Sport: YEAR 8 BADMINTON 

BOYS MAKE STATE FINALS

Our Year 8 Boys are Hume Region Champions, after dominating yesterday’s Badminton tournament at the Shepparton Sports Stadium, to be crowned the best of 40 schools in our region.

 

The boys (#1 Seed Clarence Lampa, #2 Hugh Spring, # 3 Jeremy Bagley, #4 Lachlan Downing and # 5 Zach Wills) won 17 of their 18 games, blitzing Cobram Anglican Grammar 5-1 (122-85), Myrtleford P-12 College 6-0 (126-35) and last year’s ChampionsAlexandra Secondary College 6-0 (126-76), to book a spot at the State Championships in Melbourne on September 13th, as one of the Top 8 teams in Victoria.

 

Not bad for a group of boys that had never played the sport until this year. A great story of natural sporting talent mixed with committment to regular self-driven training in our Sport Centre. They have trained, almost every single Lunchtime (and sometimes "both" breaks) since they won the Upper Hume title on 3rd June.

 

They are our 3rd Badminton team to make the State Finals in 3 years. Last year our Year 8 Girls made it for their 2nd year in a row, after making it in Year 7 as well.

 

Their Hume Champion pennant is hanging up on our Wall Of Champions in the Sport Centre. It's our 3rd Hume pennant for 2024, to go along with two Runner-Ups.

 

For Lampa, Bagley & Wills, it's their 2nd Hume title and trip to Melbourne for State this year, after also claiming the Lawn Bowls title.

 

For Lampa who also made the State Cross Country, it's actually his 3rd trip to Melbourne for State this year. Just las week he won Age Group Chanpion at our Athletics Day. Quite the year for the all-round dynamo.

 

Special thanks to Sandy "Newmo" Newman for driving the boys yesterday, and Michelle Wilson for the use of her 7-seater car to get them there at a low cost.

 

Big thanks also to P.E teacher Alex Johnson who spent considerable time during Lunchtime's giving the boys tips. Alex was a State Finals Badmintonrepresentative himself when a student here.

 

We have had one Badminton ever win the State Title. That was 1988, 26 years ago, when the Senior Boys featuring current parent Glenn O'Connell.

 

Can the boys create history in September?

 

Best of luck boys 

 

Jud Mullins

Sport Coordinator