Top Honors Earned at the USA Racquetball 2026 National High School Championships in St. Louis, MO

KIRKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
COMES OUT ON TOP!

What a week in St. Louis, Missouri, with an impressive turnout of 311 athletes participating at the USA Racquetball High School National Championships. Sixteen courts total saw action at host club Vetta Concord and over at Vetta West as well.

STATS

Athletes numbering 311 (193 boys and 118 girls) represented a total of 22 schools in 7 states.

TEAM RESULTS

The Boys Team title went to Kirkwood High School.

USA Racquetball

The Kirkwood Girls took home the Girls Team title, their 4th in school history! 

USA Racquetball

Congratulations to Kirkwood High School on bringing home the overall team title -- their 5th straight! This completed the sweep for St. Louis’s Kirkwood High School!    

USA Racquetball

FORMAT AND MEDALS

This event was structured in Olympic Format with four flights in each age group: Gold, Blue, Red and 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. National Championship medals, 1st-4th,  were awarded in all divisions.

Players competed for Team and individual honors in Boys, Girls, and Overall Team Competition. Teams consisted of players in six singles divisions, three doubles divisions for boys and girls, and three 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, with the exception being Division #6 in singles and Division #3 in doubles.

All singles players were guaranteed three matches, including forfeits and byes. All players earned points for their school toward the Team Championship titles. Players could enter three events, however, they had to be separate events, and the 3rd event had to be mixed doubles. Singles divisions were 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.

GOLD MATCH RECAPS

- Boys Singles Gold #1: Grant Williams (Missouri) defeated Alejandro Perez-Picon (California).

- Girls Singles Gold #1: Andrea Perez-Picon (California) defeated Violet Kennedy (Missouri).

- Boys #1 Doubles: Geffen Kama/Ayan Sharma (California) defeated Henry Prien/Graham Sperato (Missouri).

- Girls #1 Doubles: It was an all-St. Louis battle in the finals, with Rebecca Christopher/Alexis Boyko (Kirkwood H.S.) defeating Violet Kennedy/Audrey Reed (Lafayette ).

- Mixed #1 Doubles: Andrea Perez-Picon/Alejandro Robles Picon (California) defeated Rebecca Christopher/Graham Sperato (Missouri).

Congrats to all the teams and to their athletes and coaches! For a complete look at the results and brackets, go to: Results: USA Racquetball 2026 High School National Championships

INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS

Congratulations to all of the players who attained All-American status at these Championships! Check out the list for this, the 37th year, of High School Nationals competition: All-American Teams | mohsra

COACH OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to Kirkwood High School’s Daniel Witt on receiving the 2026 Coach of the Year Award. Daniel is a staple in the St. Louis Racquetball community; he brings energy, wisdom, and smiles to the athletes he coaches. St. Louis is lucky to have Daniel Witt in their racquetball community!  

USA Racquetball

SPONSORS

We couldn’t do it without you! Much gratitude goes to Gearbox (Official Racquet & Ball of USA Racquetball), Gomer Group, KWM Gutterman, and Onewallball.com.

THANKS TO THE HEROES BEHIND THE SCENES!

As we all know, it takes a village, and we are so grateful to those who pitched in to make this a very special event for the athletes and their families. Every single hero, whether identified by name or not, is deeply appreciated for their support. You know who you are!

• Brian Ancheta
• Heather Chavez
• Yee Cheng
• Shari Coplen
• Stephen Deves
• Jordan Giljum
• Matt Gleason
• Cheryl Kirk
• Jerry Lis
• Katterlea Macgregor
• Jeffrey Thompson (JT Rball)
• Steve Wattz
• Kristin Wattz
• Dan Whitley

Last but never least

• The multitude of parents and supporters who volunteered all weekend
• The coaches who spent 12-14 hours a day at the clubs for five days

YOU are the BEST!!

See everyone in Portland in 2027!

USA Racquetball

A big P.S....

SPLAT TAKES ON A NEW MEANING

TJ Kennedy -- SPLAT

There was a pretty cool introduction to some new technology, as Kale and Violet Kennedy’s mom, Liz, reports: “The new free app created by my husband, TJ Kennedy -- SPLAT (Score Posting Live Action Tracker) -- officially launched during High School Nationals! Last year we had noticed parents texting scores back and forth and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you could keep score at a match and it would update anyone following along, in real-time?’ We added a convenient live dashboard incorporating an additional  subscription-based Team View feature [$1.99 per year]. This allows anyone to monitor multiple matches, in real-time, simultaneously. A game changer for this high-stakes tournament, SPLAT kept coaches, players, and fans connected to the action and energized for every point, elevating our team spirit. Everyone is invited to download and try the fully customizable app available on Apple and Android!”