Owls smash competition: Juniors also do well at Norwossas

By Matt Salvaterra
Junior Team Coach

Competing at NORWOSSA this last Wednesday in Kenora with 16 players, was no small feat for the Rainy River Owls badminton team. The eight Juniors and eight Seniors who had qualified just before Easter were one of the largest squads ever to represent RRHS at the NORWOSSA Badminton Championship.
That being said, Rainy River’s badminton team was not just there for the experience of higher level competition. In what will go down as an epic David vs. Goliath style battle, Rainy River achieved the ‘improbable’, or shall we say the ‘remarkable’! At the end of the day when the dust settled, there stood the Owls, the majority with medals around their necks and with a massive trophy taking up the front seat of the bus on the ride home.
The small school of 120 students had triumphed over much larger Kenora, Fort Frances, and Dryden schools to claim victory and put Rainy River on the map as a badminton contender. For the first time in 22 years, Atikokan had been relieved of their crown on top of NORWOSSA badminton world, with Rainy River playing the spoiler by capturing the senior team championship. Moreover, this year’s squad will be sending eight very deserving and talented athletes to NWOSSA hosted by Atikokan on April 18th.
For the juniors, Brenley Anderson and Kate Bartlett qualified for NWOSSA by winning silver medals placing a close second overall after losing a tightly contested gold medal match. Junior mixed doubles players Jared McQuaker and Catherine Whetzel placed 3rd losing in a 3-way playoff after tying for first with some remarkable and inspiring victories in their respective round robin. Not to be outdone, Jr. Boys singles players Jordan Hansen and Regan Arnould placed 4th and 5th with a great showing, while grade 9 Jr. Boys doubles players Matt Godin and Stacy Comegan gained some valuable experience in placing 6th in their division.
However, the day belonged to the RRHS Senior Team. Led into battle by Coach Donnie Gall, all eight seniors placed in the top three of their respective divisions, and in doing so captured enough points to win the overall NORWOSSA championship.
Capturing gold medals and going undefeated were the Sr. Girls Doubles team of Chantel Heyens and Hilary Hansen, as well as the Sr. Mixed Doubles Team of Nick Ashworth and Carly Nordin. Also heading to NWOSSA is the Sr. Girls Doubles team of Molly Bartlett and Kristin Moen who lost only one match to their teammates from RRHS. Lastly, Kam Kuzyk and Danny Usiski played extremely well placing third in their division and in doing so gaining enough points to capture the overall crown.
These results were a testament to the hard work and many hours of practice that each player has put in over the past few months. As a community Rainy River should be extremely proud of these aforementioned athletes. Not only did they display incredible sportsmanship both in victory and defeat, but the also achieved remarkable results.
The look of disbelief on the faces of their competitors said it all: “The Rainy River Owls not only belong, but are now a fixture as a badminton powerhouse in Northwestern Ontario”.