March 5, 2005

Finals Set at USAR National High School Championships

St. Louis, Mo. – The finals are set in both the boy’s and girl’s No.1 singles divisions at the 2005 Wilson 18th USA Racquetball National High School Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports. At stake are one-year appointments to the U.S. Junior National Team earned by the winners in the boy’s and girl’s No.1 singles divisions.

The top two seeds in the boy’s No.1 singles divisions each made it to the final. No.1 Mike Keddie (Memorial – Manchester, N.H.) earned victories over Darrell Miller (Union Grove - Union Grove, Wisc.) in the quarterfinals and then David LaForest (Xavier – Queen’s Village, N.Y.) in the semifinals, both in straight games. No.2 Allen Crockett (Oak Mountain - Birmingham, Ala.) also found his way into the finals, although he had a tough time with No.3 Richard Sledzik (Brockton – Brockton, Mass.) in the semifinals. Crockett was forced to make a comeback after dropping the first game, 15-8, to Sledzik. Crockett rebounded nicely, however, and took the next two games, 15-6, 11-8.

The girl’s draw, which had yet to hold an upset into the quarterfinals, was turned upside down on Saturday. In the top half of the draw, No.5 Shannon Inglesby (Lincoln – Portland, Ore.) knocked off No.4 Samantha McGuffey (Northwest – Cincinnati, Ohio), 15-3, 15-9, to record her first upset of the afternoon. Inglesby then set her sights on top seeded Ashley Willhite (Klamath Union – Klamath Falls, Ore.) in the semifinals, whom she also defeated in straight games, 15-9, 15-10.

The bottom half of the draw held just as many surprises as the top. No.6 Katie Ferguson (Catlin Gabel – Portland, Ore.) first upset No.3 Sarah Hettesheimer (Mother Mercy – Cincinnati, Ohio) in the quarterfinals before facing No.2 Kara Mazur (Miss Porter’s – Avon, Conn.). Ferguson was at the top of her game as she took out the second seed, 15-8, 15-12, to earn a spot in the final.

The 2005 Wilson USAR National High School Championships conclude Sunday at the Vetta Sports Club – Concord in St. Louis with finals in all divisions. In addition to individual awards at stake, the boy’s, girl’s, and overall team titles are also up for grabs. Catlin Gabel (Portland, Ore.) shocked everyone a year ago by walking away with the title.

For more information contact Ryan John, USA Racquetball Media Relations Director

at 719-635-5396 ext. 126 or via e-mail at RJohn@usra.org.

For more racquetball on the internet, go to www.usaracquetball.com