Negron posts highest finish with 4th in singles
Josh Negron had hopes of a higher finish in his final appearance at the Garden City Invitational Tennis Tournament on Friday (April 19).
The Garden City High School senior, a multi-sport athlete who also plays soccer and is headed to Fort Hays State University next year to play for the Tigers, placed fourth in the Open Singles division, going 2-2, but he had hoped for something higher.
Despite some tough matches and nobody in the finals of either singles or doubles, the Buffs placed second with 112 points while Scott City took the top spot with 122 points. Hays was right on the heels of the Buffs with 111 points. Dodge City came in fourth with 99.
“I’m improving every week I think, but it’s been a pretty rough transition to No. 1 singles,” said Negron, who had played doubles as a freshman and then No. 2 singles the previous two seasons. “The results are not showing because I’ve had trouble putting things together, playing with consistency.”
The tournament, which was moved up by a day due to a forecast of inclement weather on Saturday (which produced snowflakes and cold temperatures early in the day), saw Negron start off in impressive fashion, defeating Troy Hemken of Larned, 8-0, and then dispatching Ayden Presson of Scott City, 8-1.
That moved him into the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Colin Clark of Hays, 0-8. That dropped him into the third-place match where he came up short against Houston Frank of Scott City, 4-8.
“I’ve been working to improve my forehand and get more consistency,” Negron said. “When you’re playing No. 1 singles, you’re playing a pretty good player every time. It’s been a tough adjustment, but I think I’m close to getting more consistency and if I do that, then I think I can have a good finish to the season. My main goal is to qualify for state again.”
The doubles team of Ashton Palmer and Kevin Nguyen had the day’s highest finish, taking 5th with a 3-1 record. They opened with a win over Mason Mead/Tristan Thompson of Larned in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (1), but then dropped a match to Donte Franco and Kade Bonville of Scott City, 5-8. They bounced back with two wins, against Kedem Deines and Jacob Parks of Great Bend, 8-2, and capped it off with an 8-5 win over teammates Carson Kraus and Lachlan James. Kraus and James finished 2-2 for the day.
Zane Storer, the Buffs’ second singles player, went 2-2 and placed seventh. He won againstEdgar Varela of Dodge City (8-6), but lost to Clark of Hays (0-8), Ayden Presson of Scott City (5-8) before defeating Konner Smith of Cimarron, 8-1.
There was little down time for the Buffs as the headed to Topeka on Sunday to compete in the Monday Topeka High Invitational. Playing a tournament for the third time in five days, the Buffs will have just the Western Athletic Conference championship on April 29 at Liberal before heading into postseason regionals on May 3 in Wichita at the Riverside Tennis Complex.
Teams competing there include Derby, Dodge City, Liberal, Wichita-East, Haysville-Campus, Wichita-South, Wichita-Southeast and Wichita-West. The top 6 finishers in singles and doubles will advance to the state tournament May 10-11, which also will be played at Riverside Tennis Complex.
On Thursday, the Buffs traveled to Haysville-Campus for the Colts’ Invitational. They placed fifth among the eight teams in a strong field that included Andover Central, Winfield, Newton and Derby. The Buffs scored 11 points while Central won with 32 points.
Storer placed third with a 2-1 record while Negron was seventh at 1-2 in the singles division of an eight-player bracketed event. Nguyen placed fifth at 2-1 playing as a member of the Combo team.
The doubles team of Palmer and Reece Kraus went 2-1 and placed fifth while Carson Kraus and James went 1-2 to finish sixth.
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Garden City Buffaloes Invitational
Friday, April 19, 2024
At Garden City HS Tennis Complex
Team Scores
Scott City, 122; 2. Garden City Brown (Varsity), 112; 3. Hays, 111; 4. Dodge City, 99; 5. Cimarron, 77; 6. Great Bend, 72; 7. Garden City White (JV), 65; 8. Larned, 44; 9. Liberal, 35; 10. Ulysses, 26; 11. Colby, 20.
Garden City Results
Singles
Josh Negron (2-2, 4th): def. Troy Hemken, Larned, 8-0; def. Ayden Presson, Scott City, 8-1; lost to Colin Clark, Hays, 0-8; lost to Houston Frank, Scott City, 4-8.
Zane Storer (2-2, 7th): bye; def. Edgar Varela, Dodge City, 8-6; lost to Colin Clark, Hays, 0-8; lost to Ayden Presson, Scott City, 5-8; def. Konner Smith, Cimarron, 8-1.
Doubles
Ashton Palmer/Kevin Nguyen (3-1, 5th): def. Mason Mead, Tristan Thompson, Larned, 8-7 (1); lost to Donte Franco/Kade Bonville, Scott City, 5-8; def. Kedem Deines/Jacob Parks, Great Bend, 8-2; def. Carson Kraus/Lachlan James, Garden City, 8-5.
Carson Kraus/Lachlan James (2-2, 6th): def. Nicholas Martinez/Benjamin Resendiz, Ulysses, 8-5; lost to Preston ParrMason Schleicher, Hays, 2-8; def. Brody Strine/Brody Stoecklein, Scott City, 8-7 (6); lost to Ashton Palmer/Kevin Nguyen, Garden City, 5-8.
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Haysville-Campus Invitational
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Team Scores
Andover Central, 32; 2. Winfield, 24; 3. Derby, 17; 4. Newton, 14; 5. Garden City, 11; 6. Goddard-Eisenhower, 10; 7. Combo Team, 6; 8. Haysville-Campus, 2.
Garden City Results
Singles
No. 1—Josh Negron (1-2, 7th): lost to Ayden Bohaty, Derby, 5-8; lost to Caleb Kral, Goddard-Eisenhower, 7-8 (6); def. Dylan L-Ecuyer, Campus, 8-4.
No. 2—Zane Storer (2-1, 3rd): def. Max Rose, Newton, 8-1; lost to Jackson Lee, Campus, 8-3; def. Juan Zamora, Derby, 8-0.
Garden City Extra Player
Kevin Nguyen (2-1, 5th place, no points awarded): lost to Juan Zamora, Derby, 8-7 (5); def. Gerardon Arce, Campus, 8-0; def. Max Rose, Newton, 8-3.
Doubles
No. 1—Carson Kraus/Lachlan James (1-2, 6th): lost to Sowden/Clark, Derby, 8-6; def. Stull/Prescott, Campus, 8-2; lost to Downey/Wedel, Newton, 8-4.
No. 2—Ashton Palmer/Reece Kraus (2-1, 5th): lost to Johnson/Highsmith, Derby, 8-5; def. Lackey/Hogue, Campus, 8-1; def. Hason/Honeycutt, Goddard-Eisenhower, 8-1.
