Coming into the 2022 tennis season, Powell High School junior Cade Queen was making a leap that few do in high school tennis — jumping from No. 2 doubles just a year ago all the way to the No. 1 singles spot.

Despite making such a large leap, Queen set high expectations for himself coming into the season.

“My goal for the season was to place in the top four at state,” Queen said.  “It was awesome to see that my hard work paid off.”

At the state tournament in Gillette, Queen battled through two difficult opponents, defeating Thomas Smedley from Cheyenne Central in three sets and Collin Crecelius from Cheyenne East in two sets.

Winning those two matchups meant that Queen had another matchup with the 2021 state champion in Campbell Gervais from Jackson.

Gervais had not lost a set all season, and defeated Queen 6-2, 6-3 to send him to the consolation bracket.

In the consolation semifinals, Queen squared off with Tade Geving of Cody, an opponent that Queen had come close to defeating in the regular season but had been unable to beat.

He came out on top against Geving 6-3, 6-4 to move into the third place game.

“Tade was a worthy opponent who had a great game, so it was a big achievement to finally win,” Queen said.

In the third place game, he defeated Paulo Mellizo from Laramie in a long two-set match, winning 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) to finish in third place and earn All-State honors.

This was the first All-State honor for Queen in tennis, and he hopes to use that momentum to carry over into other sports such as basketball and baseball.

“I feel that I can compete with the best in the state, so going into the new seasons now we can set high expectations and go reach them,” Queen said.

In the offseason he hopes to put in more time on the court to develop better consistency alongside gaining more experience.

Queen will be the second highest state finisher in the state to return next fall, with state champion Andrew Lock also returning for his senior season.