Seven truly was heaven.
The Edison Eagles won their seventh straight 1A Alberta School Athletics Association badminton title Saturday in Red Deer in what was their most convincing fashion ever.
“In a school with a history of high achievers in badminton, the Edison 2017 senior high athletes set new standards at provincials,” said Edison coach Billy Gilliland. “This group not only retained their 1A championship banner, but also won two silver medals, one bronze, and a B division gold. Collectively they have raised the ‘bar’ for future generations of Edison Eagles to follow.”
Edison finished with 34 points, nearly triple that of second-place École Heritage at 13.
The team gold was the third consecutive one for Grade 12 Eagle Sasha Krawczyk, who also picked up a silver medal in Intermediate girls singles.
The triple team gold will stay with her forever.
“I look at this as one of the most major components of my high school career,” Krawczyk said. “For me provincials, is mostly about the team.”
She had won bronze and silver individually at provincials and she was hoping to win the complete set with a gold this year.
A long-time opponent from Devon had her settling for silver.
“I have played Johanna Rymes tonnes and she seems to always beats me in singles — she is amazing,” Krawczyk said. “It (the final) ended a little too quickly for me but I still enjoyed it… Silver is still amazing, but I wanted the gold to finish my career, but winning the team banner was the main thing.”
Grade 10 students Jaimie Lindsay and Adrianna Stog took home the silver in the Junior mixed doubles. Not bad considering the weren’t sure they would be ready for divisionals and zones in April.
“We were playing in tournaments at the beginning of this year but then Jaimie got a concussion and we weren’t sure we could be together for divisionals (in mid April),” Stog said.
Lindsay had his concussion in March, and the pair was able to waltz through divisionals and then the South Central zones to earn a spot at last weekend’s provincials.
“I almost wasn’t ready,” Lindsay said.
The pair was ready for provincials. They went undefeated in round robin and won their semi-final before losing in the final. They lost 21-17, 21-17 to the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds.
“I thought we did well,” Lindsay said. “When I go to the back, she goes to the front and if it (the birdie) is in the middle we somehow know who is going to take it. We know what each other is doing.”
They plan to renew their partnership for next year.
Nicole Wieland and Katlyn Tulissi took home the bronze in Junior girls doubles.
“It went to three games in the final but we played really hard in the third game to win it,” Tulissi said.
They may be a young duo, but they have plenty of experience.
“We asked to play together,” Wieland said. “We have played together before and also in the after-school badminton.”
Wieland-Tulissi went undefeated in pool play and then won their quarter-final match. They lost the semi, dropping them to the bronze medal match.
Edison’s Senior mixed doubles team of Kyle Kreis and Kaitlin Wieland won the gold in the B division after finishing third in the pool.
The Eagles’ provincial victory may have been more if Aden Kepford, who won a gold medal last year in Junior boys, had not came down with strep throat for the 2017 provincials.
He settled for fourth place in Red Deer at Intermediate boys.
For more information go to asaa.ca
