By Cory Waltrip, features editor
The birdies were flying and the racquets were whacking as the Boulder High Panthers came home with yet another state championship. BHS won the Badminton State Tournament, backed by a strong second place finish in the doubles region. Sophomore Sigurd Paulsen and junior Julian Melcer lost in the final 21-16, 21-9 but propelled Boulder to their first ever badminton state championship.
“I’m really excited to win the state trophy. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, but I had a lot of fun, and we were obviously pretty successful,” Paulsen said.
Melcer said that he and Paulsen had practiced together for a couple weeks before the tournament and it really paid off.
“I don’t think we could have done as well as we did without all the hard work that we did. Badminton isn’t a very mainstream sport, but it’s really fun, and I had a great time at states,” Melcer said.
Seniors Murray Smith and Brent Lockhart didn’t get as far as Paulsen and Melcer but still excelled, reaching the quarterfinals. Smith was the goalie for the state semi-finalist soccer team and was honored for several all-star teams.
Lockhart was the center on the football team and also starts on the lacrosse team. Athletic ability was obviously not a problem for this duo, but inexperience was, Smith acknowledged.
“Sigurd and Julian both play tennis, and that experience of playing a very similar sport helped them out a lot. But I was still happy with how we did, and I’ll continue to play badminton outside of high school because it’s a great game,” Smith said.
Future badminton prospects will have to wait another year for the state championships, and it’s hoped the dynamic duo of Melcer and Paulsen will be able to return to the finals next year and keep the crown in Boulder.
