By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Chiefs rallied to win three straight matches to claim this year’s KIT title 5-4. The Invitational took place at the Gillenwaters Tennis Complex on Friday, Apr. 5.
It’s been more than just a while since the Chiefs walked off the courts wearing Kickapoo Invitational gold medals. Central has dominated the tournament since 2018.
“We felt we had a good shot at winning this year. Although Central came in as the tournament’s number one seed. They had several seniors back from last year. Overall, they had quality players up and down their lineup,” said Kickapoo head coach Eric Wilbur. “But our kids can play to. We felt like we matched up with them well.”
“Coach Donita Cox, Central High’s coach, and myself saw this tournament final ending as close as 5-4, as it did,” said Wilbur. “No doubt this final had a classic ending as both teams played so well.”
En route to earning a spot in the tournament’s final, the Chiefs downed Springfield Catholic and Parkview in pool play. Central defeated Bolivar and Glendale.
Up 4-2, with three singles matches left, Central needed just one more win to clinch yet another Kickapoo tournament championship. But this year it wasn’t to be for the Bulldogs.
Roaring back the Chiefs got two wins to tie things up at 4-4 and put Kickapoo’s fate in the hands of Spencer Musil. Although, in one of the toughest matches of the day, the Chiefs’ number five man came through winning the match 9-8.
“I was behind 1-4 early in the match. But I just tried to stay within myself and play my game. It worked, I got a 9-8 win and our team grabbed this year’s Kickapoo championship.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
As he put the finishing touches on his victory Kickapoo’s team stormed the courts to lift him up in celebration of their win.
“Central is such a great team and they always seem to beat us, but not this year,” said Musil. “We got the upset win, and it feels great.”
The Chiefs’ number one man, Hart Hillman, felt so to.
“As a senior, finally getting a win over Central in our own Kickapoo Invitational, was special,” said Hillman. “Coming back the way our team did is one win I’ll never forget. Right now, I couldn’t be happier.”
Although the loss was a tough one for the Bulldogs, CHS’ coach Cox said she was still proud of her kids.
“This was a tough loss for us, we haven’t lost here since 2018,” said Cox. “But our kids did play some good tennis, and despite the loss, they had a lot of fun. I’m just happy we played as well as we did against a very good Kickapoo team.”
“We lost several good players to graduation last year,” said Central’s Josh Kim. “But we do have several seniors back, and we do have a very good chemistry among us. We played well today, Kickapoo was just a bit better. We’ll see what happens as the year moves along.”
Wilbur said watching his kids pick up KIT championship medals was a very proud moment for him.
“Win or lose I’m always proud of our kids as long as they put out their best effort. But putting a medal around your kids’ necks makes me feel really good, a gold medal even better,” said Wilbur. “We haven’t been in the winner’s circle here for quite some time. Today we are and I couldn’t be more proud of these kids.”
Kickapoo lineup: 1. Hart Hillman, 2. Caleb Kim, 3. Jonathan Chou, 4. Cody Chaffin, 5. Spencer Musil, 6. Elijah Billue and 7. Hunter Maggard.
