Northwest Boys Tennis Claims I8 Tournament Championship!

NINE STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS AS MOUNTIES WIN FIRST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP IN PROGRAM HISTORY

Northwest Community Schools is incredibly proud of the Boys Tennis Team for winning the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament Championship on Monday (Sept. 28, 2026) for its first conference tournament title in program history!

Nine student-athletes earned All-Conference recognition and six of the Mounties’ eight singles and doubles teams made the finals, helping Northwest to a championship in its final year as a member of the I8 conference.

“It’s the first time in our history winning the conference championship, so it meant a lot,” Head Coach Ron Woodruff said. “It was something we had been striving for. To win the conference in the last year we have a shot to win the I8 because we’re moving to a new conference, it was incredible. To see the joy and the passion on those kids’ faces when they found out they won, it was really special.”

Woodruff specifically praised the senior leaders on his team for their dedication to the program.  He also thanked James Cumings, Nick Rush, Austin Burkhart and Devin Robertson for helping coach the team and playing significant roles in developing the players.

The Mounties dominated conference play this year, winning the regular season title outright and then carrying that momentum into the postseason with another commanding performance in the conference tournament. Junior Jaedan Lincoln and senior Gabriel Falsini, who captured All-Conference honors with a win at 2 doubles Monday, believed the team’s success during regular season action helped them build confidence for postseason play.

Along with Lincoln and Falsini, senior Reed Clark and junior Bode Rush also earned All-Conference honors with championship victories at 2 singles and 3 singles, respectively. 

“It was super exciting,” Clark said. “We’ve put in so much work, especially us seniors. It was huge for us and a big goal of ours. We knew it was accomplishable and we made it happen.”

Bode Rush credited the success to starting the year strong at the Adrian Quad. From there, he could feel the players’ confidence grow as the team continually improved throughout the season.

One of the Mounties’ singles players and two doubles teams earned All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition for finishing second place overall. Senior Levi Youngman claimed second place at 4 singles while the tandem of sophomore Macalister Perrine and freshman Jack Runkel took home second place at 3 doubles. The top doubles pairing of senior Jaxon Gerding and junior Gavin Warren were also tabbed All-Conference Honorable Mention.

“It was great seeing all the hard work we’ve put in throughout the summer and season pay off,” Warren said. “Having six out of your eight teams go to the finals just shows how much work we’ve put in.”

Clark, Youngman and fellow senior Nathan Cumings were proud of how the team came together to rise to the occasion, and felt the strong bond within the group played a key role in winning the tournament championship.

The Mounties will compete in the MHSAA Regionals next Thursday (Oct. 8) beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Haslett High School.

Congratulations to our Boys Tennis Team on claiming the I8 Conference Tournament Championship and driving Northwest Community Schools in The Direction of Greatness!

We are...Northwest!

Go Mounties!!