Racquetball Ace Makes Mark at World Juniors

Boy, what a week it’s been for Palisades High sophomore racquetball champion Dane Elkins. Check that, what a year it’s been!

He hasn’t been in class the last few days, but he’s not been playing hooky. No, he’s on a “field trip” in Cali, Colombia representing Team USA at the 26th annual International Racquetball Federation’s World Junior Championships.

The tournament continues through Saturday. Click here for day-by-day results.

Competing in the Boys 14s doubles division with his partner Ricardo Diaz from Stockton, Calif., Elkins had to wait over two hours in a rain delay before Monday’s initial match at the outdoor facility. Once it started, however, the California kids made quick work of their opponents from Chile, 15-3, 15-3. In their next match they lost 15-4, 15-11 against a duo from Bolivia.

After receiving a bye in Wednesday’s opening round of the single-elimination main draw, Elkins and Diaz faced Julian Homberger and Andres Montero of Costa Rica in the quarterfinals today. They took the first game 15-11, dropped the second 15-0 and lost the tiebreaker 11-4, bringing an end to their tournament run.

Elkins and Diaz qualified for the World Junior Championships by winning the 14-and-under gold division at the 41st Wilson National Junior Olympic Racquetball Championships in Denver in June. It was there that Elkins won the 14-and-under gold division mixed doubles crown with fellow Pali High sophomore Atossa Rejaei and finished fourth in singles, falling to Diaz in the third-place match.

In January, Elkins captured titles in the 14s and 16s divisions at the California/Nevada Junior Racquetball State Championships in Reseda and in September he beat his dad Brett 15-9 to win the Open Elite Division at the Arcadia Fitness Shootout.

When it comes to racquetball Elkins serves aces, but he has also aced his fair share of tests. He’s taking AP classes (math is his favorite subject) and even took time out to study between matches. Best of all, the experience gained playing some of the best young players in the world gives him something to text and tweet about for the rest of the semester.