Sunny skies and great weather painted Gillette for the Trojan Tennis team when they headed north to compete in the state tournament.

Both boys and girls teams from Kelly Walsh finished top 5 in the 4a classification this year with the boys taking 5th and the girls team taking 3rd.

The boys team were highlighted by the duo of Gage Christensen and Miles Romer who took home the first place trophy in the number two doubles division with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over the Cheyenne Central Indians.

Senior Cooper Levin and his partner Jackson Murdock had a great standing as well while only having little varsity experience.

“Me and my doubles partner Jackson did well, considering it was our first time on varsity for tennis. Jackson and I got 4th in the 3rd doubles bracket,” Levin said. 

There were also many highs on the girls side as well as the sophomore and freshman duo of Hailey Larsen and Lauren Bradfield battled out in a tough loss. Together the young duo managed to be a runner up in the number 2 doubles championship and won a set in the match.

Larsen was making her second appearance in the state tournament and said, “It was a super fun experience for me to be back at state. It’s always fun to go to a state competition with your team but to be able to play well enough to make it to the championship game makes it that much more special.”

Hailey and Lauren helped  the Kelly Walsh girls team take 3rd with the team scoring 35 points in total which put them only one point behind Jackson Hole’s team. 

This year was the first year the two high schools in town were able to practice at a brand new facility that features 10 new courts.

”They are in great condition and I am super grateful that we have such an amazing facility,” Larsen said about the new courts.

For more results and information on state tennis click here.