Throw a net up in the middle of the court and station an opponent on opposite side of said net and the Horizon Aigles are ready for action.

Already having established themselves as year-in year-out contenders in the sport of volleyball, the Val Caron school is quickly rising the ranks when it comes to badminton dominance as well.

Case in point: the Aigles not only swept all three boys singles titles on Thursday at the city championships courtesy of Ethan Simon (SB), Blake Chenier (JB) and Jordan Simon (NB), but also captured gold in senior girls doubles play (Lexi Briscoe & Emma Merigioli) and added a pair of silver medals from their grade nine class.

In the end, Horizon would finish second only to the Lo-Ellen Park Knights in the aggregate team standings, with the Rivières des Français Muskies garnering bragging rights in the Highest Team Average race, earning 18 points courtesy of just seven total entries.

A total of eight different schools earned individual titles, with Lo-Ellen (5) and Horizon (4) showing the way.

If the Aigles have done an outstanding job of making volleyball a sport to play while attending the school, the same can clearly be said for their spring efforts in an athletic initiative that slides right in between the completion of winter sports and the beginning of the spring endeavours (track, soccer, slo-pitch, etc…).

“I played countless other sports when I was young but badminton, for me, is my happy place,” suggested grade 11 champion Ethan Simon. “I have control over what I do. I don’t get to put the blame on anyone else but myself.”

One of a handful of Horizon athletes who also practices and competes with the Sudbury Jr Badminton Club out of St Benedict CSS, Simon suggested that it’s the strategic approach to his matches that has most improved in the past year or two.

“You analyze your opponent’s weaknesses and based on that, decide where to play your next shot,” said Simon, toppling Wesley Wei of St Benedict for a second time in the final. “If I see someone is weaker on their backhand, I will target that side more often than the other side.”

True multi-sport athletes, the Lo-Ellen senior boys tandem of Jonah Gibson and Matti Jouppi will be looking to better their NOSSA silver medal performance from 2023, entering as SDSSAA champs now that their respective alpine skiing and hockey seasons are completed.

“We’ve been prepping for longer than we ever had before,” said Gibson, also a wide receiver with the four-time city champion Knights’ football team. “We’ve been playing, just the two of us, at Laurentian a lot against each other.”

That preparation was key as they faced a tough Lockerby Vikings due in the final in the form of Ryder Coe and Thomas Berardelli. “We played better than we’ve ever played before, especially against Lockerby,” said Gibson. “We were hitting the sides really well. Everything was fast-paced and we were really going, in a flow.”

“One of the biggest skills that we’ve learned is reading the other team as we are playing and then being able to pick up on those things and use them,” Gibson added. “Our coach (Mateo) prepared us well.”

Yet another team that has enjoyed gradual progression, the grade 11 pairing of Lexi Briscoe and Emma Merigioli finally crested back to back second place finishes at the city championships, bouncing twins Reanna and Danyka Tremblay from Macdonald-Cartier in the gold medal encounter this year.

“Our communication on the court is better, working together as a team,” said Merigioli. “Being friends since elementary school makes that easier.” Of course, in badminton as in marriage, there are times to talk and times to stay silent.

“I think we give each other a little bit of space, sometimes, but we try and stay as positive as possible,” stated Merigioli with a smile. “We don’t want to bring each other down; that just makes it worse. It’s easier to play when you have someone with you and she’s a great partner, which makes it even better.”

The Aigles seniors present a physical contrast on the sport, with Briscoe standing several inches taller than her partner. “I feel like I tend to smash more than others, just because I can get on top of the birdie a lot more,” said Briscoe, recognized as Most Improved Player in badminton at the Horizon Athletic Banquet last June.

“I have a long reach and can play a lot of defense.”

Joining the above athletes in the senior winners’ circle are the CND mixed doubles team of Chiana Rocca and Théo Lefebvre, Alouettes sidekicks of qualified for OFSAA last spring, as well as Singles Ladies champion Nyah Robinson from St Charles College.

Following is a breakdown of the top three in each of the 15 categories:

Senior Boys Singles
1st – Ethan Simon (Horizon)
2nd – Wesley Wei (St Benedict)
3rd – Lukas Morin (CND)

Senior Girls Singles
1st – Nyah Robinson (St Charles)
2nd – Yvonne Omega (Lasalle)
3rd – Gabrielle Luoma (CND)

Senior Boys Doubles
1st – Jonah Gibson / Matti Jouppi (LEP)
2nd – Ryder Coe / Thomas Berardelli (LCS)
3rd – Zach Neron / Brayden Bertrand (Sacré-Coeur)

Senior Girls Doubles
1st – Lexi Briscoe / Emma Merigioli (Horizon)
2nd – Reanna Tremblay / Danyka Tremblay (ESMC)
3rd – Billy Hébert / Ashley Rancourt (Riv. des Français)

Senior Mixed Doubles
1st – Chiana Rocca / Théo Lefebvre (CND)
2nd – Audrey Pitre / Noah Fortin (Riv. des Français)
3rd – Taryn Rollins / Cole Rosener (St Charles)

Junior Boys Singles
1st – Blake Chenier (Horizon)
2nd – Ryan Corrigan (Lo-Ellen)
3rd – Kieran McCoy (St Charles)

Junior Girls Singles
1st – Manu Patil (Lo-Ellen)
2nd – Saya Mamanda (Marymount)
3rd – Ariana Tonkovic (ESMC)

Junior Boys Doubles
1st – Miguel Acuna-Munita / Daniel Kulik (LEP)
2nd – Mathieu Hébert / Logan Law (Riv. des Français)
3rd – Naryan Shukla / Alec Vu (LEP)

Junior Girls Doubles
1st – Emma Jensen / Sophie Léveillé (Champlain)
2nd – Maiya Parsons / Tehya Montgomery (Lasalle)
3rd – Katie Shaver / Ava Giglioti (ESMC)

Junior Mixed Doubles
1st – Laureli Van Drunen / Cam Young (Lockerby)
2nd – Hillary Gallinger / Parker Dutrisac (Lockerby)
3rd – Josslyne Ouellette / Parker Linseman (CND)

Novice Boys Singles
1st – Jordan Simon (Horizon)
2nd – Théo Lalonde (Champlain)
3rd – Noah Sabourin (CND)

Novice Girls Singles
1st – Jillian Fitzgerald (Lo-Ellen)
2nd – Taryn Lavigne (Horizon)
3rd – Suhaani Dhingra (LEP)

Novice Boys Doubles
1st – Luca Chartrand / Samuel Marquis (Sacré-Coeur)
2nd – Hayden Crumb / Joey Gingras (Riv. des Français)
3rd – Xavier Aubertin / Miguel Gauthier (ESMC)

Novice Girls Doubles
1st – Lia Gallo / Rowan Frood (LEP)
2nd – Amelie Lavigne / Sophie Lachance (Horizon)
3rd – Gillian Gladu / Janaya He (LEP)

Novice Mixed Doubles
1st – Amy Janiszewsky / Brendan Deacon (ESMC)
2nd – Ava Cloutier / Liam Hagen (CND)
3rd – Lucie Steffan / Sebastien Rochon (Riv. des Français)