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R.F. Staples nets 10 medals at conference badminton tourney

It was a gilded afternoon for R.F. Staples badminton players April 22 at the 2016 North Conference Senior High Badminton Tournament.
Grade 10 R.F. Staples student Jacob Williston returns a serve during the junior mixed doubles final during the 2016 North Conference Senior High Badminton Tournament at
Grade 10 R.F. Staples student Jacob Williston returns a serve during the junior mixed doubles final during the 2016 North Conference Senior High Badminton Tournament at Westlock’s Rotary Spirit Centre April 22. Williston and teammate Kaylee Benham managed to capture silver.

It was a gilded afternoon for R.F. Staples badminton players April 22 at the 2016 North Conference Senior High Badminton Tournament.

Nearly 130 racketeers from eight schools were at the Rotary Spirit Centre for the showdown, with 15 Westlock students earning silver medals or higher and advancing to the North Central Zone Tournament in Edmonton April 27.

R.F. Staples brought home 10 of 30 zone placement wins, with first and second place finishes in most categories of play, including girls and boys singles, doubles and mixed doubles in junior, intermediate and senior age categories.

“It’s the best our school has performed in quite a number of years,” said badminton coach and R.F. Staples teacher Jon Radke.

Teams, Radke explained, have been practicing hard since March, brushing up on fundamentals and court positioning.

“By now, they’re well-acquainted with the basics. The footwork, the types of shots they’re going to make. They practice that two to three times a week,” Radke said.

“In doubles teams, especially, they’re working on the communication between players, anticipating rallies and where the shots are going to be placed and reacting to them positively.”

Jacob Williston and Kaylee Benham were just one of the teams that will advance to zones in Edmonton, bringing home a silver medal in junior mixed doubles play.

The pair credited their ticket to finals on good communication and court placement.

“We just really gelled,” Williston said. “We’ve been working together as a team, working as one.”

“We just have really good communication when we’re playing,” Benham added.

“We just have love for the sport,” Williston said.

Gold place finishers were Aaron Felstad in intermediate boys singles, Cole Ringuette and Nicholas Koncohrada in senior boys doubles and Josh Lemoine and Jett Jiehe in intermediate boys doubles.

In total, R.F. Staples saw silver medal wins from Kaitlin Comeau in senior girls singles, Daneel Lategan in senior boys singles, Maygen Fairholm in intermediate girls singles, Curtis Vesely in junior boys singles, Bryan Borst and DJ Newsham in intermediate boys doubles, Gregory Wallace and Matthew Soroka in junior boys doubles and in the junior mixed doubles from Williston and Benham.

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