Austin Collins finished his high school boys tennis career with a state medal around his neck.Collins, who graduated May 16 from Excelsior Springs, placed seventh in the singles portion of the Class 1 state tournament, held May 15-16 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. The top eight finishers received medals.Collins opened state with a closely contested loss to the top overall seed – Ridge Stagner of Benton, a St. Josephbased school. Stagner went on to place second, losing to Clayton’s Noah Gou in the title match.“Austin played really well and surprised a lot of people in his opening match of the tournament,” Excelsior Springs coach Richie Marsh said.Sent to the consolation bracket, Collins rebounded by defeating Lafayette County of Higginsville’s Colby Dickmeier 6-1, 6-1. He then defeated Mexico’s Boston Davolt 6-0, 6-1 in the consol...