It took only two years of racquetball experience for sophomore Gavin Usher to become a national champion. Usher and doubles partner, junior Will Hoge, defeated a duo from Beaverton to win the Boys Gold #1 seed finals.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Usher said, “but it felt really exciting to beat so many talented opponents.” After falling behind in the first set, Hoge and Usher battled back to win both the second set and third set tiebreaker.

“We played some great teams from around the country,” Usher said, “but with Will as a teammate, we played better than any one player ever could.”

While becoming a national champion was the highlight of his weekend, Usher also won gold in both the singles and mixed doubles consolation divisions, and was named a high school All-American. “This whole weekend has been really fun,” he said.

After winning the competition on their home court at Multnomah Athletic Club, Hoge and Usher will look to defend their title in St. Louis next year. Usher added,“I can’t wait.”