Here is a recap of the 2026 badminton season with a closer look at state tournament numbers
WINNING STREAK
Johnson holds the top honors with a 75 dual match winning streak stretching across four seasons 2016 to 2019. Washington was the last to beat them on April 12, 2016 and the Eagles ended the streak with a 4-3 victory on May 3, 2019.
Edina’s current total is 64 over the past four seasons. The Hornets need eleven wins to tie that mark. Twelve more wins and the record will belong to the Green. It could happen during the 2027 season.
Johnson 2016-19 75
Edina 2023-26 64
Johnson 2012-14 47
Harding 2008-10 43
Harding 2005-08 40
2026 Final Season Records
The 2026 season saw an increase in the number of teams to 32 with the addition of Wayzata and Community School of Excellence. The Trojans ended up with a winning record at 7-6. The Mighty Ones are still searching for their first win.
During the year Fridley picked up their first win as a program.
SAINT PAUL
| SCHOOL | CW | CL | TW | TL | SW | SL | DW | DL |
| Johnson | 11 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 74 | 27 | 64 | 14 |
| Harding | 11 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 70 | 30 | 68 | 13 |
| Como Park | 7 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 71 | 32 | 30 | 44 |
| Humboldt | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 54 | 37 | 19 | 48 |
| Highland Park | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 37 | 56 | 52 | 22 |
| Central | 3 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 35 | 47 | 20 | 43 |
| Washington | 1 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 18 | 59 | 19 | 41 |
MINNEAPOLIS
| SCHOOL | CW | CL | TW | TL | SW | SL | DW | DL |
| Roosevelt | 12 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 92 | 24 | 62 | 28 |
| Camden | 10 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 53 | 35 | 51 | 19 |
| Edison | 8 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 54 | 22 | 38 | 21 |
| North | 4 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 50 | 19 | 36 |
| South | 4 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 52 | 13 | 36 |
| Southwest | 2 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 44 | 7 | 41 |
| Washburn | 2 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 51 | 7 | 42 |
SUBURBAN
| SCHOOL | CW | CL | TW | TL | SW | SL | DW | DL |
| Edina | 9 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 76 | 15 | 65 | 9 |
| Eden Prairie | 8 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 43 | 29 | 38 | 18 |
| North St. Paul | 5 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 42 | 33 | 31 | 27 |
| Wayzata | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 35 | 24 | 19 |
| Burnsville | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 34 | 38 | 12 | 41 |
| Kennedy | 3 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 53 | 13 | 40 |
| Park Center | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 27 |
| Tartan | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 43 | 25 | 14 |
| Minnetonka | 2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 33 | 18 | 29 |
| Fridley | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 3 | 20 |
CHARTERS/PRIVATES
| SCHOOL | CW | CL | TW | TL | SW | SL | DW | DL |
| Community of Peace | 9 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 50 | 13 | 23 | 24 |
| Math & Science | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 49 | 37 | 53 | 16 |
| Prairie Seeds | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 12 |
| Hmong CPA | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 30 | 16 | 31 |
| Twin City Academy | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 17 | 8 | 16 |
| Hiawatha | 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 48 | 12 | 26 |
| Eagle Ridge | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 19 |
| Com. School of Excellence | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 14 |
CW conference wins; CL conference losses
TW total wins; TL total losses
SW singles wins; SL singles losses
DW doubles wins; DL doubles losses
Interesting to note that the St. Paul conference had four of the five listings in singles. Only two St. Paul teams made the doubles list. Three schools made both lists: Edina, Johnson and Roosevelt.
