By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
River Flaska was, at one time, a four-sport athlete. By the time he was in middle school, he was down to baseball and tennis.
By the time he was ready for high school, Flaska had his mind made up - tennis was going to be his game going forward.
"I was playing baseball and it was starting to mess with my tennis swing," Flaska said. "I said, 'You know what? Tennis is the one I'm the best at. I'm making a lot of progress. I'm just going to stick with that.' I cut ties with all of my other sports and decided this is what I'm going to do."
The decision would pay off likely better than Flaska could have imagined. The two-time state tennis qualifier signed his letter of intent Thursday to continue his playing career at Baker University in Kansas.
Flaska is part of a Central boys’ tennis team that just won a district title Wednesday for the first time in at least 20 years.
Central beat Liberty on Wednesday 5-3 in the Class 3 District 8 championship at the Noyes Courts. Flaska, who won his singles match Wednesday 6-1, 6-0, says enjoying that moment with his entire team was special.
"It just felt amazing," he said. "The entire team coming together and prolonging my final season. It just meant the world to me to be able to do the most for my school and my entire team in my last year here."
Flaska says Baker in Baldwin City, Kansas appealed to him from the get-go, especially after conversations with Baker head coach Michael Trujillo.
"I just really felt like (Trujillo) was a great coach who could push me further in my journey," Flaska said. "I just love the school. It's a perfect place for me to learn and grow my tennis capabilities."
Flaska has made it to the state quarterfinals in singles each of the last two years.
The Central team will play Central from Springfield in team sectionals on Monday. Flaska, along with doubles partners Lucas Cebulko and Kevin Poggemiller, will compete in individual state sectionals on May 18th.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.