Saturday belonged to the top seeds at the singles and doubles badminton state championships.

Combined, the four No. 1’s dropped only one set during their championships runs, which culminated with first place medals atop the podium at Independence High. The results held true to form, as neither No. 1 lost a regular season match.

But one of the favorites, Basha’s D-I doubles team, did have to sweat out a three-setter. Its opponent, Hamilton, wanted to avenge its only loss in the regular season, and played like it from the outset.

No. 2 seed Nihira Sane and Katheryn Yi won the first set 21-13 before seniors Amiya Hernandez and Jordyn Mee rallied in the final two sets, 21-18 and 21-17. The battle was a contrast in styles, with Hamilton’s finesse game setting the tone early.

D-I singles badminton top four finalists. 

Sane, a sophomore, won the doubles D-I title last year with a different partner. Yi is a freshmen, but Hamilton’s young and fast-footed team played like the veterans early in the match.

But after the 11-point break in the second game, the power strokes of Basha’s two seniors helped them muscle their way to the front. Hernandez’s celebrations seemed to get louder with every smash.

The softball player in Hernandez came out, because “I yell a lot,” she said.

“I was so happy that my dream of winning state came true,” said Hernandez, who lost the doubles title with another partner while she was at Perry last year.

This season, Hernandez teamed up with a calming force, Mee, who suffered a serious knee injury her freshman year. Saturday’s championship victory was the first for Mee.

“I’m so proud of not only myself but also my whole team for encouraging me to keep going and working on my agility,” Mee said. “And also it’s just great that I have a partner who I can just rely on.”

Watching the match intently was Mee’s coach, Warren.

Warren has seen Mee’s trials firsthand.

“Incredible,” said Warren, Mee's dad. “It’s been a long time coming. All I said was ‘Finally. We got it.’”

Hamilton's Samiya Bodhanker capped her singles high school with her second title in three seasons after defeating 2nd seed Lekha Shrivastava of Desert Vista 21-13, 21-16.

D-I singles top four finalists. 

Bodhanker didn't drop a single set (38-0) this year. The senior with an all-court game will lead Hamilton into next week’s team tournament as the favorite. 

In the D-II singles tournament, Prescott’s Riley Crockett also dominated this season and throughout her decorated 4-year career. Crockett beat Sunrise Mountain’s Hannah Winschel 21-17, 21-14 to take first place.

The final four for D-II singles. 

In D-II doubles, freshman Lian Pan and senior Naiya Laux likely became the first team to win a badminton championship for Marcos de Niza.

Naiya was ranked No. 1 at Marcos de Niza, but that was until Pan enrolled at the school. The senior took the demotion in stride, and kept her focus on becoming a champ.

Pan and Laux defeated Ironwood’s Madison Nguyen and Melanie Flores 21-17, 21-13 in the D-II final.

The D-II state tournament's final four. 

“I’m feeling good,” Pan said. “I’m happy.”

Laux echoed the sentiment.

“It was surreal,” Laux said. “We won the (final) and I was ready to play another point. And then I realized we won. It was such a great experience.”

Marcos de Niza dropped badminton in 1982, but the very dedicated Claudia Ramirez lobbied to restart the program. In 2015, Ramirez’s efforts to give students more opportunities were rewarded.

At the start, Marcos de Niza’s badminton players used PE equipment and old tennis uniforms, but upgrades were made. That was evident Saturday as Ramirez, Marcos de Niza’s badminton coach, celebrated with her champions in the stands.

Valley Vista’s Sadrach Aispuro Bojorquez Jr. and his partner, Noah Schwartz, also won’t soon forget what they experienced Saturday.

Valley Vista’s Sadrach Aispuro Bojorquez Jr. and his partner, Noah Schwartz (in purple), and Westwood's Griffin Daw and Nathaniel Burke had plenty of reasons to smile Saturday. 

They were crowned Unified badminton champions after their match with another invaluable pair, Westwood partner Griffin Daw and athlete Nathaniel Burke.

“Teamwork, and you can say we love each other like a family,” said Bojorquez about what makes his team great.

Standing near Bojorquez and Schwartz was a really proud coach, Chris York, as his team was interviewed. York and his wife, Karin, are superstars in Unified’s close-knit sports community.

“The experience is really great,” Schwartz said. “It’s a lot harder than people think. It’s definitely underestimated when you say special Olympic sports. When you come out here it’s a real challenge. We definitely had our lows, but our highs outweighed that, and we came out on top.”