TEAM SINGLES WINS
- Roosevelt 92
- Edina 76
- Johnson 74
- Como Park 71
- Harding 70
TEAM DOUBLES WINS
- Harding 68
- Edina 65
- Johnson 64
- Roosevelt 62
- Math & Science 53
CW conference wins; CL conference losses
TW total wins; TL total losses
SW singles wins; SL singles losses
DW doubles wins; DL doubles losses
THE WEEK IN NUMBERS
TEAM MATCHES: 25 all state tournament
SINGLES
INDIVIDUAL MATCHES 164
2 SETS: 131 (.799)
3 SETS: 33 (.201)
TOTAL SETS: 295
MATCHES DECIDED 10+: 63 (.384)
MATCHES DECIDED 3-: 28 (.171)
EXTRA POINT SETS: 21 (9-10-2) (.071)
BIGGEST MARGIN: 20.00 Gao Zhia Vue, Harding1 v Hiawatha1 Thursday, state singles, round 1
SMALLEST MARGIN: -3.00 Aleena Vue, Washington4 v Nahomi Aregawi, Highland Park4, Tuesday, Sweet 16 Round, team state tournament
| CATEGORY | AVE | OP AVE | MARGIN |
| Overall | 20.76 | 12.53 | 8.23 |
| 1S | 20.86 | 12.42 | 8.44 |
| 2S | 20.78 | 12.61 | 8.17 |
| 3S | 20.72 | 12.95 | 7.77 |
| 4S | 20.53 | 12.08 | 8.45 |
DOUBLES
INDIVIDUAL MATCHES: 139
2 SETS: 109 (.784)
3 SETS: 30 (.216)
TOTAL SETS: 232
EXTRA POINT SETS: 12 (9-3-0) (.052)
MATCHES DECIDED BY 10+: 58 (.417)
MATCHES DECIDED BY 3-: 26 (.187)
BIGGEST MARGIN: 18.50 (2x) last: Caitlin Ashton / Reese Dakin, Edina2 v Hmong2 Thursday
SMALLEST MARGIN: 0.33 (4x) last: Chiasi Chang / Taylor Lee, Harding3 v Johnson3 Wednesday
| CATEGORY | AVE | OP AVE | MARGIN |
| Overall | 20.72 | 12.36 | 8.36 |
| 1D | 20.79 | 11.44 | 9.35 |
| 2D | 20.70 | 12.95 | 7.75 |
| 3D | 20.59 | 13.30 | 7.30 |
SCHOOL WIN LEADERS SINGLES / DOUBLES IN 2026
Below are each school’s top win totals in singles or doubles for 2026. If only one is listed at doubles it is because that individual had wins with multiple partners.
Bold indicate 20 or more wins.
| SCHOOL | SINGLES | DOUBLES |
| Burnsville | Viollet Ruano 11 | Hailey Amado-Mendoza, Kim Geniz 6 |
| Camden | Tia Koelndorfer 18 | Aleena Yang / Diana Vang;
Anne Thao / Michelle Vang 16 |
| Central | Kaitlyn Galeazzi 10 | Jia Becker 8 |
| Community of Peace | Jenny Lee, Chelsey Xiong 14 | Ryoko Yang / Nyobe Soa 9 |
| Community School of Excellence | none | Olivia / Maddy 1 |
| Como Park | Tsuki Solheid 27 | Asta Ket / Lana Yang 13 |
| Eagle Ridge | Harini Meenakshisundaram, Kaitlyn Nolan,
Margaret Vassar 3 |
Hafsa Elmi / Aarya Basina 2 |
| Eden Prairie | Vivian Nguyen 12 | Alexa Bernardy/ Ashtyn Bernardy; Akshaya Balamurali 12 |
| Edina | Ariana Yang 21 | Ella Burke 25 |
| Edison | Lisa Vickers 16 | Muwahib Warsame 16 |
| Fridley | Nex Nguyen 3 | Charlotte Gellert / Hanan Barisa;
Gavin Houssein / Anna Johnson; Hannah / Victoria 1 |
| Harding | Gaozhia Vue 25 | Kelly Yang / Lydia Vang 25 |
| Hiawatha | Alondra, Nayeli N 1 | Carmen Hanson / Itzel Gomez Pizano 5 |
| Highland Park | Nica Johnson 17 | Violet Solem Valentine 22 |
| Hmong Academy | Cody Thao 10 | Sienna Lo / Karina Vang;
