Edina makes it a three-peat of Badminton state championships

For two decades beginning in 2002, the St. Paul City Conference had a stranglehold on Badminton supremacy. In that span, St. Paul Johnson captured 12 state championships, nearby St. Paul Harding had seven and St. Paul Central, just down Interstate 94 had one. It was a run of state championships that wasn’t rivaled by another conference in any high school sport. 

The conference certainly remains powerful, but for the past three seasons, the Badminton spotlight now shines the brightest in the southwest metro.

Top-seeded Edina completed a three-peat of state championships by recording a 4-3 victory over No. 3 Johnson in the title match on Wednesday, May 14 at Edina High School. It was Edina’s second consecutive championship win over Johnson and it tacks another title to the school’s state-record tally of 209. Earlier this school year, the Hornets captured the Boys Cross Country state crown, and the Boys Swimming and Diving team followed with another during the winter sports season. 

“When I joined the team as a freshman, I knew something special was in store,” junior Aarushi Bhatnagar said. “There was passion, there was energy and our school’s tradition of success is always a positive factor.”

The Hornets began their string of championships by edging Burnsville, 4-3, in 2023. That signaled Edina’s arrival as a badminton power and it has continued to grow ever since. 

“We are now in the Edina Era of Badminton,” said Kevin Anderson, the tournament director and historian of the game. “They’ve got the numbers and the talent in their program to certainly keep it going for a while.”

Bhatnagar played a pivotal role in Edina’s latest championship. 

She avenged a loss to St. Paul Johnson’s Gaonou Vang from earlier this season with a 21-16, 21-16 victory at No. 2 singles to give the Hornets a 3-1 lead in the match. Shortly after, teammate Evelyn Ge clinched the championship with a 21-19, 21-18 victory over Johnson’s Sandy Mou at No. 3 singles. 

“I kept my confidence at a high level and felt the support of my teammates,” Bhatnagar said of her victory. “I tried to keep pushing my opponent to her backhand and then getting in some drop shots. Everything worked out well for all of us.”

Edina, who finished the season 22-0, advanced to the championship match with a 5-2 victory over No. 4 St. Paul Harding. St. Paul Johnson earned yet another berth in a championship match with a 5-2 victory over No. 2 St. Paul Como Park. Como Park then rebounded to defeat Harding 4-3 in the third-place match. 

The one-day individual tournament that will crown champions in singles and doubles is scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at Edina High School.

No. 1 Edina 4, No. 3 St. Paul Johnson 3

Singles

• No. 1 --- Su Meh, St. Paul Johnson def. Hazel Dang, Edina, 21-17, 21-16. No. 2 --- Aarushi Bhatnagar, Edina def. Gaonou Vang, St. Paul Johnson, 21-16, 21-16. No. 3 --- Evelyn Ge, Edina def. Sandy Moua, St. Paul Johnson, 21-19, 21-18. No. 4 --- Amanda Her, St. Paul Johnson def. Claire Watz, 21-13, 21-10. 

Doubles

• No. 1 --- Ivy Peterson-Sanna Coma, Edina def. Anastasia Vang-Sammie Yang, St. Paul Johnson, 21-6, 22-20. No. 2 --- Shalisha Vang-Krystal Moua, St. Paul Johnson def. Bergan Pickett-Juman Alkhatib, 15-21, 25-23, 21-15. No. 3 --- Ella Burke-Daisy Hennington-Hoff, Edina def. Aliya Vang-Cammie Vang, 21-13, 21-5.