CLASS 3-1A BOYS TENNIS PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2026
 

 

 
JOSEPH BECK AND ELI BENGE, CONWAY SPRINGS
 
With the graduation departures of Layne Whitney and Isaac Winter, Beck and Benge become the old hands for the Cardinals in doubles. They posted a 21-10 record last spring as juniors, finishing fifth in their home regional and then 10^th after going 3-3 in the Class 3-1A state tournament. Beck and Benge closed the regional with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ellinwood’s Ty Hammeke and Ethan Schlochtermeier before the Eagles got a bit of payback in the battle for ninth at state. Beck and Benge won 11 consecutive matches during a second-half stretch last season. 
 

 

 
JACK BIEKER AND PIERCE KELLER, SMOKY VALLEY

Bieker and Keller renew their doubles partnership this season for the Vikings after posting a 24-15 record and 11^th place finish in the Class 3-1A state tournament. Bieker, a senior, and Keller, a junior, won one tournament and took second at No. 1 doubles at the Central Kansas Kansas League tournament. They qualified for state with a sixth-place finish at the Wichita Collegiate regional. Then, after drawing the lowest seed in the 24-team state bracket, Bieker and Keller went 4-3, defeating Hoisington’s Leyton Mooney and Gabriel Pawlowski in their final match. 
 

   
BEN BIERSTEDT, STERLING
 
With fellow junior Zac Wohler sidelined by an injury this spring, Bierstedt will be partnered with either junior Trace DeShon or freshman Lathem Kizzar as he looks to return to the Class 3-1A state tournament. Bierstedt and Wohler went 21-14 last season, finishing eighth at state after falling to eventual champions Carter and Maddox Drumright of Wichita Collegiate in the quarterfinals. The Black Bear duo qualified for state with a third-place finish at the Conway Springs regional. Bierstedt, who has a 37-30 career record, has three tournament titles, including last year’s Sterling Invitational.
 

 
JACE DARNAUER, STERLING
 
Darnauer, who plays singles for the Black Bears, backed up his ninth-place finish as a freshman in Class 3-1A with a fifth-place showing a year ago. The Sterling junior posted a 26-7 record, winning the Hillsboro and Sterling invitationals along with the Central Plains quadrangular. Darnauer was 27-11 as a freshman, also winning three titles. A halfback on Sterling’s state championship football team, Darnauer has reached the state quarterfinals in each of his first two tennis seasons.
 

 
PEYTON DODY, CENTRAL PLAINS

After a successful doubles partnership with his older brother Paxton over the last two seasons, Dody will look to end his career on a strong note with a new teammate. The Dodys placed seventh at state last year after taking eighth in 2024, and were regional champions while finishing with a 28-7 record. Peyton enters his senior year with a 75-26 career record. Oiler coach Michael Ryan said Dody’s length, athleticism and ability to serve well and hit strong volleys make him a quality doubles player. He is expected to team with sophomore Alden Metro this season.
 

 
MADDOX DRUMRIGHT, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
After posting a 52-2 record and winning two state doubles titles with his older brother Carter, Drumright enters a transitional junior season as part of Collegiate’s deep and talented returning roster. The Drumrights defended their 2024 state doubles title last season with a 25-0 record, capping the unbeaten run with a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0 victory over Cair Paravel’s Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay. Like his brother – who now plays baseball at Tabor – did at Collegiate, Drumright is a two-sport athlete in the spring, playing for the Spartans’ baseball team. He has already committed to Wichita State.
 

 

 
COLTON EWING AND WILLIAM JESSUP, PHILLIPSBURG

The seniors will have experience on their side after playing various levels of doubles together throughout their careers. Jessup and Ewing produced a 25-9 record last year, highlighted by a regional championship. The duo also won the Concordia round robin and the Phillipsburg, Trego and Goodland quads and placed second at the Hoisington Invitational. They will look for a deeper run at state this season after going 2-2 at last year’s meet.
 

 

 
WILLIAM FARHA AND VIHAAN GANGANALA, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
After playing singles for much of last season, Farha and Ganganala joined forces for regionals and went 6-2 in two tournaments, capping the brief freshman partnership with a third-place finish in Class 3-1A doubles. They finished second at regionals to teammates and eventual two-time state champions Carter and Maddox Drumright. Their hopes for a state championship rematch with the Drumrights were dashed in the semifinals by Cair Paravel’s Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay, but Farha and Ganganala defeated Conway Springs’ Layne Whitney and Isaac Winter in the third-place match to help Collegiate secure back-to-back team titles and its seventh in the last nine years.
 