Anna Yang; Evelyn Thao 5 |
| Humboldt | Lah Sher Poe 17 | Lwe Paw / Way Ber Paw 12 |
| Johnson | Amanda Her 25 | Gaonou Vang / Angelina Thao 21 |
| Kennedy | Abby Sahadeo 7 | Sumaya Abdulkadir 6 |
| Math & Science | Emily Balandin 15 | Sanjana Tatikonda / Sathvika Tatikonda;
Aadhya Patel / Mihiria Kanukurthy 17 |
| Minnetonka | Isabel Chen 10 | Anna Schuster / Jenna Marsolek 6 |
| Minneapolis North | Darla Fernandez-Moncayo, Kymani McLane-Taylor,
Na Lee 5 |
Azziah Foots 8 |
| North St. Paul | Lauren Lee 15 | Kabnag Vang 12 |
| Park Center | Suzan Lee Solima 9 | Linda Thao / Nikita Yang 7 |
| Prairie Seeds | Alyssa Yang, Diana Moua, Mai Choua 3 | Maddie Her / Kafoua Yang 7 |
| Roosevelt | Mollie Anderson 26 | Abideya Akalewold / Ella Fremstad 26 |
| South | Maleli Van Pelt 5 | Coraline Meyer; Frances Duffy 6 |
| Southwest | Maya Schramm 8 | Addie Babler 4 |
| Tartan | Angel Lee, Ya Youa Vang 3 | Evylynn Yang 9 |
| Twin City Academy | Belinda Vu, Xingying Li 4 | Kham Lwin 3 |
| Washburn | Lily Brauer 4 | Ximena Contreras 4 |
| Washington | Ceferina Xiong 5 | Celina Paw / Enli Zabeth 8 |
| Wayzata | Inaaya Afsheen,
Samuela Anto 5 |
Tenzin Kalsang / Tharuni Chilkuri 10 |
2026 SINGLES LEADERBOARD
Here is the updated leaderboard for most career wins. The list starts with 40 singles wins. Doubles wins are not included. Wins are counted at all four positions. This is not limited to first singles wins. That list would be different. Now I am slowly adding other years, records include 2014-2019, 2021-25—-that makes 12 years total (minus 2020 the virus year).
CAREER WIN LEADER
- Phlower Vang, Highland Park 84
- Gao Zhia Vue, Harding 69
- Hazel Dang, Edina 64
- Sunshine Vang, Highland Park 64
- Aarushi Bhatnagar, Edina 63
- Mollie Anderson, Roosevelt 58
- Niko Solheid, Como Park 56
- Emily Balandin, Math & Science 55
- Ester Htoo, Harding 54
- Khao Nou Lor, Johnson 54
- Tenzin Tsephel, Edina 54
- May Garvey, Central 53
- Cinderella Nwe, Washington 53
- Sophia Mitchell, Roosevelt 51
- Pa Di Moua, Johnson 51
- Tsuki Solheid, Como Park 51
- Nuhchi Chah, Johnson 49
- Yer Moua, Central 49
- Star Thao, Johnson 49
- HaNeul Jeong-McDonnel, HP 48
- Nica Johnson, Highland Park 48
- Amelia Larson, Edison 48
- Jansaree Na, Washington 48
- Bebe Say, Washington 48
- Evelyn Ge, Edina 45
- Nag Poe, Como Park 44
- Gaozhia Vue, Harding 44
- Maddie Blackbourn, Burnsville 46
- Manee Chang, Washington 43
- Su Meh, Johnson 43
- Kanlaya Thao, Harding 42
- Amanda Her, Johnson 42
- Pa Nhia Her, Johnson 41
- Xee Lee, Como Park 41
- Tu Lor Paw, Como Park 40
- Sandy Vang, Johnson 40
AMANDA HER’S CAREER
Here is 2026 State singles champion Amanda Her’s record over the last two years (wins-losses, margin per set). Her is a senior from Johnson. Her is the first(?) player that moved from 4th singles one year to state champion the next.
