Johnson's Meh, Edina's Coma and Peterson earn Badminton championships

Top seeds prevailed during the individual portion of the Badminton State Tournament held on Thursday, May 15 at Edina High School. 

In singles, St. Paul Johnson’s Su Meh, the preseason favorite to emerge as the state champion, accomplished that, but not without some moments of angst. After losing to St. Paul Harding’s Gaozia Vue in the first set by a 21-19 setback, Meh rallied for a 21-16 victory in the second set. With the state championship at stake, Meh outlasted Vue in dramatic fashion with a 26-24 victory where every point was filled with drama. 

Meh, who was top ranked for virtually the entire season, extended the St. Paul City Conference’s dominance of individual championships. With her singles crown, St. Paul Johnson now has six individual champions who have captured seven titles. The Governors’ Olamide Fadahunsi won titles in 2009 and 2011. In 2020, she was the singles runner-up. Since 2009, the Badminton singles champion has represented a St. Paul City Conference school every season but one. The string was interrupted by Bloomington Kennedy’s Chusang Nhasang in 2017.

In doubles, Edina’s duo of Sanna Coma and Ivy Peterson was dominant in the successful defense of their championship. They ended their undefeated season with a 21-17, 21-8 victory over Burnsville’s Katie Murray and Natalie Portwood. In 12 sets of competition during Thursday’s individual championships, Coma and Peterson held their opponents to single digits eight times. Coma and Peterson are the first repeat doubles champions since St. Paul Harding’s Mai Tria Lee and Kaabao Yang in 2006.