Top Honors Earned at 2024 USA Racquetball High School National Championships Presented by Team DOVETAIL in St. Louis, MO
by Jonathan Greenberg
KIRKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL COMES OUT ON TOP!
What a week in Saint Louis, MO, with an impressive turnout of 326 athletes participating at the USA Racquetball High School Nationals. Sixteen court saw action at the host Club Vetta Concord and at Vetta West.
STATS
Athletes numbering 326 (178 boys and 148 girls) represented a total of 24 schools and 5 states.
TEAM RESULTS
Congratulations to Kirkwood High School, Saint Louis, Missouri, on bringing home the overall team title -- their 3rd straight.
Additionally, Kirkwood Girls took home the Girls title, their 2nd in school history.
Congratulations to Kirkwood High School, St. Louis, Missouri, on bringing home the Boys title, this completed the sweep for Kirkwood High School!
FORMAT AND MEDALS
This event was structured in Olympic Format with four flights in each age group: Gold, Blue, Red & White, thus ensuring that a player typically had a minimum of three matches per division and eventually competed against similarly skilled players during the event. All Divisions received 1st-4th place National Championship medals.
Players competed for Team and individual National Racquetball Championships in Boys, Girls, and Overall Team Competition. Teams consisted of players in 6 singles divisions, 3 doubles divisions for boys, girls, and 3 mixed divisions. Divisions were numbered 1 thru 6 in singles and 1, 2, and 3 in doubles. The top-ranked player on a team was to enter Division #1, the second-ranked player in Division #2, and so on. Division #6 in singles and Division #3 in all doubles events were open to all players not entered in a higher division. No two players from the same school could play in the same division, except Division #6 in singles and Division #3 in all doubles events. If there were fewer than 6 players, boys or girls, on a team, divisions were filled from the top first, that is Division #1 Singles, then Division #2 Singles, and so on.
All singles players were guaranteed 3 matches, including forfeits and byes. All players earned points for their school toward the Team Championships. Players could enter 3 events, however, they had to be separate events, and the 3rd event had to be mixed doubles. Singles divisions used Olympic Format (Gold, plus Blue, Red, and White).
Doubles divisions were single elimination and had only one consolation round. In doubles, just as in singles, the intent was for the best doubles team from each school to enter Division #1, the second-best team to enter Division #2, etc.
MATCH RECAPS
- Boys Singles Gold #1: Nathan Rykhus (California) out of Franklin High School took home the number 1 singles crown. He defeated Juan Herrera (Illinois) in the finals.
- Girls Singles Gold #1: Andrea Perez-Picon (California) out of Sierra High School was crowned high school national champion. She took out fellow Californian in the final Victoria Rodriguez.
- Boys #1 Doubles: We had an all-Saint Louis battle in the doubles final, Eli Mculley & Jonathan Bell (Lindbergh H.S.) defeating the top seed from Kirkwood H.S.
- Girls #1 Doubles: In the Girls doubles finals we also had an all-Saint Louis battle. This time the top seed took home the crown Mia Risch & Margaret McPheeters (Kirkwood H.S.) defeated Ella Boaz & Sally Wildhaber (Lindbergh).
- Mixed #1 Doubles: Mixed doubles this year was a round robin at the number 1 mixed doubles division. Congrats to Ella Boaz & Eli McCulley on going 4-0 in round robin play & taking home the gold medal!
Congrats to all the teams and to their athletes and coaches! For a complete look at the results and brackets, go to Team Dovetail Presents the 2024 USA Racquetball High School National Championships (r2sports.com)
INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS
Congratulations to all of the players who attained All-American status at these Championships! Check out the list in this, the 35th year, of High School Nationals competition!
ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS | mohsra (mohsrball.com)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Joshua Jones from Lindbergh High School on his achievement of winning coach of the year! He has been involved in Missouri high school racquetball for over a decade and has built Lindbergh racquetball to a powerhouse in Missouri high school racquetball. Thank you, Joshua, for all you do for junior racquetball!
SPONSORS
WIS International
GearBox (Official Racquet of USAR)
Head
Team DOVETAIL (Presenting Sponsor)
THANKS TO THE HEROES BEHIND THE SCENES!
As we all know, it takes a village, and those who pitched in to make this a very special event for the players numbered in the hundreds. Every single hero, whether identified by name or not, is deeply appreciated for their support. You know who you are!
Last but never least
- The hundreds of parents and supporters who volunteered all weekend
- The coaches who spent 12-14 hours a day at the clubs for 5 days
YOU are the BEST!!