By Year
2025 17-7 4.23
2026 25-4 6.87
By position
1st singles 25-4 5.84
2nd singles 0-0
3rd singles 0-0
4th singles 17-7 4.23
Overall: 42-11 5.68
Lost first set record: 1-8
Three set match record: 5-3
Extra point wins
1st set: 2
2nd set: 2
3rd set: none
Amanda Her’s path to the crown. This marks the second straight year where an unorthodox pattern has emerged: a fourth singles player rises to the top of the list. Both times Johnson led the way. Both Su Meh (during the 2024 season) and now Amanda Her (during 2025) spent all or some time as a fourth singles player.
Who was the fourth singles for Johnson this year? Kelly Sheen who eventually moved to third singles and then had a strong postseason performance with a final four showing in the St. Paul City Tournament and then making the quarterfinals.
Here is Her’s path at state
Round 1: 2 set win over Bri Castellanos, Hiawatha1
Round 2: 2 set win over Allie Lor, North St. Paul1
Sweet 16: 2 set win over Say Paw Htoo, Humboldt2
Quarters: 2 set win over Paige Xiong, Harding2
Semis: 2 set win over Tsuki Sholheid, Como Park2
Championship: 2 set win over Gao Zhia Vue, Harding1
Her did not lose a set in her march to the title. She held opponents to single digits in six of the twelve sets. The tightest match she had was the championship with Vue with the margin 3 points. The closest set score came in the first set of the quarterfinals with Paige Xiong of Harding 23-21. She had one more extra point set with the second set in the championship 22-20 with Vue.
During the course of Her’s career, there was one player that she never beat: Ariana Yang of Edina (third singles). Her was 0-3 in 2025 against Yang.
Her finished her career with a twelve game winning streak. Her last loss was to Vue in the St. Paul City Championships on May 7.
DOUBLES LEADERBOARD 2026
Here are the overall leaders for doubles in 2026. Records only include 2021-25. I hope to add the other years (2014-2019) like singles added this year.
OVERALL
- Sanna Coma, Edina 89
- Ivy Peterson, Edina 88
- Alice Verbrugge, Highland Park 73
- Ella Burke, Edina 67
- Violet Solem Valentine, Highland Park 64
- Daisy Hennington-Hoff, Edina 63
- Birdy Xiong, Johnson 60
- Bergen Pickett, Edina 59
- Ayida Akalewold, Roosevelt 58
- Abigeya Akalewold, Roosevelt 53
- Ella Fremstad, Roosevelt 51
- Josepheena Thao, Johnson 51
- Nou Gee Xiong, Johnson 51
- Juman Alkhatib, Edina 50
- Faith Moua, Johnson 48
- Katie Murray, Burnsville 46
- Natalie Portwood, Burnsville 45
- Alexis Xiong, Johnson 44
- Dao Sangwang, Johnson 43
- Adri Tacheny, Math & Science 42
- Leah Merid, Burnsville 41
- Maire McCartney-Jeffries, Roosevelt 40
- Abby Putz, Highland Park 40
- Aleena Yang, Camden/Henry 40
- Aniya Vang, Camden/Henry 40
GAONOU VANG’S CAREER
Here is Gaonou Vang’s record over the last 3 years (wins-losses, margin per set)
It should be noted that Vang played singles (4th in 2004, 2nd in 2025) where her record was 29-5.
That would make her over Johnson W-L record 51-7.
