As spectators filed into the North Gym, excited for the two days of Badminton CIF Individuals on May 14 and 16, the Arcadia High School (AHS) Varsity Badminton Team and the various other teams were either warming up or engaged in competition. They never missed a beat and were fueled by the heightened energy in the room. Each player displayed persistence and skill; their achievement was truly commendable.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)  holds high school sports championships across California, and it’s no easy task to make it to Regionals. Recently, the Varsity Badminton team won the CIF Open Division, which is the highest level of CIF championships. They displayed their full ability and unity in that event and carried on their high performance to the Individuals as well.

Multiple matches took place throughout the day, and the players performed well in both the singles and doubles. In addition to Arcadia, teams from all around California participated. This included Azusa High School, Cabrillo High School, Cerritos High School, Chino Hills High School, Citrus Valley High School, Cypress High School, Diamond Bar High School, Fairmont Prep, Fountain Valley High School, Wilson High, Lakewood High School, Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Lorna Linda Academy, Loyola High School, Marina High School, Mark Keppel High School, Mira Costa High School, Nogales High School, Redlands East Valley High School, Rowland High School, San Gabriel High School, San Marino High School, Sierra Vista High School, Walnut High School, Westminster High School, and Whitney High School.

AHS placed well overall, resulting in a successful day. In mixed doubles, sophomore Lorin Leung and senior Amanda Chang came in 2nd, junior William Huang and sophomore Lea Wang in 5th, and senior Nolan Chin and senior Kaylee Chang in 6th.

“I played mixed doubles for my CIF Individuals, so for me, I played more shots to the opposing girl and also tried to hit more flat shots,” said Leung. 

In girls singles, junior Venice Zheng came in 4th place while senior Matthew Yu placed 3rd for boys singles. In girls doubles, senior Angelina Chai and freshman Chloe Kai came in 3rd, senior Leanne Cong and senior Charlene Lau in 4th, and junior Vivian Pei and freshman Melody Pei in 7th. 

“I really enjoyed cheering my teammates on and just having fun in general. The girls doubles pairing that won third played against one of our biggest opponents, Diamond Bar, and it was really interesting to watch them play as they were all really skilled. The whole event was exciting,” reflected Pei.

This season is Coach Mike Stiles’s last season as the head coach of the Apache Badminton team. He has been consecutively coaching the team since 2016.

“On a personal level, it was gratifying watching Angelina and Chloe win the last individual match of my Arcadia HS head coaching career,” said Coach Stiles.

Lastly, for boys doubles, senior Ricky Li and senior Caleb Xu came in 3rd, sophomore Howard Sun and senior William Tong in 5th, and senior Leo Lin and junior Ty Hao in 6th.

Ultimately, both days were very exciting with many must-see great performance games. The players showed up and represented AHS with pride.