PREP ROUNDUP: Badminton finals, Western League track

Mylene Keophaseut outlined the most basic cause for longing to excel at badminton.

“I wished to make my father very pleased,” stated the Mira Mesa Significant senior.

Relaxation confident, Aenoi Keophaseut was sporting a 100-watt smile late Saturday afternoon. Mylene received the San Diego Segment women singles title at Canyon Hills Substantial, then right after a 30-minute break defended her coed title with Nathan Chao.

“She’s ridiculous good,” said Chao. “It’s indescribable. She’s ready to hold her own even if a guy’s on the other aspect of the net. She’s just as good.”

Keophaseut, seeded No. 1 in singles and blended doubles, dropped just one singles established in four matches. In the finals, she defeated Kearny’s Niah Watson 21-13, 21-17.

Madison’s prime-seeded Ricardo Ramirez attained the boys title, defeating upset-minded, seventh-seed Edward Yang of Torrey Pines 21-15, 21-15.

In substantial school badminton, there are singles championships, boys and women doubles, plus blended doubles. Players may perhaps only enter two gatherings. Keophaseut centered on doubles final calendar year, successful the mixed with Chao and girls doubles with his sister, Rachel.

“I come to feel like the earlier 4 years I’ve actually been staying away from singles,” reported Keophaseut.

One rationale was simply because Rachel Chao dominated singles, having dwelling two segment titles. With Rachel graduated, Mylene stepped up to participate in solo.

“Since it is my senior yr,” she claimed, “I required to toss myself in there.”

Mira Mesa mentor Alvin Mendoza claimed there are two major elements for Mylene’s results.

“She just life at the gym, pretty much,” mentioned Mendoza.

Keophaseut retains down a career, doing work at SMASH! Badminton San Diego.

“And she just has a carefree attitude,” claimed Mendoza. “When you participate in free there is not as much mental tension on your self. And it’s not that she doesn’t want to win. She needs to gain just about every stage but her approach when it arrives to enjoying is diverse than her opponent.”

Indicative of her laid-again manner, Keophaseut brought two stuffed animals to the event, a frog named Kero and an unnamed sloth.

“Do you want to name him?” she questioned a reporter.

The stuffed animals are a match ritual, though she typically arms them off to someone else.

“I’m all sweaty,” she claimed.

Sweat played a element in Ramirez’s street to the boys singles title. A 12 months ago Ramirez shed to Yang in the Eastern League tournament. On Saturday, he rolled by way of four matches with no dropping a established.

“I think (the enhancement) is because he worked so hard,” explained Madison coach Chung Kim.

At a lean 6-feet-1, Ramirez is athletic, able of twisting his physique on the run, along with a deft contact at the internet. He attributes his athleticism to taking part in soccer, starting for the Warhawks at heart-midfield the previous two many years.

The boys doubles closing was an all-Patrick Henry affair with Anthony-Hao Nguyen and Francis Hoang defeating Tim Tran and A.J. Teer 21-12, 30-29.

In ladies doubles, Kearny’s Watson and Christine Kim dealt San Diego’s Gabriela Naranjo and Nico Maruyama a 21-13, 21-18 defeat.

In the mixed doubles championship, Keophaseut and Chau defeat Henry’s Hoang and Jennifer Diep 21-18, 21-13.

The badminton crew championships will be held upcoming Saturday at Kearny Substantial.

McCormick fast again

A further significant keep track of meet, one more history for Aaliyah McCormick.

The Scripps Ranch Superior senior decreased her part 100-meter hurdle document to a wind-lawful 13.61 seconds at the Western League championships Friday night time at College Town Superior. It’s the 3rd time this time the point out chief has trimmed her individual standard of 13.85 after working 13.82 at Arcadia and then 13.77 at Mt. SAC.

She also captured the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided 11.74 seconds and gathered a personalized-ideal 43.31 in successful the 300-meter hurdles.

Teammate Lexi Evans moved again into the state lead in the ladies pole vault, clearing a own-ideal 13 ft, 10 inches to leap around El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge’s Alison Sahaida (13-9).

Norcross and Brand name are freelance writers.