OLATHE — Seraphine Besong hasn’t had many so-called “freshman moments” during her early high school tennis career.  

But the one she did have nearly cost her a chance at a tournament title.  

In her first high school tournament, Besong was scheduled to compete in the Emporia Invitational earlier this month. However, there was one minor misstep — she forget her shoes.  

When she found out her teammates didn’t have any extra pairs that would work, the Olathe Northwest freshman was quickly running out of options. 

Leave it to her coach, Drew Smith, to come to the rescue. Smith literally gave up the shoes off his own feet 

“She put on my size 11 shoes, laced ‘em up tight and played some fantastic tennis,” the Olathe Northwest coach said.  

Despite playing in shoes that were two sizes too big, Besong didn’t miss a beat as she captured the Emporia Invitational title on Sept. 4. She has done nothing but win since — however the rest of the time has been in her own shoes.  

“It really showed me that Seraphine is able to focus on the task at hand, sure the shoes were a little big, but she had a relatively easy match to warm up and get used to them,” Smith said. “I think it might have the reason she played so well, knowing she had to focus on moving around the court and having excellent footwork to avoid tripping in the ‘clown shoes’ she was wearing."

Most recently, Besong captured the Olathe South Invitational singles crown as she went 5-0 on what was a hot and steamy afternoon at the College Boulevard Activity Complex. That pushed her record to 14-1 on the season as she hopes to lead the Ravens to another state title.  
 

Her teammate, Heidi Baillos, who was a member of that state team, finished second in singles to Besong. She had to retire from the championship match due to the heat.  

“It was great to have Heidi and Seraphine make it to the finals,” Smith said. “They both picked up a couple of very important wins on their way to that final. A couple of the other teams were missing some top players due to other commitments, so I was a little bummed we didn't get to see those matches, but I was still very pleased with our performances. Heidi was putting an ice bag on her head on every changeover in her semifinal match, trying to stay cool so she could make the final, and she gutted it out.”  

Baillos battled Lawrence Free State’s Cami Lee in the semifinals and came away an 8-6 victory. As for Besong, she earned an 8-4 victory over Blue Valley North’s Prisha Dalal in her semis match. Dalal went on to edge Lee for third in an 8-7 win.  
 

In doubles, Blue Valley’s Neenaz Irani and Annabel Warwick shined as they took the doubles title over Olathe Northwest’s Emery Rand and Ada Smith in convincing 8-1 fashion. The other Northwest duo of Hayden Hearshman and Amelia Spencer took third. 

“We flipped our doubles teams from our early season combos, but I really think any combinations of those four girls would be successful,” Smith said. “Amelia and Hayden had a hiccup in pool play, but recovered well to gain wins over a couple of other schools' top doubles teams. As the duo that will end up playing as our No. 2 at quads, those are big wins for seeding at the tournaments at the end of the season.  

“Emery and Ada are continuing to gel as well, as Emery missed most of the summer with an injury, and is really still just getting into playing shape. The other 3 girls got to play together a lot last season, but Emery played her whole year with (now graduated) Sammie Van Zante. They were obviously successful, but gelling with a new partner takes time. I'm really excited about our doubles teams moving forward. If you told me before the tournament they'd take second and third, I'd have signed up for that straight away.” 

As a team, the Ravens cruised the 8-team title with 71 points and Blue Valley was second with 45. Olathe East finished third with 44 points. 

Other tennis standouts: 
 

• Independence senior Brooklyn Mattix hit a big milestone on Sept. 6 during the Ark City varsity meet. Mattix, who was a Class 4A doubles champion a season ago, earned her 100th career victory.  
   

  

• Chanute senior Ella Guernsey is off to a strong start at No. 1 singles as she currently has a 12-0 record, including a 8-5 victory over reigning doubles champ Brooklyn Mattix of Independence.  

GIRLS GOLF STANDOUTS 

• The first round of the EKL Cup was held at Minor Park on Sept. 10 and St. James Academy got out to a good start. The Thunder won the first round with a 325, five strokes ahead of Blue Valley North. St. James’s Lynn Powell won the first round with a 75, while North’s Gabriela Green was second with a 73. North’s Karmen Hayslett and Blue Valley Southwest’s Sophia Johnson tied for third with a 76. St. James’ Caroline Zacharias rounded out the top 5 with a 77. 

• The Sunflower League held the first round of its tournament at Country Creek Golf Club and Shawnee Mission East took the top spot with a 308, 22 strokes in front of second place Olathe West. Olathe East’s Jenny Sun won the first round of the tournament with a 72, while West’s Savannah Cagle and Shawnee Mission East’s Ella Slicker tied for third with a 73. 
   

  

• Basehor-Linwood finished 16 strokes better than the previous year at the Ottawa Invitational, and although the Bobcats finished first a year ago, they took second this time around. Claire Fitzgerald led the Bobcats with a third place finish and teammate Aubrey Ziolo was right behind her in fourth. Peyton Blizzard also medaled ninth. 

• After earning All-CNC honors as a freshman, Frontenac’s Ella Niederklein is off to a good start to her sophomore campaign. Niederklein shot a 4-over-par to win the Columbus Invitational on Sept. 4. She won the tournament by two strokes, while Jayhawk-Linn's Celeste Schneider and Columbus’ Cali Carpino finished in a tie for second. Niederklein also went on to take fifth at the Colgan Invitational on Sept. 11 at Crestwood Country Club. Carpino and Schneider tied for second at the Colgan tourney with an 85, while Colgan’s Danielle Yaghmour was fourth with an 88. 
   

  

• Columbus won the Colgan Invitational Sept. 11 with a 380 and defeated runner-up Colgan by 13 strokes. The Titans also went on to finish second in their home tournament a week earlier. Carpino and Fallon Smiley later went on to to take second and third, respectively at the Carl Junction, Mo. Tournament at Briarbrook.  

• Olathe South’s girls varsity opened their season at Sycamore Ridge on Aug. 25 and left with a pair of medals. Juniors Caroline Parks and Wrigley Leyden tied for third with a 3-under 69.  

VOLLEYBALL STANDOUTS:  
 

• Chanute earned its first tournament victory of the season as the Blue Comets went 5-0 last Saturday at the Frontenac Invitational and defeated Louisburg in the championship game. Chanute was also able to celebrate senior setter Presley Henson who earned her 1,000th career assist. 
   

  

• Paola volleyball continued its hot start to the season as the Panthers won the Iola Tournament last Saturday, dropping only one set on the day. The Panthers are now 10-0 and jumped into the state rankings at No. 7 this past week.  
   

  

• Riverton senior setter Ava Price captured her 1,000th assist last Satruday at the Frontenac Invitational during the semifinal match against Louisburg. Riverton went 3-1 in tournament action. 
   

  

• Tonganoxie put together its best performance of the young season Saturday at the Nemaha Central Thunder Classic. The Chieftains finished 6-0 on the day to win the tournament title, which included a victory over No. 6 ranked Rock Creek, the defending state runner-up. 
   

  

• Blue Valley North captured the Olathe South tournament title with a 5-0 record. The Mustangs knocked off 2-time defending state champion Mill Valley on the way to the championship. They also recorded wins over Lawrence Free State, Blue Valley Northwest, Lee’s Summit and Olathe South. Free State also earned an upset win over Mill Valley. 
   

  

• Girard senior Maddie Coester reached a milestone last Saturday during the Frontenac Invitational. Coester registered her 1,000th career kill. Coester is off to a good start to her season with a .424 hitting percentage.

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• Olathe North sophomore setter Tiana Kinsella has already reached a milestone in her young career. Kinsella recorded her 1,000th career assist during action last week.