Badminton sectionals were held this week, allowing a sport that saw its season canceled last spring, a chance to compete in a state series. Sectional success for our local badminton teams is the subject of the latest edition of Fast Facts, presented by BMO Harris Bank.
The state badminton tournament has been held annually since 1977. The first local team to win a sectional plaque was Naperville North in 1978, back when a sectional was called a District Championship.
The Huskies have 16 sectional titles in their trophy case including ten consecutive plaques dating back to 2010.
The most sectional championships in the area belongs to Naperville Central. The Redhawks have racked up 24 sectional crowns, with the first coming in 1984 and most recently in 2019.
Neuqua Valley has six first place sectional finishes of its own, winning one for the first time in 2006. Nine years later, the Wildcats won the 2015 sectional championship, beginning a run of five consecutive sectional wins.
Metea Valley is the newest badminton program and also the most recent to earn a sectional title. MV tied for first in the 2016 sectional championship, sharing the crown with Hinsdale Central.
While it took a couple decades to build their programs, there is little doubt that the road to sectional glory in girls badminton now runs through Naperville.
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