 
BLANE FARLEY, TRINITY ACADEMY
 
Farley teamed with Preston Sebits to finish sixth in Class 3-1A doubles last season, going 3-2 at state to finish the season 19-7. The Knight duo qualified for state with a fourth-place finish in the Wichita Collegiate regional, falling to eventual state champions Carter and Maddox Drumright of Collegiate in the semifinals. Farley and Sebits lost to Collegiate’s other state entry, William Farha and Vihaan Ganganala, in the 3-1A quarters before winning two matches on the consolation side. Farley will have a new look for his senior season after Sebits graduated last spring.
 

 
COLE FAY, CAIR PARAVEL
 
The younger brother of Lion standout Drew Fay, Cole stepped into Drew’s spot at No. 1 singles for the Lions last year as a freshman when Drew moved to doubles, pairing with Eric Buchenau. Fay had a solid season, posting a 24-10 record that included a Class 3-2-1A regional championship. Fay finished 10th at the Class 3-1A state tournament. He won his first match at state before falling in the second round. He then won two straight consolation bracket matches before settling for his 10th-place showing. With Drew moving back to singles this year, Cole will make the move to doubles and team with freshman Jonah Arnold.
 

 
DREW FAY, CAIR PARAVEL
 
Coming off a fourth-place finish in singles at the Class 3-1A state tournament in 2024, Fay made the move to doubles a year ago to team with foreign exchange student Eric Buchenau. The two proved to be a dominating duo as they put together a 29-2 record with their only two losses coming to defending Class 3-1A state doubles champions Carter and Maddox Drumright of Wichita Collegiate. The last of those two losses came in the state championship match, a three-set clash in which the Spartan duo pulled out a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0 victory. The finish was the best-ever at state for the Lions program. Fay will return to singles this season and will look to challenge for the state title in that draw.
 

 
CHARLIE GENTILE, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
After back-to-back third-place singles finishes at state, Gentile broke through last season to win the Class 3-1A singles title, outlasting teammate Amir Khicha 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the championship match. That completed a 15-3 season for Gentile, who went a combined 53-9 in his first two seasons. Gentile, a senior, also won the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III-IV doubles title with Khicha last season, and expressed his affinity for doubles after helping Collegiate win its second straight team title. The Spartans certainly have options with five returning players from their 2025 state roster.
 

 

 
TY HAMMEKE AND ETHAN SCHLOCHTERMEIER, ELLINWOOD

Ellinwood coach Parker Winter expects big things out of Hammeke and Schlochtermeier, who teamed to take ninth place in doubles at state last year while posting a 28-win season for the Eagle duo. Hammeke is on pace for 100 career victories after entering his senior season with a 73-26 record. Schlochtermeier entered his senior campaign with a 32-12 career record after not playing tennis until his sophomore year. In that time, Winter said Schlochtermeier has improved faster than any player he’s coached and has made huge strides from a season ago.
 

 
AMIR KHICHA, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
Khicha, a sophomore, was part of Collegiate’s influx of new talent last season, making a dominant march to the Class 3-1A singles final before falling to teammate Charlie Gentile 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to finish second. Khicha, the No. 1 seed, lost just one game in his first three state matches. He topped Gentile in a three-set final to win the Wichita Collegiate regional after Gentile defeated him during the regular season. The rubber-match defeat left Khich with a 20-2 singles record in his first season.
 

 
SAMUEL LYNN, MEADE

After qualifying for state in doubles as a freshman and sophomore, Lynn established himself as an effective singles player last year, earning an 11th-place state medal. He went 4-3 at state, closing his tournament with an 8-6 win over Hoisington’s Brody Rossman. At the regional meet in Dodge City, Lynn was runner-up to Hoisington’s Jasper Pawlowski. He will remain at singles this season for the Buffaloes after compiling a 26-9 record a year ago.
 

 
JASPER PAWLOWSKI, HOISINGTON
 
Pawlowski had a strong freshman season for the Cardinals, posting a 25-8 singles record with an eighth-place finish in his Class 3-1A state debut. He won four tournaments in 2025, including the Meade regional when he defeated Meade’s Samuel Lynn in the final. Pawlowski also took second at the Central Kansas League meet. Pawlowski went 4-3 in his first state tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before falling into the consolation bracket. His finish helped Hoisington tie for eighth in the 3-1A team race.   
 

CAMDEN STILES, CENTRAL PLAINS

After the graduation of three-time state singles runner-up Peyton Ryan in 2024, Stiles stepped into the Oilers’ No. 1 singles spot and responded with an impressive sophomore season. He went 27-3 and finished fourth at state after taking seventh as a freshman. Stiles also was a regional champion and took just one loss into the state meet. He outlasted Wichita Classical’s Noah Doom 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before falling 6-0, 6-0 to eventual champion Charlie Gentile of Wichita Collegiate in the semifinals. Oiler coach Michael Ryan said Stiles has spent a lot of time on the courts the last 10 months and is primed for a big junior season.