By Year
2024 1-0 8.00
2026 21-2 8.69
totals: 22-2 8.66
By position
1st doubles 21-2 8.69
2nd doubles 1-0 8.00
3rd doubles none
overall: 22-2 8.66
Lost first set: 1-2
three set matches: 1-2 0.11
Extra point wins
1st set: 2-0
2nd set: 1-0
3rd set: 0-1
By partner
Anastasia 1-0
Angelina Thao 20-2
Shalisha Vang 1-0
Total 22-2
ANGELINA THAO’S CAREER
By year
2024 3-0 7.56
2026 20-2 8.92
Totals: 89-8 8.51
By position
1st doubles 80-4 8.92
2nd doubles none
3rd doubles 3-0 7.56
Lost first set: 2-2
three set matches: 2-2 0.00
Extra point wins
1st set: 1-0
2nd set: 1-0
3rd set: 1-1
By partner
Kathy Moua 3-0
Gaonou Vang 20-2
Total 23-2 8.76
Vang & Thao’s path the title:
Round 1: two set win over Fridley1
Round 2: two set win over Math & Science3
Sweet 16: two set win over Harding3
Quarterfinals: two set win over Roosevelt1
Semifinals: two set win over Edina2
Championship: two set win over Edina1
Vang and Thao made their first appearance together in 2026 on April 14 at Edina where they lost to the Hornet’s number one doubles pair of Daisy Hennington-Hoff and Ella Burke in three sets. That meant a month of the season was over and about a month remained. V&T then ran off 14 straight wins before HH&B again topped the Govs in the team title bout. Revenge was had the next day.
V&T held opponents to single digits in seven of the twelve sets. Only Ashton & Dakin of Edina2 reached double digits in both sets. That also happened to be the closest match with a margin of 8 points. The rest of the margins were double digits. The most points the Governor pair allowed was 15, once in the first set to Ashton & Dakin in the semis and also to Roosevelt in the quarters.
V&T finished their careers with a six game winning streak.
POSITION SCHOOL LEADERS
SINGLES WINS (2014-2019, 2021-2026)
Johnson 942
Harding 694
Edina 682
Washington 641
Como Park 557
Highland Park 521
DOUBLES WINS (2014-2019, 2021-2026)
Johnson 803
Edina 570
Washington 544
Harding 532
Burnsville 386
Como Park 379
COACHING RECORDS
CAREER WINS
This is just the St. Paul coaches listed so far. This is not complete by any stretch.
Have missing records? Send them to kja8067@gmail.com.
346 Tracy Hrouda, Harding (1997-2022)
197 Brian Reinhardt, Central (2000-2024)
187 Mark Fischbach, Johnson (2013-2023)
162 Marcus Lane, Washington (2012-2026)
98 Gary Whipple, Como Park / Johnson (1985-2007)
91 Wayne Hopkins, Como Park (1980-2004)
SEASONS
25 Tracy Hrouda, Harding (1997-2022)
24 Brian Reinhardt, Central (2000-2024)
19 Charles Skinner, Highland Park (1978-1996)
18+ John Becker, Eden Prairie (200?-2026)
18 Gary Whipple, Como Park (1985-1993), Johnson (1999-2007)
17 Bobbi Fitzenberger, Highland Park (1997-2013)
16 Wayne Hopkins, Como Park (1980-1984; 1994-2004)
MORE STATE TOURNAMENT FUN FACTS
SINGLES
In the first round two players lost the first set and came back to win. Two players lost in the second set and won. There were four three set matches in the first round.
In the second round One player lost in the second set and ended up winning. There was one three set match in round two.
The third or Sweet 16 Round again had two players lose in the second set before coming back to win the match. The same scenario played out in the quarterfinals where a player lost in the second before staging a comeback in the third set. The semis were both two setters. The third place game went to three sets with the winner (Niko v Tsuki) losing the first set.
The longest point total in any singles match came in the second set of the Sweet 16 Round with Sophia Mitchell of Roosevelt getting a 24-22 win over Evelyn Ge of Edina. Ge went on to win the third set.
