Edina beats St. Paul Johnson to win fourth straight girls badminton state tournament

For the third consecutive year, Edina and St. Paul Johnson met in the girls badminton state tournament championship match. And for the third consecutive year, Edina was the victor.

On Wednesday on its home court, Edina won 4-3, completing a third consecutive undefeated season at 19-0 to secure the program’s fourth title in a row.

The accomplishment wasn’t without drama. Edina needed wins in each of the final two matches to win.

The Hornets’ No. 1 doubles pair of Ella Burke and Daisy Hennington-Hoff were in the third set, while No. 4 singles player Kate Lesourd was in her second set when other teammates began to gather around their courts.

Burke and Hennington-Hoff defeated Johnson’s Gaonou Vang and Angelina Thao to win the best-of-three match by taking the third set, 21-15, putting pressure on Lesourd, a first-time state tournament participant.

“When everyone started crowding our court, I was like: ‘Oh my gosh. We’re the final game,’” Burke said. “The more they cheered, the more I thought this was really happening.”

Lesourd didn’t know she was playing for the deciding point until her teammates tackled her after she defeated KangNang Thao in two sets.

“When [everyone crowded around] my game, too, I started getting the suspicion that I may be the deciding match,” Lesourd said. “I didn’t know, but I got the hint. It was so loud, though.”

Edina’s Aarushi Bhatnagar beat Amelia Her in the No. 2 singles match, and Ariana Yang won her No. 3 singles match over Kelly Sheen to give Edina its first two victories.

The Governors (15-3) earned three points with wins by No. 1 singles player Amanda Her, No. 2 doubles pair Shalisha Vang and Krystal Moua, and No. 3 doubles pair Cammie Yang and Aliya Vang.

For 23 years, from 1999 to 2022, a St. Paul public school team was either crowned champion or runner-up at the girls badminton state tournament. That streak ended in 2023 when Edina defeated Burnsville in the tournament final.

“I would have to attribute everything to my players. They are the ones that are playing,” Hornets first-year head coach Zoe Chan said. “As a coach, we help them with their skills. But, in the end, it is their strong will [and] their hard work that actually paid off. All credit goes to them.”

The Hornets and Governors reached the final with 6-1 wins over their semifinal opponents. St. Paul Como Park (which lost to Edina in the semifinals) defeated St. Paul Harding 4-3 in the third-place match.

Johnson has the most badminton state titles with 12, followed by Harding with eight.

STATE TOURNAMENT TEAM RESULTS

MAY 13

Championship

Edina 4, St. Paul Johnson 3

Singles

Amanda Her, Johnson, def Evelyn Ge 21-19, 21-13

Aarushi Bhatnagar, Edina, def Amelia Her 21-16, 21-16

Ariana Yang, Edina, def Kelly Sheen 21-17, 21-13

Katie Lesourd, Edina, def KangNang Thao 21-11, 21-19

Doubles

Daisy Hennington-Hoff/Ella Burke, Edina, def Gaonou Vang/Angelina Thao 21-11, 13-21, 21-15

Shalisha Vang /Krystal Moua, Johnson, def Caitlin Ashton/Reese Dakin 21-19, 21-16

Cammie Yang/Aliya Vang, Johnson, def Cadyn Woon/Jeevika Aggarwal 21-13, 21-9

Third place

St. Paul Como Park 4, St. Paul Harding 3

Singles

Niko Solheid, CP, def Gao Zhia Vue 22-20, 19-21, 21-18

Tsuki Solheid, CP, def Paige Xiong 21-18, 16-21, 21-17

La Ku Shine, CP, def Ivory Xiong 21-11, 21-15

Sada Gobena, CP, def Alexzandria Lewis 15-21, 21-19, 21-18

Doubles

Harding won 3-0

Semifinals

Edina 6, St. Paul Como Park 1

Singles

Evelyn Ge, Edina, def. Nico Solheid 16-21, 21-NA, 21-16

Tsuki Solheid, Como Park def. Aarushi Bhatnagar 21-19, 17-21, 21-14

Ariana Yang, Edina, def. La Ku Shine 21-9, 21-11

Katie Lesourd, Edina, def. Sada Gobena 21-14, 21-11

Doubles

Daisy Hennington-Hoff/Ella Burke, Edina, def. Asta Ket/Lana Yang 21-11, 21-13

Caitlin Ashton/Reese Dakin, Edina, def. Persephone Yang/Emma Kue 21-9, 21-10

Cadyn Woon/Jeevika Aggarwal, Edina, def. Nally See/Say Blue 10-21, 21-12, 21-15

St. Paul Johnson 6, St. Paul Harding 1

Singles

Amanda Her, Johnson, def. Gao Zhia Vue, 21-18 15-21, 21-19

Amelia Her, Johnson, def. Paige Xiong, 15-21, 21-10, 21-13

Kelly Sheen, Johnson, def. Ivory Xiong, 21-6, 21-15

Kang Nang Thao, Johnson, def. Alexzandria Lewis, 21-15, 21-15

Doubles

Gaonou Vang/Angelina Thao, Johnson, def. Gray Mo/Cindy Yang, 21-15, 22-20

Shalisha Vang /Krystal Moua, Johnson, def. Kelly Yang/Lydia Vang, 22-20, 21-16

Chiasi Chang/Taylor Lee, Harding, def. Cammie Yang/Aliya Vang, 22-20, 15-21, 21-16

MAY 12

Second round

Edina 7, Burnsville 0

St. Paul Como Park 6, Community of Peace 1

St. Paul Harding 7, Mpls. Camden 0

St. Paul Highland Park 5, St. Paul Washington 2

St. Paul Humboldt 6, St. Paul Central 1

St. Paul Johnson 7, Wayzata 0

Math & Science 5, North St. Paul 2

Mpls. Roosevelt 4, Eden Prairie 3

Quarterfinals

Edina 6, Mpls. Roosevelt 1

St. Paul Como Park 4, St. Paul Highland Park 3

St. Paul Harding 7, Math & Science 0

St. Paul Johnson 7, St. Paul Humboldt 0

MAY 11

First round

Burnsville 6, Bloomington Kennedy 1

Community of Peace 4, Tartan 3

Eden Prairie 7, Eagle Ridge Academy 0

Mpls. Camden 5, Park Center 2

Mpls. Roosevelt 7, Hiawatha Collegiate 0

North St. Paul 7, Mpls. North 0

St. Paul Central 7, Mpls. South 0

St. Paul Washington 5, Mpls. Edison 2

Wayzata 4, Minnetonka 3