photo by: Photo contributed by FSHS coach Aaron Clark

Free State High's Kinley VanPelt stands next to a sign that helped record her achievement at the state tennis tournament this weekend in Wichita. VanPelt, a sophomore, finished the season as the Class 6A singles champ with a 29-0 record.

For the first time in 20 years, the Free State High tennis program watched one of its own be crowned as a Class 6A state champion.

And not just any state champion either — an undefeated, 29-0 state champion.

That’s how FSHS sophomore Kinley VanPelt will forever be remembered in the halls of Free State High after she capped off her magical season with a clean sweep at the state tournament this weekend at Riverside Tennis Complex in Wichita.

Entering as the top seed in the Class 6A singles bracket at 25-0, VanPelt rolled her way to a 4-0 weekend and won the state title match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. She punctuated her journey by winning 12 of the final 13 games in her last match of the season to take the crown.

After receiving a bye in the opening round, VanPelt quickly advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-0 win in her first match at state. From there, it was 6-2, 6-2 wins in both the quarters and the semifinals, setting up the strong finish in the state title match. VanPelt did not drop a single set all weekend, winning her four matches by the combined total of 48-13.

Her dominance helped the Firebirds bring home a fourth-place team finish, supported by singles player Maya Lee finishing in seventh place with a 3-2 record for the weekend.

Free State’s two qualifying doubles teams of Zoe Cachiguango-Latta & Camille Lee and Wendo Kimori & Jada Fowler were both eliminated on Day 1, but one of them managed to record a team point, which was enough to keep the Firebirds one point ahead of fifth-place Blue Valley Northwest in the final team standings.

As for VanPelt’s most recent run, it goes down as the latest significant accomplishment in a tennis career that began when she was just 2 years old and already has made waves on the national tennis scene.

According to an August 2020 article by Jerod Fox of usta.com, in the past two years alone, VanPelt qualified for the round of 32 at the USTA Girls’ 12 National Championships, made another finals appearance in the USTA Winter National Championships, qualified for the round of 16 at the Girls’ 12 National Clay Court Championships and earned a bronze medal at the USTA Girls’ 12 Hardcourt Nationals.

According to the same article, one year earlier, in 2019, VanPelt received the USTA Heart of America 2019 Junior Player of the Year award.