Having won a silver medal a year ago in the mixed doubles event, Grade 11 students Megan Sutherland and Jacob Mamer were determined to bring a gold medal back to Wilkie.
The McLurg High School teammates did just that in Weyburn Saturday as they captured the provincial high school title with a straight sets win over Brooke Johnson and Jeremy Funk of Annaheim.
“It was pretty exciting to follow-up what we accomplished last year with another medal,” Mamer said.
“It was a really rewarding feeling when the game ended and we realized that we had won the gold medal. The other athletes that were there were applauding us afterwards, even if they were cheering on or competing for a school other than ours.”
Sutherland and Mamer went 3-0 in pool play earlier in the day to finish in the top spot in the Group B standings.
They followed that up with a straight set semifinal win over Kendra Moore and Damian Friesen of Medstead to earn a spot in the provincial final.
“We were playing pretty well right from the start of the tournament,” Sutherland said. “There have been some times where we have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start at events, but we were on our game and began to build up some big leads in our sets.
“I think a lot of that success came to how well we placed the birdie around the court. We’ve always worked well together as a team, but I think that placement really helped us out over the weekend.”
The provincial title concluded an excellent season for the team, as they also won tournaments in Unity, Wilkie, North Battleford, Biggar and Rosetown.
“The only matches they lost this year came at practice when they were playing against their own teammates,” McLurg badminton coach Laurie Churchill said. “They talk a lot on the court and their approach to the game has been the same since the season started in February.
“They really got their mixed doubles strategy down pat. Megan plays at the front of the court while Jacob is at the back, and they really seem to know where they need to be at all times.”
Also representing the Broncs at the tournament was the boys doubles team of Nick Miller and Nick Gutting.
The team won a bronze medal a year ago, but missed out on the playoffs this year as they were hampered by an injury.
With the success of the badminton program in Wilkie over the last few seasons, Mamer expects more students will be at the provincials in the coming years.
“We play badminton quite a lot in gym class so everyone knows the basic skills that you need to play the game,” Mamer said.
“When you get up to the senior grades, we learn more about the strategy thanks to our coach, and that plays a huge part in our success.”
Moore and Friesen also reached the podium for Medstead as the Grade 12 students won the bronze medal game over Rebecca Cho]u and Nicholas Ehnisz of Fox Valley.
“They started off the tournament a little nervous but they really picked things up at the end,” Medstead coach Greg Knot said. “We were hoping they had a chance to get a medal, but you never know what will happen until you get started.
Meanwhile, Leoville’s Santana Bill and Lainee Zaparanuik took home the girls doubles gold medal with a victory over Jenelle Sunderland and Karly Dawson of Naicam.
Their teammate Tanor Thomas finished in fourth place in the boys singles event, as he battled it out with Colin Teteault of Regina O’Neill in a three-set thriller for the bronze medal.
