.

“Three of our guys were called out of bounds during the semifinals,” Rash said. “Once a player is called out of bounds, he is eliminated from the game.”

Rash said it was a long day and the results were somewhat disappointing, but he said the season was successful.

“We finished the season ranked fourth in the National Collegiate Paintball Association ranking,” Rash said.

The Paintball Club played in four tournaments this season, gaining experience and players throughout the year.

For the championship tournament, the team added a few new players to the roster.

Pat Roberts and Paul Roberts, regular players in an amateur league, said they enjoyed the competition of collegiate paintball.

“I had a lot of fun out there,” Pat Roberts said. “[ISU Paintball Club members] are dedicated and I enjoy playing with them.”

Hockey goalie Nolan Thompson recently joined the Paintball Club and looks forward to playing in more tournaments next year.

“We’re going to light people up next season,” Thompson said. “We’ll have more practices and more strategy involved.”

Ramsey said they are going to be practicing during the summer by playing in noncollegiate events.

They will be competing against professional and amateur teams.

“We are entering the PSP Chicago Open in June,” Ramsey said. “The amateurs can win up to $7,000 in merchandising, while professionals can win up to $20,000.”

Rash said the plan is to play against more difficult teams that are advanced paintballers this summer.

The Paintball Club will have several experienced players returning next season with high expectations.

“With most of the guys coming back next year, our goal is to take the national title,” Ramsey said.