SUDBURY - With the snow quickly melting, it is that time of year when the athletic powerhouse that are the Lo-Ellen Park Knights begin to strut their stuff.
Typically, this would signal the arrival of the Knights' track & field crew, the school which sets the standard for all others in this sporting endeavour. And based on the word out of the Colin Ward camp these days, the Lo-Ellen track team will again be a force to be reckoned with.
Last Saturday, however, it was coach Richard Breault and the badminton folks that were bringing back memories of the Bob Pilon era, as the South End school captured the overall SDSSAA Badminton team championship, besting the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes by a dozen points.
The Knights rode the backs of an outstanding performance from their midget groupings, accounting for 25 of their 43 points, as well as key contributions at the two eldest divisions in racking up the city title.
Grade 10 student Patrick Thom was one of three singles winners that Lo-Ellen would boast, claiming the junior boys title, a success that he suggests he owes in part to his involvement in other sports growing up.
"To be honest, I think it's my past in baseball, with a bit of arm strength," said Thom. "I was getting out of hockey a couple of years ago, and I needed a winter sport to play."
Little surprise to those who follow the badminton club scene that the final would come down to a match-up between Thom and Miguel Mrochek of Horizon.
"Miguel is a really good player," said Thom. "We always have really tough games, and it's always fun. You've got to play everything, he's such a good player, he gets all over the court."
Meanwhile, the junior boys doubles team of Luc Demers and Carter Baumruk were thrilled to have already guaranteed their berth at NOSSA, even if they entered the gold medal encounter with some unfinished business at hand.
"The key was that we wanted to beat them (Alex Frappier/Tylor Chartrand - Horizon), because they had beaten us the first time," said Baumruk. "But in fairness, that was our first game together."
The Sacre-Coeur Griffons tandem joined forces after Demers had teamed with Marcus Valtonen in winning SDSSAA and NOSSA banners last year, with the new combination sharing some history before partnering on the courts.
"Luc had another partner for a few years," said Baumruk. "This year, we decided that we should actually try out being partners, because we're best friends."
And while this isn't always a recipe for success, it seems to have worked really well in this particular case.
"We both encourage each other, but we usually get mad at ourselves when we make mistakes," he said.
Not that there were too many to be concerned about, as Demers and Baumruk beat Frappier and Chartrand in back to back games, claiming top spot.
Following are the top three finishers in all categories, from midget to senior:
Senior Divisions
Boys Singles
1st - Sebastien Stefankow (ESMC)
2nd - A.J. Martel (Sacre Coeur)
3rd - Tyler Coutu (ESMC)
Girls Singles
1st - Gracen Lacko (LOE)
2nd - Kayleigh Gauthier (Lasalle)
3rd - Enara Iturregui (LOE)
Boys Doubles
1st - Ward Kyle/Bradley Sheppard (Lockerby)
2nd - Justin Preseault/Mathieu Roy (CND)
3rd - Ian Thom/Brandon Moxam (St Benedict)
Girls Doubles
1st - Bryanne Rheault/Kalie Rheault (CND)
2nd - Lina Audet/Gabrielle Nellis (ESMC)
3rd - Marissa Jodouin/Chloe Coulombe (Horizon)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Cameron Duff/Stephanie Smuland (Confederation)
2nd - Matt Fragomeni/Stephanie Arsenault (Lasalle)
3rd - Skylar Cooke/Alex Coulombe (Lockerby)
Junior Divisions
Boys Singles
1st - Patrick Thom (LOE)
2nd - Miguel Mrochek (Horizon)
3rd - Philippe Larochelle (CND)
Girls Singles
1st - Gabrielle Alves (St. Charles)
2nd - Danika Loiselle (CND)
3rd - Dixa Patel (LOE)
Boys Doubles
1st - Luc Demers/Carter Baumruk (Sacre Coeur)
2nd - Alex Frappier/Tylor Chartrand (Horizon)
3rd - Julian Simeoni/Cameron Lamour (Lockerby)
Girls Doubles
1st - Kate Gargalicano/Queenie Basalo (Lasalle)
2nd - Maddison Loiselle/Jessica Croke (Sacre Coeur)
3rd - Kapanga Shawana/Afenene Bouhedda (Lasalle)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Simon Yoo/Sophie Beauchamp (CND)
2nd - Jordan Urban/Sophie Laforest (ESMC)
3rd - Johnathan Dumont/Maddie Campbell (Chelmsford)
Midget Divisions
Boys Singles
1st - Emmett Taillefer (LOE)
2nd - Jacob Lacko (LOE)
3rd - Ryley Kutchaw (St. Benedict)
Girls Singles
1st - Olivia Legendre (Marymount)
2nd - Angele Seguin (Horizon)
3rd - Devin Mantle (LOE)
Boys Doubles
1st - Thomas McGrath/Caleb Lalonde (ESMC)
2nd - Ben Ashley/Owen Coles (LOE)
3rd - Josh Boucher/Jake Bennett (LOE)
Girls Doubles
1st - Mackenzie Watkins/Angelina Lam (Marymount)
2nd - Cream Kamorlat/Aliesha Spourdalakis (LOE)
3rd - Brady Martin/Jordan Joly (Marymount)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Connor Killingbeck/Hannah Castonguay (Lockerby)
2nd - Joshua Menard/Chanelle Lafortune (CND)
3rd - Brandon Labelle/Karly Porlier (Horizon)
