WINFIELD, Kan.— Four schools within three points of each other. That’s how close the margin was at last weekend’s Class 4A State Tennis Tournament. Parsons and Winfield tied for first, edging out defending champion Buhler by one point and Hesston by three points.
For the Crusaders, who came up one point shy of defending last year’s team title, it was their fourth top-three finish in the last five seasons.
TEAM STANDINGS
1 – Parsons (29)
2 – Winfield (29)
3 – Buhler (28)
4 – Hesston (26)
In singles play, Davian Spies overpowered Wyatt Shultz of Parsons, 6-2, 6-0, in a rematch of last year’s final to earn his third individual title in four seasons. Spies dropped just five games in his eight sets during the tournament.
“There was a lot of pressure just naturally,” Spies told KSHSAA Covered’s Scott Paske. “I try to take it as it is; the pressure is a privilege.”
The Buhler senior finishes his final season with a 29-2 record and 122 career wins.
Von Woleslagle and Reuben Harden had a great tournament, advancing their way to the semifinals in the doubles bracket. In the semis, they lost hard-fought battle to Winfield’s Jackson Davis and Adam Everett, 7-5, 7-5. They then bounced back to win the third-place match over Chase Blaser and Evan George of Topeka Hayden, 6-2, 6-4.
The veteran duo finishes the season at 24-4 and defends their third-place title from last year’s tournament.
Buhler’s No. 2 doubles team of Titus Bortzfield and Jaxton Gillette, making their first trip, also qualified for state.
For Spies, his high school career comes to a conclusion on the same court where he won his first state title as a freshman in 2022.
“I don’t know how to describe it; it’s a surreal kind of feeling,” said Spies.
