Still golden: Preston wins title in Albuquerque

Willis "Bud" Preston is spending his golden years chasing gold medals.

Recently, the 1946 graduate of Celina High School won the 90s Singles Division of the National Senior Games in Albuquerque - adding to a gold collection that already includes a boatload of tennis trophies and an Oscar (not a real one), which Preston was given for his pristine portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in a Minster Crescent Players production.

This particular gold medal meant a lot to Preston, though.

"I've been running around all day with this medal around my neck," said Preston on Monday while attending a get-together in Santa Fe, New Mexico. "About every place you go, someone comes up and says 'Oh, you've got a gold medal! In what event?' It's just a lot of fun.

"I guess it's kind of special, that's what I'd call it," he added. "Everybody was so nice here."

Preston probably had the best cheering section among thousands of competitors. He had his own fan club - named "Bud's Buds" - show up in support.

"It's so inspiring and hopeful to come out here and see hundreds of fit and healthy and happy seniors. It's just great," said Preston's daughter, Penny Bishel, leader of Bud's Buds.

The tennis tournament director noticed Bud's entourage, too.

"One day, (the director) and I were talking - you have to ask them sometimes about who the next opponent is and where you're playing," Preston explained. "I told him my name was Preston and I'm playing in the 90s singles. He said 'You're the Preston who is the subject of that fan club.' I was so impressed with all the support I had. All the emails, the comments on Facebook and everything. I didn't even know I had that many friends. I know a lot of people, but I didn't think they'd say nice stuff about me."

The Otterbein resident hasn't lost his sense of humor, and he hasn't lost much of a step on the tennis court, either.

Preston opened singles play with an 8-0 pro-set victory over Lee Stadem. He went on to defeat Suat Akgun 8-3 in Round 2 and then Tom Selstad 10-3 in the semifinal, before capturing the championship with an 8-1 win over California-representative Warren Foltz.

"(Foltz) had a little trouble moving, and I just kept hitting drop shot after drop shot. He just couldn't get to them," Preston said.

During his time as an amateur, Preston won an estimated 2 dozen singles tournaments while also getting some hardware alongside doubles partners Ron Fanning and Roger Wall.

Fanning, a 1953 Celina graduate, played with Preston again in Albuquerque.

The duo earned a National Senior Games qualification by default at the Ohio qualifier last summer, as no other team opposed them in the 80s doubles division. Preston and Fanning played in Westerville anyway, however, and handily defeated a pair of 65-year-olds. The duo fell in back-to-back matches at the national tournament, losing both 8-3.

"We played well - we got beat by two good teams," Preston said. "One of them had won it for the last two or three years at the games, so we were not disappointed because we did play well and we just met up with better teams."

The first National Senior Games was held in 1987, with St. Louis playing host to 2,500 athletes competing in 15 events. The games have been held biannually ever since. Prior to this year, participation had peaked at 12,000 (1999 and 2007), according to the National Senior Games Association website. Preston was informed that the Albuquerque Games set a new participant record with 14,000 athletes competing across a platform of 20 events.

For now, Preston is done chasing gold.

The next chapter of Preston's golden years will be spent traveling with his lady friend, Barb, and the rest of Bud's Buds.

"Tomorrow, we're going to do some sightseeing around the area," Preston said. "Then on Wednesday, we're starting for home. We're going to go the northern route through Denver and Kansas and then we'll probably gonna head to St. Louis or something like that. We're going to take our time."