When a debate of what sports require the most athletic ability it’d be a good bet that badminton isn’t considered.

It may be overlooked, but anyone who has watched a match at the high school level in Arizona knows differently.

Agility. Hand-eye coordination. Power. Touch. Quick-twitch muscles.

It was all on display Saturday at the Division I and Division II team state championships at Desert Vista.

Hamilton won its third straight DI title, while Ironwood came away with the DII championship.

The Huskies beat Sunnyslope for the third straight year, this time is a sweep of singles, after the Vikings topped Hamilton in 2023.

“We just keep building off the previous year, but at the same time each year is different,” Hamilton coach Karen Rosales said. “I am very proud of this team to come away with the championship.

“I told them there is no such thing as a defending state champion, we’re fighting for another one.”

Hamilton won its third straight badminton title, knocking off Sunnyslope all three years. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

It’s the fourth straight year these two programs met in the finals. And that match from ’23 was referenced by both coaches with the purpose of motivation.

In that season, Hamilton won the regular season match, but Sunnyslope came away the state title.

The No. 1 Huskies won the regular season match in a clean sweep 9-0, but that didn’t matter Saturday. The No. 3 Vikings are known for their grit and showed it in topping No. 2 Red Mountain Friday night.

“We came in knowing we were going to push them, and make them earn every point,” Sunnyslope coach Sarah Sleshinger said. “These seniors were here for that (2023) championship.

“We played them tough. We took two of the matches to three sets. These girls played hard no matter what.”

Hamilton won it in the singles portion of play, and the doubles matches didn’t need to be played as No. 1 Hayley Koh, No. 2 Katheryn Yi, No. 3 Madison Sue, No. 5 Sunan Zhang and No. 6 Sanika Deshmukh won their matches, while No. 4 Allison Sue didn’t have to finish her match.

The Vikings were represented by No. 1 Lelia Cody, No. 2 Molly Nordstrom, No. 3 Kaitlyn Windtberg, No. 4 Clare Moore, No. 5 Romy Hoffecker and No. 6 Macy Magnuson.

Hamilton’s Koh, who was drawn to the sport after seeing a match on YouTube, said winning it as senior was vital to walking away from the sport knowing she kept the tradition going for the Huskies.

“We ended our careers with a state title and we will always remember that,” Koh said of her fellow senior Yi. “We will always have that memory.”

Yi, who won the individual singles title last week, said she feels like the program should be viewed along the other Hamilton programs that contend for a title each season.

“I don’t think people understand all of the hard work and how difficult it is to play badminton,” she said. “We’ve won three state titles now, and we’re one of the best at our school. I hope badminton can grow more.”

Ironwood’s title was set in motion in the Desert Vista parking lot after a surprising loss to Sunrise Mountain one year ago.

“We had a goal that started that day,” Ironwood coach Amy Hutter said. “We talked about it one the bus ride home. We felt like we let we should have won that one. We set our minds to accomplishing some things.”

A plan is just that – it still has to be executed.

And the Eagles did with precision, sweeping sets in all six matches to leave no doubt as this time around. It was the program’s fifth state title since 2020 and its seventh overall appearance.

“That was a monumental moment for a lot of the girls,” senior Sophia Tijore said of the bus ride back to the school. “In the bus, we knew (winning state) was something we’ve done before and we can do it again. (The performance) was because we lost year; we weren’t going to going to feel like that again.”

Prescott, which won a state title in 1985, came up short once again as the Badgers finished as runners-up for the fifth time including 2022 and 2023.

As the only northern school to field a program, Prescott has to do a lot of traveling throughout the year and it ends up creating a bond within the program.

“Our girls play three months out of the year, where a lot players play all year,” Prescott Bobbi Yoder said. “Ava Block has played three months, having never played before, and what we were able to accomplish this year, playing in the championship match and take home a trophy, is pretty special.

“My girls battled. I couldn’t asked for anything more and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”  

Ironwood’s winners were No. 1 Sophia Tijore , No. 2 Madison Hutter, No. 3 Reece Naylor, No. 4 Bryanna Moser, No. 5 Ella Hartsburg and No. 6 Kartina Ulman.

Prescott’s lineup was No. 1 Annabelle Courtney, No. 2 Allison Block, No. 3 Noe Baird, No. 4 No. 4 Olivia Major, No. 5 Gwen Herbert and No. 6 Ava Block.

On this day, one where the Eagles wore onsies on Halloween, there was a new level to reach for the Eagles.

The Ironwood girls show off their personalities and team trophy. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

It was decided in a van a year ago – a championship was only acceptable outcome.

“The only place to go was up,” Tijore said. “We put in the work. I play tennis (in the spring) but I could see them conditioning. Losing in the state finals was a really big push for us and we made up for it this year.”

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Results

Division I

Singles

Haley Koh (Hamilton) def. Lelia Cody (Sunnyslope), 21-12, 21-10.

Katheryn Yi (Hamilton) def. Molly Nordstrom (Sunnyslope), 21-8, 21-6.

Madison Sue (Hamilton) def. Kaitlin Windtberg (Sunnyslope), 21-9, 15-21, 21-16.

Allison Sue (Hamilton)/Clare Moore (Sunnyslope) DNF.

Sunan Zhang (Hamilton) def. Romy Hoffecker (Sunnyslope), 21-16, 21-10.

Sanika Deshmukh (Hamilton) def. Macy Magnuson (Sunnyslope), 21-12, 21-6.

 

Division II

Sophia Tijore (Ironwood) def. Annabelle Courtney (Prescott), 21-10, 21-8.

Madison Hutter (Ironwood) def. Allison Block (Prescott), 21-12, 21-10.

Reece Naylor (Ironwood) def. Noe Baird (Prescott), 21-16, 21-15.

Bryanna Moser (Ironwood) def. Olivia Major (Prescott), 21-7, 21-10.

Ella Hartsburg (Ironwood) def. Gwen Herbert (Prescott), 21-16, 21-13.

Katrina Ulman (Ironwood) def. Ava Block (Prescott), 21-8, 21-19.