Blake Chenier is a pretty good baseball player. Same goes for hockey.

The 16 year-old grade 11 student at École secondaire catholique l’Horizon also looks completely at home on both the tennis and volleyball court - and even out on the track, if need be.

In badminton, however, he is the best.

To be fair, we are talking about the best in the senior high-school bracket in Sudbury at a time when the glut of the strength in the Northern Ontario Badminton Association (NOBA) sits in North Bay; but given that his senior single boys title last week marked the third consecutive year that he has claimed the banner, it’s still pretty darn impressive.

Introduced to the sport while in grade seven, Chenier parlayed loads of athletic involvement across a multitude of pursuits to enjoy success with a badminton racquet in hand, right out of the gate.

“Growing up I was playing everything that I could,” said Chenier. “In high-school, I think I played all 12 different sports they offered. I’ve always had that ability to play pretty much everything. Badminton is a lot of footwork, so the speed from hockey helps – and a little bit of the arm strength.”

For as much as his pathway to OFSAA success is notably more difficult in the singles game, Chenier insists this is where his heart lies in badminton. “I like to play my game,” he said. “To compete, you’ve got to be fast – and strong mentally too – and I’ve got endurance.”

“I also don’t like having to rely on a partner to make the shots,” he added. “I like having to make them myself.”

Back in September, Chenier opted to up his game on the badminton front, with the dividends evident for the young man who is likely to encounter a rematch of the NOBA U19 Boys final with Nathan Hussell from St Joseph Scollard Hall later this week at Nipissing University.

“At the start of grade 11, I joined the Sudbury Jr Badminton Club and that got me a little of exposure and better coaches to really improve,” he said. “We definitely spend a lot of hours on our footwork with no games. You start on the outside line, working on footwork towards the net and then shuffle across to the other side.”

“There’s a bunch of different ways to do it.”

A member of the Lo-Ellen Park Prep basketball program for the past three years, her commitment to her primary sport would prohibit Michaela Tripp from diving into the badminton club scene. Thankfully, the natural athleticism that both she and mixed doubles partner Matthew Trottier bring to the floor was enough to secure the SDSSAA banner in their particular bracket, helping the Knights to the Overall Aggregate title.

“We are already athletic and we have the stamina to play, so we needed the tips and tricks of the badminton players that play,” noted Tripp. Thankfully, there was additional assistance for school coaches Mason Savage and Julie Johnston in the form of former OFSAA participant Mateo Orrantia from Marathon and local sports gentleman Mark Kuhlberg.

“I am so thankful for our amazing coaching staff,” noted Tripp. “They reminded us always to keep our racquet up and focus on speed and agility. Serving is really important, but also just keeping the game going. It keeps the other team on their toes.”

Defending her Senior Girls Singles crown was Nyah Robinson of St Charles, with Ethan Simon and Nicholas Leduc securing a second senior banner for Horizon, while Lillian Li and Manu Patil did likewise in Girls Doubles play for Lo-Ellen.

Following are the top five finishers in each of the SDSSAA categories - from Senior through to Novice:

Senior Boys
1st - Blake Chenier (Horizon)
2nd - Ryan Corrigan (Lo-Ellen)
3rd - Noah Fortin (Riv-des-Francais)
4th - Aaron Vallée (Champlain)
5th - Wesley Wei (St Benedict)
5th - Cameron MacIntosh (Lively)

Senior Girls
1st - Nyah Robinson (St Charles)
2nd - Chianna Rocca (Notre-Dame)
3rd - Yvonne Omega (Lasalle)
4th - Lesly Fetgo (Sudbury Secondary)
5th - Emilie Philippe (Horizon)
5th - Chloé Lavigne (Horizon)

Senior Boys Doubles
1st - Ethan Simon / Nicolas Leduc (Horizon)
2nd - Luca Chartrand / Samuel Marquis (Sacré-Coeur)
3rd - Ryder Coe / Thomas Berardelli (Lockerby)
4th - Mathieu Hébert / Logan Law (Riv-des-Francais)
5th - Kai Koskala / Massimo Toffoli (Lo-Ellen)
5th - Max Jouppi / Miguel Acuna-Munita (Lo-Ellen)

Senior Girls Doubles
1st - Lillian Li / Manu Patil (Lo-Ellen)
2nd - Billie Hébert / Audrey Pitre (Riv-des-Francais)
3rd - Lexi Briscoe / Emma Merigioli (Horizon)
4th - Ariana Tonkovic / Ava Gigliotti (Macdonald-Cartier)
5th - Sophie Leveillé / Emma Jensen (Champlain)
5th - Teyha Montgomery / Maiya Parsons (Lasalle)

