Senior Parth Patel recently celebrated his special day. No, not his birthday: Last fall, the city of Chesterfield designated November 6 as Parth Patel Day.

Patel, 17, is a member of the USA U19 Cricket National Cricket Team. The team bested Team Canada in a qualifying round, then in January, flew to South Africa to participate in the 2024 U19 Cricket World Cup. “It is very exciting,” Patel says, “to play in the stadiums our  idols played in.”

The St. Louis native has been playing cricket since his uncle introduced him to the sport at age eight. From there, he was hooked. “I got serious about cricket in 2021, when the US had the first U19 national championships,” he says. That’s when he tried out for the Midwest regional team and was named captain. After his performance in the national championship tournament, Patel was selected as one of 14 cricketers to represent the United States on the U19 team. “It had always been a dream of mine to represent my country,” he says.

So what’s next? Patel, a senior, is planning to attend the University of North Carolina in the fall to study business and finance. But his cricket days aren’t over. “My goal is to make a Major League Cricket team in the next four to five years,” says Patel. At the rate he’s going, Chesterfield might need to designate more days to celebrate his success.