For most of the day, it looked like #1 Yellowstone wasn’t going to make it to the Sweet Sixteen of the National Park Playoff. The top seed in the North (picked by 13/19 predictive brackets to reach the Final Four, 12/19 to reach the Championship Final, and 4/19 to win it all) needed a late rally to survive a powerful challenge from #9 Denali, 19-17. The nerve-wracking match featured several ties and a couple lead changes, but Denali frequently had the upper hand with leads of as many as four points. The other top seeds had a much easier run to the Sweet Sixteen, though the East battle was contentious for a while before #1 Great Smoky Mountains pulled away from #9 Shenandoah, winning 18-13. Yosemite blew out Haleakalā 28-7 and Grand Canyon embarrassed Petrified Forest 35-5. The top seeds will be back in action next Monday, May 18 against the winners from this Saturday’s contests.

Predictive brackets largely dodged a bullet with Yellowstone’s win, though three predictors chose Denali to advance (and one the previously eliminated Gates of the Arctic). Overall, predictors notched an 84% correct rate, including 19/19 on Grand Canyon, in line with the park’s smash success. Eliminated American Samoa and Muir Woods fielded a vote each in the Pacific, while six brackets put Shenandoah in the Sweet Sixteen.

Today’s action features plucky high-scoring #7 Saguaro in the Southwest against #2 Rocky Mountain, as well as a double-digit showdown between #10 Everglades and #15 Virgin Islands for the right to be a real Cinderella. Tune in on Twitter!