Jenks boys claim 6A tennis title as senior Brett Keeling wins his third singles championship

By Ty Loftis 

Jenks boys tennis photo by Jenks Tennis Facebook page

There were plenty of highlights from a rain-filled weekend at the Oklahoma state tennis tournament in Oklahoma City.

Jenks senior Brett Keeling became the 13th Oklahoma tennis player to win three championships in No. 1 singles, Heritage Hall continued its dominating ways in Class 5A by winning a 23rd state championship and Crossings Christian took home the Class 4A crown.

Keeling helped lead the Trojans to a Class 6A state title behind a near-perfect state tournament performance. The Trojans won the Class 6A title, scoring 36 points, while Edmond North finished second with 26 points and Edmond Memorial had 23.

After Keeling faced an early deficit in the first set of the championship match, Keeling went on to get a straight set victory over Edmond North’s Reid Rainwater, 7-5, 6-0.

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Keeling talks about the championship match and what turned out to be a grueling weekend.

“He (Rainwater) didn’t make it easy on me, he is a true competitor,” Keeling said. “The rain delay didn’t make things any easier on Saturday, but it was just part of the fun.”

Securing that win ensured a perfect 83-0 record for Keeling. As a senior who will be attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut next year, Keeling reflects on his time at Jenks.

“It has been a great ride,” Keeling said. “I have learned a lot. My coaches and teammates have shaped me in a way that I could not have imagined.”

Keeling and his teammates' performance capped what had been an impressive spring run for Jenks athletics.

The Jenks girls tennis team won the 6A title earlier this month, as did the Jenks girls golf squad.

Last Friday, the Jenks girls and boys soccer teams claimed state championships. Both Jenks track teams also finished second at last weekend's state meet in Yukon. Jenks also won state in girls swimming in February.

The Heritage Hall Chargers dominated their Class 5A competition, with Cascia Hall and Holland Hall finishing in a distant second and third, respectively. Coach Michael Bischoff took over for longtime coach Brian Bogert in 2018 and has continued the program’s success, as they have now won the most team state titles across the state.

“It’s a great feeling, but it comes down to the kids,” Bischoff said. “We have a great senior class absolutely, but if you look at our younger guys, we are going to be in good shape for a long time.”

The best example of that is Heritage Hall freshman Charlie Zeiders. He won the doubles division with his partner, McLoud Buergler. Larson Van Horn also won the No. 2 singles title for the Chargers.

“We knew what we had to do and we came out and did it,” Bischoff said. “We have a good group of guys who know what they have to do when the pressure is on.”

The 5A No. 1 singles winner was James Benien of Cascia Hall, who defeated TJ Shanahan (Bishop McGuinness) in the finals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. It capped a tremendous season for Benien, who went undefeated and didn't drop a single set.

Also, it was sweet redemption for Benien, who was the top seed last season in 5A No. 1 singles and made it to the finals. He was ahead of his opponent, 6-2, 4-1, before experiencing major body cramps and lost all the remaining games in the match.

Crossings Christian claimed the Class 4A crown, with Riverfield Country Day finishing second and Classen SAS finishing in third.

One of the better matches of the tournament came in the finals of the Class 4A championship match between Ian Wu of Classen SAS and J.P. Dillon of Crossings Christian. Wu claimed an exciting 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 win.

Wu is only a freshman and says that win will give him even more confidence moving forward.

“I have played against some of the best,” Wu said. “So going into that match, even as a freshman, I wasn’t nervous. It was just another match to me.”

Other highlights from this weekend’s championship include second seeded Shanahan, a freshman, and Trenton Kanchanakomtorn finishing third for Bishop McGuinness.

Shanahan won all but one match this year at No. 1 singles, that lone loss coming in the championship match to Benien.