OFSAA bound: Six Owls advance to All Ontarios and win NWOSSAA crown

By Donnie Gall
Sr. Team Coach

The RRHS Owls Senior Badminton team captured 1 Gold and 2 Silver medals at the NWOSSAA championships in Atikokan on Wednesday April 18th.
In doing so the team helped out their own cause by leading Team NORWOSSA to the NWOSSAA team title.
Hillary Hansen and Chantel Heyens went 5-0 to capture a Gold medal in Senior Girls Doubles action.
The Girls beat out teams from Wawa, Geraldton, Thunder Bay and Rainy River to gain 1st place.
Their play all day was stellar and the girls drew on past experience at this level to cruise to victory.
The team has now in the past three years won 3 golds at NORWOSSA and 1 gold and 2 silver at the NWOSSAA level. They have proven time and time again to be the best at what they do and have made a name for themselves and RRHS.
Great Job Girls!!!
Molly Bartlett and Kristin Moen had a very strong day at the NWOSSAA tourney by finishing 4-1 and winning a silver medal for their efforts. Their only loss was to Hillary and Chantel.
After that first match of the day the girls knew they needed to win all their games to have a shot at silver and the girls delivered. They played tremendous all day and were not intimidated by the older and more experienced players they faced. The two grade 11 girls worked hard and earned themselves that silver with pure skill and determination. Awesome Feat Girls!!!
Nick Ashworth and Carling Nordin went into the NWOSSAA Championships with very high expectations for themselves and they came through with flying colours.
The two went 4-1 and captured the silver medal. All the games they won for the most part were tight but they always managed to come out with a win.
They battled hard all day and I was really impressed with their composure after an early loss in the tourney. They kept it together and carried on to finish 2nd.
They beat teams from Manitouwadge, Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, and Dryden .
Their only loss was to a team from Lake Superior High School. Great Work Nick and Carling.
Danny Usiski and Kam Kuzyk got a call early Tuesday from NORWOSSA and were asked to participate in NWOSSAA as one of the teams from Thunder Bay could not make it. Of course they jumped at the opportunity and played very well.
The guys were 2-3 and finished a respectable 4th at the tourney. They knocked off teams from Thunder Bay and Geraldton and lost to teams from Fort Frances, Atikokan and Manitouwadge. The Boys played very good and I was really happy they were able to take part and do as well as they did.
Great Season Guys!!!
By finishing in the top 2 in their respective divisions, Hillary/Chantel,
Molly/Kristin and Nick/Carling all advance to the All Ontario Championships (OFSAA) in Waterloo on May 2-6.
This is a super accomplishment for these athletes as in the past RRHS has only had 3 players ever make it to OFSAA for Badminton. So having 6 all at once is just a unbelievable effort.
I would like to congratulate you all on your seasons so far and can’t wait to get to OFSAA for an experience you will cherish for the rest of your lives.
I am truly proud of all you have done and can only say thanks for being great kids to work with and coach. It has been a great season and this trip to Waterloo is a reward to you for a job well done.
In Junior NWOSSAA action Brenley Anderson and Kate Bartlett finished 4th in the six team Girls Doubles tournament in Atikokan. The two girls played very well all day and all of their matches were close. The two grade 10 girls have done well all season and should be proud of their season and I am looking forward to their arrival at the senior level next season. Congrats Girls!!!