He’s a BIIF champion in both track and cross country, still holding his school record in the 1,500-meter run. He’s tried just about every outdoor activity under the sun, including being an avid surfer. But 2009 Hilo High graduate Mark Turner found his true passion in a sport that few know about.

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He’s a BIIF champion in both track and cross country, still holding his school record in the 1,500-meter run. He’s tried just about every outdoor activity under the sun, including being an avid surfer. But 2009 Hilo High graduate Mark Turner found his true passion in a sport that few know about.

Turner recently began his second season in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA), currently rostered by the Houston Havoc — an expansion team formed in late 2022. The UFA is the premier North American ultimate disc league.

Turner joined fellow Hawaii resident Nicholas Dunbar in the esteemed league, who played for the Los Angeles Aviators last season.

For those that don’t know, ultimate is a non-contact, 7-on-7 team sport where players pass a disc around a 70-by-40-yard field, with 25-yard end zones at the end of each side. Players cannot run while holding the disc, and an incomplete pass, out-of-bounds throw or interception results in an immediate turnover to the defense. Uniquely, the game is self-officiated.

There are a few different positions on an ultimate pitch. There are handlers — the primary decision-makers and passers — and cutters, who are the athletes that sprint downfield to catch open passes. But Turner plays in a more specialized role — the hybrid, which is a position where the player can handle the disc or run deep downfield, depending on the game’s flow. He also spends some time on the offensive line.

“Hybrids are the connection between cutters and handlers, where we’re also very good with the disc, but we also provide value downfield by gaining yards,” Turner explained to the paper in a recent phone interview. “We kind of fall right in the middle.”

Turner’s services for the Havoc have started to get noticed. In the team’s May 2 game against division leader Austin Sol, he posted a season high in total yards (709), goals scored (4) and assists (7). Turner also completed over 91% of his pass attempts.

Turner’s career-defining performance earned himself a spot on the UFA Honor Roll, which is a weekly award given to the top performers across the league. It was Turner’s first time being recognized in his young pro career.

“Houston hasn’t beat Austin in the 11 times that we’ve played them, and that was the closest we’ve gotten,” Turner said. “Although we didn’t win, the UFA acknowledged that what I did was out of the ordinary.”

Turner’s journey to the UFA spanned over two decades, but he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He was first introduced to ultimate at age 9 in Hilo by neighbors Keek Hottendorf and Maureen Duffy — who encouraged nearly all of the neighborhood keiki and their families to play with them weekly. Soon enough, Turner and his family got hooked.

“My dad was a single parent raising myself and my two sisters, and he kind of needed an outlet to where he could get his exercise in while managing a handful of kids, so our neighbors reached out to him,” Turner said. “And we were fortunate because that community was welcoming to kids playing.

“Then like every Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday we just kept going and going, and it became this awesome family thing that we did in routine.”

As Turner improved in the sport, he began competing in the Kaimana Klassick at age 15 — which is an Oahu-based ultimate tournament that draws some of the top talent in the world, ranging from the U.S. mainland to Australia and Japan. Until the age of 22, Turner competed in the event every year — strengthening his skills each time he went.

Throughout his 20s and early 30s, Turner moved around the mainland with his wife, picking up ultimate in whatever way he could. He practiced with a collegiate program while living in Minnesota, played in amateur leagues in San Diego and Houston and even played in professional disc golf competition in Nevada. It wasn’t until he was playing recreationally in Houston where he was encouraged to try out for the Havoc.

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“At the time, I was 33 and much past my athletic prime, but I told myself I’ll give it a go,” Turner said.

After a six-hour, rigorous tryout session, Turner was named to the team, and was officially an ultimate pro. He had an impressive rookie season in 2025, scoring at least three goals in four different games — including a five-goal performance against the Carolina Flyers.

Turner made such a strong first impression that he was named one of the Havoc’s captains for the 2026 campaign.

“Being part of the Houston Havoc has been such a cool experience,” Turner said. “Because I’m a little bit older for the league, it’s cool that I can prove to myself that I can still do it.

“But the number one thing I enjoy the most about this team is captaining and helping create a culture that will hopefully last for years to come.”

Since the Havoc are a newer team, the group is still trying to establish a consistent winning system. While getting to the top of the UFA’s standings may take some time, Turner and the rest of the team are looking forward to getting 1% better each day — and hopefully, all of the little things they improve on will ultimately add up.

“This season in particular, we want to build a really good foundation and give people something to be excited about,” Turner said. “A younger team still has to work through some stuff that an established team has already done.

“If we win, that’s great. But now we are focusing on the little things that help a team win. There’s a lot that we can continue to build on.”

With his Havoc career just starting, Turner hopes to keep defying father time and play professional ultimate for as long as he can. But no matter how long his pro career lasts, he hopes to stay around the game for the rest of his life — whether that’s playing or coaching.

“I think ultimate will always be a part of what I do,” Turner said. “And if it’s not me being involved as a player, I want to coach or contribute in some way. I want to help kids discover the sport and grow and get to experience what I got to experience.”

On top of giving credit to his neighbors and father — David Turner — for first introducing him to the sport, Mark Turner also thanked the Hilo ultimate community for giving him the inspiration to chase his dreams — most notably David Papao, David Gelber and Keoki Cooper.

“For my dad to make ultimate a consistent part of my upbringing was huge,” Turner said. “It was such a great thing we did as a family. Going to Taco Bell on Tuesdays after we played…things like that are great memories.”

Turner and the Houston Havoc will next take on the Seattle Cascades at 2 p.m. HST Saturday in Houston. To watch, visit https://www.watchufa.tv/events/seattle-at-houston-5-30-2026.

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