Seaton dethrones two-time champ for Olathe West's first state title

Sophomore Brett Seaton of Olathe West derailed his opponent's quest for a third straight Kansas Class 5A state high school tennis title on Saturday.

Senior Rodney Steven of Bishop Carroll, who had beaten Seaton earlier at a previous tournament, was hampered by a torn labrum and dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision at Emporia High School.

The state championship is the first state title in any sport by Olathe West, which opened just last fall.

“It’s obviously an incredible experience," Seaton said. "I was happy to get it for my school. It’s been a great ride this whole year."

Probably the best illustration of how the shoulder injury affected Steven's performance came in the final game. Seaton lofted an airy lob, giving Steven the perfect opportunity for a smash. But that return went right into the net.

“If I could have been at 100 percent, it would have been a great match,” Steven said. “He pushed me to play my best. He’s a great player.”

Steven finishes his Carroll career with state titles in 2016 and 2017, Saturday's runner-up finish and a fourth-place showing as a freshman in 2015.

Seaton is no stranger to state tournaments, either. He was the Class 6A singles runner-up last season playing for Olathe Northwest.

"He’s the leader of the team, on and off the court," Olathe West coach Jon Renberger said of Seaton. "He works so hard with his tennis, and he’s so supportive of his teammates. He leads by example, leads vocally. For a first-year program to have a player of his caliber, and to be so supportive of everybody in terms of building what we want to achieve here, as a coach I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Renberger said Seaton's win was a great way to start a program.

"He’s an intelligent player, and he knows what he’s doing," the coach said. "But more importantly, he was more excited about opening a new school and helping to develop a program, start traditions and be a good teammate, be a good role model.”

Seaton was gracious in victory toward Steven's plight of playing through pain.

"He fought it out hard, and obviously he can be proud of the way he played the whole tournament and the whole year and his whole high school career," Seaton said. "He’s a great role model and he’s a great guy. I wish him luck in his college career, and I’m sure he’ll do great.”

Class 4A

Collegiate senior Wonjoon Cho, a transfer from Independent, scored a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over McPherson’s Jarrod Nowak. Collegiate’s Lakelin Conrad was fifth. In doubles, McPherson seniors Nolan Schrader and Kaden Stewart won their second straight title for the Bullpups, who prevented Collegiate from gaining a third straight team title.

Class 3-2-1A

Independent freshman Bryson Toubassi didn’t drop a set and lost just six games in the tournament, capping his drive with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Kansas City Christian’s Owen Vander Ark. But Kansas City Christian won the team title.

This story was originally published May 12, 2018 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Seaton dethrones two-time champ for Olathe West's first state title."