Ticking off the first box of their postseason goals, the Parsons Vikings claimed the SEK League title at the league’s boys tennis championships on Thursday at Forest Park.
Parsons’ league crown was the school’s first since 2019.
“It’s always exciting when you get that chance,” Parsons head coach Jane Posch said. “Our guys would have had to self-destruct with the year we’ve had to not do it. But I was pleased with how everything turned out. It’d been a while and our guys have worked hard over four years for this type of year to happen.”
Parsons staked its title by scoring 51 of a possible 52 points. Independence finished runner-up with 41 points, followed by Chanute (33), Fort Scott (29), Coffeyville (16), Pittsburg (11) and Labette County (3).
Parsons claimed two of the top three placings in singles and the top two spots in doubles.
Wyatt Shultz won the SEK League singles title, losing just two games over three matches. Shultz took down Fort Scott’s Jacksen DeMott, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals then beat Keith Sanders of Independence, 6-0, 6-2, in the finals.
“He pretty much breezed through his matches,” Posch said. “Wyatt got some good advice about keeping up the intensity and not giving anything away to anybody. That’ll help him out when he gets to a more competitive tournament at state.”
Tanner Nolting won third in singles for the Vikings. After winning his first two matches, Nolting fell to Sanders, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals. The senior then beat DeMott, 6-3, 7-5 in the third place match.
“Sanders just picked up his game and picked up the pace,” Posch said. “That took Tanner out of his game a little bit. When Tanner got to his match with DeMott, he was amazing in the first set. And then he had to come back in the second set. I was very proud of him for how he played. He’s done everything we talked about to win the matches he’s supposed to and be competitive in tough matches. He’s starting to play the way he’s capable of playing.”
Conner Barcus and Cole Kennett won the doubles title, defeating teammates Davion Holman and Mason Morris in the title match.
Barcus and Kennett got their toughest test in the semifinals with a three-set, marathon thriller against Chanute’s Ethan Burnett and Ayden Cummings that the Parsons duo won, 6-7 (13-11), 6-2, 7-5.
“They probably had one of their worst matches all year in that semifinal,” Posch said. “They played a little uptight and their timing was off. But they kept hanging in there. They were down 5-3 in the third set and pulled it out. It’s nice when you can win when you have an off day. I was excited with how they finished that match.”
Barcus and Kennett beat Holman and Morris, 6-2, 6-1, in the championship match. Holman and Morris took down Independence in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-4.
“I looked over there in their semifinal and they were cruising. They’re never afraid to take it to you and go after the win,” Posch said. “They kept their heads about them all day and it was a very good win in the semifinal. They’ll have the No. 2 seed in doubles at regionals, so it was a great day.”
Up next
The KSHSAA 4A Regional tournament on Friday is essentially a run-back of the league tournament, with Class 5A Pittsburg exchanged for Iola. Forest Park will again play host.
“We’re just going to go back out there and do the same thing,” Posch said. “The higher that we’re seeded going into state, the better. We want to be one-two in doubles and singles. So we’ve just got to turn around and do the same thing twice.”