This was the fourth time in tournament history where a Governor beat a Knight in the final. The other years were 2018 when Nou Chee Yang beat Jumy Miko and then 2009 when Olamide Fadahunsi beat Stephanie King. Both of those matches were two sets. Last year Johnson’s Su Meh topped Gao Zhia Vue in three sets.
The average scores for sets
1: 20.9 to 12.2, two sets went to extra points
2: 20.5 to 12.9, four sets went to extra points
3: 21.0 to 13.4, no sets went to extra points.
SINGLES STAT BREAKDOWN
Here are the breakdowns with records and margins for the state tournament.
BY POSITION
FIRST SINGLES 36-28 1.39
SECOND SINGLES 20-28 -1.86
THIRD SINGLES 8-8 -0.38
The won loss record mirrors 2025 but the margins don’t. First singles improved their totals while second and third declined.
There were overachievers in the third singles category with two players reaching the quarterfinals. Kelly Sheen of Johnson upset #4 Mollie Anderson of Roosevelt in the sweet 16 round. Ariana Yang of Edina bumped off two charter school players that had hopes of reaching the quarters: Jenny Lee of Community of Peace and Emily Balandin of Math & Science. No Minneapolis or Charter player reached the quarters again. The last time a charter made the quarters was 2014. The last time a Minneapolis player made the quarters was 2011. The hex/jinx/curse continues.
BY CONFERENCE
CHARTER 5-11 -5.69 2-10 -7.16
MINNEAPOLIS 8-13 -3.53 3-14 -8.15
ST. PAUL 36-21 3.09 39-19 3.22
SUBURBAN 15-19 -0.50 20-21 0.34
Two conferences improved their standings: the Charter and Minneapolis. Still St. Paul is the one to beat. They were the only conference with a winning record and positive margin overall. St. Paul had three fewer wins than in 2025 and their margin dropped slightly by 0.13. The biggest improvement came with Minneapolis moving from three wins to eight, an improvement of five wins. Roosevelt was responsible for five of those wins. Still that puts the City of Lakes in third place behind the Suburban with 15 wins. The Charters also improved by three wins.
BY ROUND
ROUND 1 20.73-10.77 9.97 20.32-10.03 10.29
ROUND 2 20.94-12.93 8.01 20.67-15.33 5.33
SWEET 16 20.71-13.83 6.88 20.19-16.14 4.05
QUARTERS 21.08-14.83 6.25 21.13-15.63 5.50
SEMIS 21.00-15.50 5.50 21.00-13.25 7.75
1/3 20.75-18.42 2.33 21.83-17.83 4.00
Looking at the competitiveness across each round we see that round 1, the semis, and 1/3 place rounds were all tighter than 2025. No margin was larger than 10. The tightest round came in the 1/3 place round with a slim 2.33 differential.
DOUBLES
There were four players that lost the first set and went on to victory with wins in round 1, round 2, the Sweet 16 and semis. Eight times teams lost the second set before turning it around and winning the final set.
13 matches went to three sets. Edina’s Caitlin Ashton and Reese Dakin got their money’s worth as they played in three three set matches winning all three. Once they lost the first set in round 2; they then lost in the second set in the Sweet 16 round and third place game.
The longest set of the day came in the first set with Alice Verbrugge and Violet Solem-Valentine of Highland Park with a 26-24 victory over Kelly Yang and Lydia Vang of Harding in the quarterfinals.
This was the third time a Johnson pair met their rivals from Edina in the last four years. Birdy Xiong & Alexis Xiong won in 2023. Ivy Peterson and Sanna Coma of Edina turned it around in 2024. Gaonou Vang and Angelina Thao now make it 2-1 Johnson over Edina in a final confrontation.
The average scores for sets
1: 21.0 to 12.4 one set went to extra points.
