From the junior ranks and the lower steps of the podium they came, filling the void at the 2018 SDSSAA Badminton Championships last Saturday.
With the majority of the 2017 senior city champions having graduated, the gold medal winners this year comprised an interesting cross-section of junior champs from one year ago, as well as a handful of second year seniors who climbed the ladder of success just a little bit further the second time around.
Patrick Thom of Lo-Ellen and Kayleigh Gauthier of Lasalle both earned bronze medals in the senior age bracket in 2017, and both made the leap to top spot on the weekend. Thom defeated Luc Demers of Sacré-Coeur in the boys singles final, while Gauthier dethroned champion Kalie Rheault of Collège Notre-Dame in the girls bracket.
Both the girls doubles team of Angelina Lam and Mackenzie Watkins from Marymount, as well as the mixed tandem of Ethan Rogers and Amelina Iturregui of Lo-Ellen successfully made the jump from junior gold medal winners in 2017 to grabbing senior bragging rights in 2018.
Closing out the mix was the senior boys doubles team of Tylor Chartrand and Miguel Mrochek from Horizon, defeating Steven Kotab/Sean Nickson (St Benedict) as Mrochek shifted from a mixed doubles team that claimed silver last year over to the partnership with Chartrand this spring.
From a team perspective, the Lo-Ellen Park Knights claimed the overall aggregate banner while the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes walked away with the "highest team average" banner.
First and second place finishers in all categories have qualified for the NOSSA championships, set for April 19th and 20th in Sault Ste Marie. The OFSAA
Badminton Championships will take place from May 3rd to the 5th in Windsor.
Following is a complete list of gold and silver medal winners from the SDSSAA championships in all divisions:
Midget Division
Boys Singles
1st - Dominik Brunette-Royer (CND)
2nd - Taylor Foucault (LIV)
Girls Singles
1st - Renée Proulx (CND)
2nd - Josée Beauchamp (CND)
Boys Doubles
1st - Carson Bronicheski/Caelen Mantle (LOE)
2nd - Max McCue/Mitchell Martin (LOE)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Alec Esau/Tyanne Ewing-Bui (ESMC)
2nd - Jacob Brunette/Abigail Perreault (HOR)
Junior Division
Boys Singles
1st - Eric Dissanayake (LOE)
2nd - Matt Obradovich (LCS)
Girls Singles
1st - Cierra St Germain (HAN)
2nd - Amber Jacques (HOR)
Boys Doubles
1st - Keplar Salt/David Pigozzo (LAS)
2nd - Cooper Levesque/Ethan Williamson (STC)
Girls Doubles
1st - Erika Poirier/Marja Frederikson (STB)
2nd - Arianna Radey/Sydney Wachnuk (LAS)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Miguel Paquette/Karine Boucher (CND)
2nd - Mathieu Beaudry/Gabrielle Belec (SC)
Senior Division
Boys Singles
1st - Patrick Thom (LOE)
2nd - Luc Demers (SC)
Girls Singles
1st - Kayleigh Gauthier (LAS)
2nd - Kalie Rheault (CND)
Boys Doubles
1st - Tylor Chartrand/Miguel Mrochek (HOR)
2nd - Steven Kotab/Sean Nickson (STB)
Girls Doubles
1st - Angelina Lam/Mackenzie Watkins (MMT)
2nd - Darcy Bertrand/Nicole Yaworsky (LAS)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Ethan Rogers/Amelina Iturregui (LOE)
2nd - Max Leduc/Clara Yanchuk (ESMC)
