Senior boys tennis player Ethan Valtman provided the #4 sports moment on our top 10 countdown of the top sports stories from Newton High School during the 2024-2025 school year. 

At the Class 1A District Individual Tennis Tournament in Boone on May 14th, Valtman finished as the runner-up in the singles bracket, earning him one of the sixteen qualifying spots at the State Tournament. He was seeded second in the district and won his first three matches in straight sets 6-0, 6-0; 6-3, 6-3; and 6-0, 6-0. In the Championship match, Ethan fell to top seeded Easton Moon of North Polk, dropping the first set 6-0, and he was trailing in the second set 3-0 before stopping the match due to an injury to his wrist. Unfortunately that injury forced him to withdraw from the State Boys Tennis Championship, but not before he became the first Newton boys tennis player to qualify for the State since 2006. Ethan said he was thrilled to achieve that accomplishment, in spite of the fact he got a late start in playing the sport.

“I never picked up a racket until my freshman year. I did it because my brother did it. My freshman year was his senior year. So my coach actually found a match for us to play doubles and we won it. Then after my sophomore year, after I won a couple of matches, I thought I could be good at this if I put some time towards it.”

Valtman will continue his tennis career in the Quad Cities this fall at St. Ambrose University.