2: 20.3 to 12.2 one set went to extra points
3: 21.0 to 13.8 no extra points sets
DOUBLES STAT BREAKDOWN
BY POSITION
FIRST DOUBLES 37-28 2.38 35-27 1.59
SECOND DOUBLES 21-28 -2.30 20-28 -1.77
THIRD DOUBLES 6-8 -2.99 8-8 -0.05
First doubles showed the biggest improvement, especially in margin, which rose by nearly 0.80 points. Second doubles improved by one win, but that gain was offset by a higher margin. Third doubles margins dropped sharply by 2.95 points.
One of the biggest overachievers was Edina’s second doubles team of Caitlin Ashton and Reese Dakin. Seeded 14th, they finished third after beating No. 3 Harding in the Sweet 16. The Hornet pair played three three-set matches—against Johnson 3, Harding 1, and Highland 1 in the third-place match. Their only loss came against eventual champions Gaonou Vang and Angelina Thao of Johnson. Ashton and Dakin finished with a margin of -8 in the semis, which was better than Edina’s top doubles team, who posted a margin of -11.5.
Also overachieving was Math & Science’s second doubles pair of Aadhya Patel and Mihira Kanukurthy. They picked up three wins and made it to the quarterfinals losing out to white hot Ashton and Dakin of Edina.
The top finish by a third doubles team was Harding’s Chiasi Chang and Taylor Lee, who reached the Sweet 16 before losing to state champions Gaonou Vang and Angelina Thao.
BY CONFERENCE
CHARTER 6-11 -3.64 1-10 -7.54
MINNEAPOLIS 5-13 -5.08 4-13 -4.41
ST. PAUL 34-19 3.10 30-19 2.13
SUBURBAN 19-21 -0.28 28-21 1.10
The Charters gained five wins, and all six of those wins came from Math & Science. M&S also improved its margin by nearly four points. The Suburban teams took a step back, losing nine wins from 2025 and finishing just below even in margin at -0.28. Edina accounted for 11 of the Suburban conference’s 19 wins with its second- and third-place finishes. St. Paul added four wins and improved its margin by nearly a full point.
Whereas Minneapolis and the Charters were stopped from the quarterfinal round, in doubles both conferences broke through. Minneapolis’ last appearance in the quarters was 2011. Abigeya Akalewold and Ella Fremstad of Roosevelt broke that ceiling. They fell to the state champs in the quarters. The Charters NEVER had made it to the quarters and Aadhya Patel and Mihira Kanukurthy of Math & Science ended that drought. They were stopped in the quarters by Edina’s Ashton & Dakin.
BY ROUND
FIRST 20.92-10.83 10.09 20.28-11.61 8.67
SECOND 20.84-12.28 8.56 20.75-14.22 6.53
SWEET 16 20.13-14.88 5.25 21.06-13.75 7.31
QUARTERS 21.63-14.25 7.38 20.50-14.60 5.90
SEMIS 20.67-13.67 7.00 20.60-14.20 6.40
1/3 19.67-12.92 6.75 20.60-16.40 4.20
The Sweet 16 was the most competitive round this year, with the lowest margin at 5.25. Margins increased from 2025 in every other round.
NEXT: 2027
Will there be more schools playing in 2027? The past two years saw two additional schools join each year. There are some schools that are in a “club” mode. It is not clear if they will take the plunge.
My advice to those schools in business is to max out your schedule. Only six schools had 20 or more matches. 21 made it past 15 matches. Five schools did not reach double digits. The school hosting could determine what day of the week to host and the number of schools to bring in. In the fall volleyball has cornered the market on Saturdays. There is no Saturday action (so far) in badminton.
My advice is for schools to host a tournament during the course of the year. There were no in season tournaments this year. Edina has hosted their invitational in the past. This would be an opportunity for more contests, more touches. I also believe the Suburban schools should host an individual tournament like St. Paul and Minneapolis the week before the state tournament. This would help prepare players for the rigors of the week to follow.