The St. James Invitational Elementary Badminton Championships on April 17 welcomed participants from three of the four local boards, with three schools showing extremely well at the event.
The R.L. Beattie Barons walked away with a pair of first-place trophies, as Emmett Taillefer captured top spot in the boys singles division, while Lucas Mrozewski and Bronwyn Mantle combined to win mixed doubles.
Marymount Academy duplicated the double championships, with Olivia Légendre nabbing bragging rights in the girls singles competition, and then partnering with Mackenzie Watkins to claim gold in girls doubles.
The boys doubles banner would head out to St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford, as Conner Killingbeck and Brayden Beaupré fended off all challengers.
A 13-year-old Grade 8 student who also plays competitive soccer with the GSSC Impact U14 Girls team, Légendre has added badminton into the athletic mix, working closely with her father.
A former Canadian collegiate champion and head coach of the Cambrian Golden Shield varsity team, Donald Légendre has groomed a definite student of the game, who displayed that knowledge while schooling Amelina Iturregui of St. James in the girls final.
"She (Iturregui) knows how to move around, to smash it back and forth," Légendre said. "She is one of the higher skilled players. I have to make her run a lot, drop it and then put it behind her."
Blessed with a lengthy reach and the soccer stamina to fight through tiring rallies, Légendre will be one to watch when the SDSSAA championships reconvene next April.
Following is a full listing of the top three finishers in every category:
Girls Singles
1st - Olivia Legendre (Marymount)2nd - Amelina Iturregui (St James)
3rd - Bronwyn Mantle (R.L. Beattie)
Boys Singles
1st - Emmett Taillefer (R.L. Beattie)2nd - Colin Therrien (R.L. Beattie)
3rd - Conner Killingbeck (St Charles)
Girls Doubles
1st - Olivia Legendre/Mackenzie Watkins (Marymount)2nd - Brady Martin/Jordan Joly (Marymount)
3rd - Devin Mantle/Bronwyn Mantle (R.L. Beattie)
Boys Doubles
1st - Conner Killingbeck/Brayden Beaupré (St Charles)2nd - Emmett Taillefer/Matty Belanger (R.L. Beattie)
3rd - Colin Therrien/Lucas Mrozewski (R.L. Beattie)
Mixed Doubles
1st - Lucas Morzewski/Bronwyn Mantle (R.L. Beattie)2nd - Conner Killingbeck/Hannah Castonguay (St Charles)
3rd - Amelina Iturregui/Griffin Howe (St James)