Senior Mixed Doubles
1st - Michaela Tripp / Matthew Trottier (Lo-Ellen)
2nd - Isabella Rocca / Connor Nicholson (St Benedict)
3rd - Misaki Diavolitsis / Ethan Hodder (Lockerby)
4th - Hillary Gallinger / Parker Dutrisac (Lockerby)
5th - Keira Riccio / Barry Tonello (St Benedict)
5th - Mobeena Moby / James Alabi (St Benedict)

Junior Boys
1st - Zitai Yin (Lockerby)
2nd - Jordan Simon (Horizon)
3rd - Theo Lalonde (Champlain)
4th - Jack O'Connell (Lo-Ellen)
5th - Noah Sabourin (Notre-Dame)
5th - Duke Chukwukere (St Benedict)

Junior Girls
1st - Hana Nakano (Marymount)
2nd - Jillian Fitzgerald (Lo-Ellen)
3rd - Janaya He (Lo-Ellen)
4th - Suhaani Dhingra (Lo-Ellen)
5th - Zofia Tiveron (Bishop Carter)
5th - Taryn Lavigne (Horizon)

Junior Boys Doubles
1st - Anthony Paravano / Matteo Trepanier (Horizon)
2nd - Hadyn Crumb / Joey Gingras (Riv-des-Francais)
3rd - Liam Hagen / Anderson Marolt (Notre-Dame)
4th - Ben Humeniuk / Quentin Hallock (Lasalle)
5th - Xavier Aubertin / Miguel Gauthier (Macdonald-Cartier)
5th - Chase Baronette / Braedan Baronette (St Charles)

Junior Girls Doubles
1st - Mila Beljo / Mattia Mullen (Lo-Ellen)
2nd - Lia Gallo / Rowan Frood (Lo-Ellen)
3rd - Eloise Gibson / Sofia Bertrand (Notre-Dame)
4th - Shyla McCutcheon / Makenna Tilbury (Bishop Carter)
5th - Cora Dippong / Ella Lochschmidt (St Benedict)
5th - Mila Santo / Izabella Guignard (Marymount)

Junior Mixed Doubles
1st - Amy Janiszewsky / Brendan Deason (Macdonald-Cartier)
2nd - Lucie Steffan / Sebastien Rochon (Riv-des-Francais)
3rd - Reese Castilloux / Logan Corriveau (Horizon)
4th - Sadie Gauvreaux / Ryland Woloshyn (Lockerby)
5th - Kaydence Klentz / Joseph Leblanc (Sacré-Coeur)
5th - Kenzie Neville / Jesse Jobin (Bishop Carter)

Novice Boys Singles
1st - Maxim Coulombe (Horizon)
2nd - Ewan Huang (Lo-Ellen)
3rd - Eric Giroux (Champlain)
4th - Mitchell De Necker (Lasalle)
5th - Adam Germain (Lockerby)
5th - Andre Pamular (St Charles)

Novice Girls Singles
1st - Avery Mathias (Horizon)
2nd - Jessie Fu (Lo-Ellen)
3rd - Mia Pren (St Charles)
4th - Violet Levac (Lo-Ellen)
5th - Kaya Levac (Notre-Dame)
5th - Daisy Qing (St Benedict)

Novice Boys Doubles
1st - Olivier Lapointe / Cyrus Hodak (Notre-Dame)
2nd - Izyck Boudreau / Félix Paquette (Horizon)
3rd - Camden Poirier / Van Sakellaris (Lo-Ellen)
4th - Clark Gallinger / Max Dodge (Lockerby)
5th - Daniel Igiehon / Braeden Farrow (Bishop Carter)
5th - Mason Blay / Jaxson Gatchell (Confederation)

Novice Girls Doubles
1st - Melica Hebert / Sophie Schoppmann (Riv-des-Francais)
2nd - Abby Kauffeldt / Lexie Martin (Confederation)
3rd - Liisa Bertrand / Kalyssa Gibson (Notre-Dame)
4th - Isabella Moretta / Marissa Ominika (St Charles)
5th - Mercia Thompson / Tiara Abraham (Lo-Ellen)
5th - Caitlyn Giroux / Amelia Admiraal (Lively)

Novice Mixed Doubles
1st - Zoey Brazier / Xavio Cootes (Lockerby)