MCI BRINGS HOME TWO BADMINTON BANNERS

Craig Neufeld and Paige Smith pose with their Zone IV banners. With them are coaches Chris Regehr (l) and Dave Rempel (r).

Friday, April 25 proved to be a great day for MCI badminton with both Craig Neufeld and Paige Smith finishing as Zone IV Badminton champions.

From the beginning of the year, Smith was the clear favorite and she lived up to those expectations.  Winning three tournaments in the year, and dominating from start to finish on Friday, Smith’s only challenge came in her second game of the day.  Down 8-1, Smith was able to storm back for a 21-18 victory over Kim Malenchak from Portage.  After that, it was clear sailing for Smith as she was able to use her wide array of shots to propel her past Quinn H from Carman 21-5 and 21-11.  In the finals, Paige met Malenchak for the second time of the day, and for the second straight year.  Paige continued her winning ways with convincing 21-10, 21-16 victories to win her 3rd straight Zone IV Championship.  Combined with two JV Zone IV banners from Gr. 9 and 10, Smith has won an incredible 5 badminton banners in her four years at MCI.

Craig Neufeld, a Gr. 10 student, had a more challenging road as he lost his first game to Dylan Hiebert of Carman 21-18.  This meant Neufeld could not lose another match all day.  Despite the setback, Neufeld was determined to play for a championship.  He dispatched Jan M from Sanford 21-15, Zane F from Sanford 21-14, and then met Hiebert again in the B-side semifinal.  This time Craig played to his potential coming away with a 21-10 victory.  Neufeld’s next opponent, Marc A from St. Jean, proved tough as it took three hard-fought games before Craig finished on top.  Neufeld then  met Evan S from Elm Creek in the championship game.  Because Neufeld went through the B-side, he was faced with the daunting challenge of winning two best of three series.  Unfazed, Craig did just that, with four straight victories to capture the Boys Singles banner.

Coaches Dave Rempel and Chris Regehr were extremely pleased with Friday’s results.  “To come away with two banners is very exciting for MCI.  It demonstrates the strength of the program and the strength of these two individuals,” says Regehr.  “Paige, who recently received Athlete of the Week honours, is simply one of the best athletes in the province.  She is a fearsome competitor and thinks the game extremely well.”  Rempel, who has coached Smith for the last four years, also had much praise for the Gr. 12 student.  “To be able to win three straight varsity badminton banners is an extraordinary feat that very few athletes have achieved.  It indicates just how talented a player Paige has become.”  Regehr went on to say that he believes Craig can follow the pattern set by Paige.  “Having coached Craig in both hockey and badminton, it is clear to me that he has both the athleticism and mental toughness that is required of a championship player.  He is an extremely intellectual player who is able to adjust his game depending on his opponent.  It is a pleasure to coach a player of his caliber.”

With these two Zone IV banners, Smith and Neufeld head to Gimli for the Provincials on May 2 and 3rd.  In Gr. 11, Paige finished fourth and looks to improve on that this year.  Craig, who will be attending his first Provincial Championship, will be seeing new competition but still has the ability to finish in the Top 10.