SCCHS badminton team shows well in Leader
The Swift Current Comp. High School badminton team attended the Leader Senior Badminton tournament on Saturday, where they were able to compete against teams from Leader, Maple Creek, Cabri, Eston, Val Marie, and Hazlet.
Grade nine Jacey Seib and grade 12 Brandon Niefer represented the Colts in boys singles.
Niefer finished first in his pool of six with a 5-0 record and Seib placed second in the other pool with a 4-1 record. They faced one another in the semi-final and Niefer won 21-17 and 21-19 to advance to the championship match. Niefer faced a Val Marie opponent in the gold medal game and lost 21-13, 18-21, and 14-21 to bring home a silver medal.
Seib took on a Maple Creek opponent in the bronze medal match and won in three sets (21-13, 1621, 21-14) to place third in boys singles.
Grade nine Hannah Kritzer finished fourth in her girls singles pool of six with a 2-3 record, while grade 11 Rebecca Wollbaum finished third in her pool of five with a 2-2 record.
The Colts’ Cole Kritzer (Gr. 12) and Tyler Wall (Gr. 10) finished second in their pool of three teams with a 1- 1 record. They took on Maple Creek in the semifinal and won the match 2022, 21-19 and 23-21. Kritzer and Wall played Eston in the gold medal match and lost 7-21, 21-17 and 9-21 to win silver medals in boys doubles.
Carter Frase (Gr. 9) and Brayden Olfert (Gr. 9) also represented the Comp. and finished third in their pool of four teams with a 1-2 record in boys doubles.
The Ardens’ Marjorie Gonzales (Gr. 12) and MaryAnn Gonzales (Gr. 10) finished first in their girls doubles pool with a 4-0 record. Marjorie and MaryAnn played Maple Creek in the semi-final and won 21-11 and 21-10. They lost the gold medal match to Maple Creek 23-25 and 2123 and received the silver medals.
Sydney Hope (Gr. 9) and Charlene Burkey (Gr. 10) also represented the Comp. in girls doubles and finished third in their pool with a 2-2 record. They took on Maple Creek in the semi-final and lost 18-21 and 13-21. Hope and Burkey won the bronze medal match against Maple Creek 30-29 and 21-8.
Jaylyn Bell (Gr. 9) and Ethan Warkentin (Gr. 9) finished fourth in their pool with a record of 1-3. They lost to Fox Valley in the semi-final (8-21, 9-21). Bell and Warkentin played the bronze medal game against Maple Creek and lost (19-21, 15-21) to place fourth in the tournament in mixed doubles. Alyssa Murdoch (Gr. 9) and Sim Singh (Gr. 9) finished fifth in their pool with a record of 0-4 in mixed doubles. The SCCHS team returned with three second-place, two thirdplace, and one fourth-place finishes.
“The team has performed extremely well so far this season,” said coach Janna Walker. “The level of play from the start of each tournament to the end increases tremendously each weekend. Each team has demonstrated the ability to reflect on their games, ac- cept coaching advice, and apply it to their next game.”
The Colts and Ardens will host their home tournament on Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. Teams in attendance will include Gravelbourg, Ponteix, Frontier, Rosetown, Elrose, Maple Creek, Leader, and Gull Lake.
“We expect to have a very competitive home tournament this year, and are excited to have the opportunity to play some teams that we have not seen yet this season. Also, as we have a very talented group of athletes on the team this year, so we are expecting to win a few medals,” explained Walker.