Jaguars capture district crown, advance 3 players to state tournament

Ankeny Centennial’s Brayden Wellendorf stands ready at the net as teammate Kellen Jones serves the ball during a Class 2A district tournament on Monday at the Prairie Ridge courts in Ankeny. Jones and Wellendorf captured the doubles title to qualify for the individual state tournament while leading the Jaguars to the district crown. (Photo by Dan Holm)

During the regular season, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team posted a dual-meet record of 5-7.

A tough schedule paid off for the Jaguars on Monday.

Overcoming hot and windy conditions, Centennial won a Class 2A district tournament at the Prairie Ridge courts with 23 points. The Jaguars will advance to a substate team tournament.

“We were super happy that we won our district,” said Centennial coach Tami Lewton. “I think our guys are peaking at exactly the right time.”

Centennial also advanced three players to the individual state tournament. Kellen Jones and Brayden Wellendorf teamed up to win the doubles title, while Caleb Peterson qualified in singles with a runner-up finish.

Ankeny Centennial’s Caleb Peterson prepares to hit a backhand return during Monday’s district tournament. He dropped a 7-5, 6-1 decision to Quinn Monson of Waukee in the singles final, but still qualified for the state tournament. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Jones and Wellendorf won all three of their matches in straight sets to raise their record to 5-1. The second-seeded duo posted a 7-5, 6-4 victory over top-seeded Chris Wailes and Ty James of Council Bluffs Lincoln in the finals.

“Kellen and Brayden have found their stride and are playing the best tennis I have seen all season from them,” Lewton said.

The top-seeded Peterson lost only one game in his first two matches, which came during a 6-0, 6-1 win over fourth-seeded Ayush Jha of Waukee in the semifinals. But Jha’s teammate, second-seeded Quinn Monson, then posted a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Peterson in the finals.

Peterson had defeated Monson in a third-set super-tiebreaker on April 26. He is now 13-1 on the season.

“It was unfortunate that Caleb had to play Quinn in such high winds,” Lewton said. “Quinn played a flawless match. Caleb will be ready to take on whoever he needs to at state. We are looking forward to it!”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Nathan Smith hits a forehand return during his first-round singles victory at the district tournament. (Photo by Dan Holm)**

Centennial also entered Nathan Smith in singles. He easily won a first-round match before falling to third-seeded Christian Jensen of Council Bluffs Lewis Central in the quarterfinals.

The Jaguars’ other doubles team of Joel Nelson and Nick Hiney lost a close match to Lewis Central in the opening round.

The Titans placed second overall with 19.5 points, while Waukee finished third with 19. The Warriors will play at Lewis Central in a preliminary substate match on Friday.

Here are Centennial’s match-by-match results from Monday:

Waukee assistant coach Collin Daniels talks with Ankeny coach Ron Miller during Monday’s district tournament at the Prairie Ridge courts. Daniels served as the head coach at Ankeny Centennial in its first two seasons as a varsity program in 2014-15, then made two coaching stops in eastern Iowa before returning to the CIML as an assistant with the Warriors. Miller, meanwhile, will take his team to Waukee Northwest on Tuesday for a district tournament. That meet was postponed on Monday due to high winds. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Singles

Peterson beat Rodriguez (CBL), 6-0, 6-0; beat Jha (W), 6-0, 6-1; lost to Monson (W), 7-5, 6-1.

N. Smith beat Walker (CBL), 6-0, 6-0; lost to Jensen (LC), 6-3, 7-5.

Doubles

Jones-Wellendorf beat Hardee-Korvelay (DMN), 6-0, 6-1; beat Fort-Kathol (LC), 6-1, 6-4; beat Wailes-James (CBL), 7-5, 6-4.

Nelson-Hiney lost to White-Johnson (LC), 6-4, 6-4.