Badminton season for Innisfail's schools came to a close this past weekend in Red Deer with athletes from both the Catholic and public school systems.
Janelle Agot and Tyler Watt, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys badminton players, both captured gold in girls and boys singles respectively at the Central Western Alberta Junior High Athletic Association (CWAJHAA) tournament.
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys sent two Grade 7 athletes, Janelle Agot and Tyler Watt, in girls and boys singles respectively while Innisfail Middle School was represented by Grade 7 students team Katilin Bowe and Brett Fox (mixed doubles) and Zach Bettesworth (boys singles), Grade 8 players Andrea Pelletier and Brittany Byreshewski (girls doubles), Parker Read and Kyle Coakwell (boys doubles), and boys singles player Bret Marshal.
Innisfail Jr/Sr High was represented by Grade 9 students Joel Ray (boys singles), Carmen Maree (girls singles), Sam Thompson and Dani Gervais (girls doubles), and the mixed double team of Teren Christensen and Camryn Fuller who won silver medals at the Chinook's Edge Northern Athletic Association (CENAA) competition to advance.
Innisfail Middle School and St. Marguerite Bougeoys played at the CWAJHAA tournament in École Camille J. Lerouge School on May 9 and 10.
The Grade 9 Innisfail Jr/Sr High students played at Lindsay Thurber Composite High School on the same weekend in May.
“St. Marguerite Bourgeoys was well represented at CWAJHAA,” said Grade 8 Coach John Groenen. “Our school was able to place more athletes in the CENAA tournament who qualified for CWAJHAA than before. It was a good season and they have set the bar high for next year.“
Groenen noted Agot played her first five games and was undefeated while Tyler Watt lost his first game but won his remaining contests on Friday night on their way to winning gold in boys and girls singles.
“This is my second year of competitive badminton,” said Watt, who plays club badminton during winter. “ You can still play aggressively and be respectful of your opponents.”
Lisa Weiss, coach of the Innisfail Middle School team, was pleased with her athletes' games and season.
“The 2014 season was an improvement on our 2013 campaign,” said Weiss. “We placed eight students in five events in the CWAJHAA tournament, which is more than last year and they have played to our expectations.”
She noted her team was determined and aggressive on the court, which contributed to their success.
Brett Fox and Katilin Bowe won fourth place in Grade 7 mixed singles against stiff completion.
As of press time, final results of all games were not released.
