For Ruth Pecson, last year ended in disappointment. At district championships, the tournament that gets you into provincials, in the game she needed to win to qualify, she took her opponent to three sets and kept pace in the third set before falling short by just a single point.

This year, she got the results she wanted.

After battling in her pool to win twice against players from Regina and Saskatoon, then losing the third match in three sets to an athlete from Meadow Lake, Pecson advanced on to playoffs, being one of the top four players in the tournament.

Again, she would go to three sets against another competitor from Shellbrook but would come up short, losing her chance at gold, but moving into battle for bronze.

"Honestly, my goal this year was to just get to provincials. I didn't even think about medalling or anything like that but the fact that I got there and there was a little bonus of getting bronze and getting that banner was the perfect way to end the season."

And that's exactly what she did. After being disappointed with a loss in the qualifier a year before, Pecson battled through adversity to get on top in the bronze medal game and take control all the way to a bronze medal finish and brings a banner back to the ECS gym.

"It's the best of the best. Out of all of the people who started at the beginning of the season, there were only 64 players there throughout all of the categories, so to be apart of the elite and those people who have excelled throughout their high school badminton careers this year is a great opportunity, but for me I just tried to keep an open mind and deliver what I've done all season and treat it like a normal tournament."

Sheena Summers has been one of her coaches over the last few years as Pecson has grown as a player, and she couldn't be more proud.

"She definitely had the skill all the way along and we finally got her to the point she needed to be. She's obviously a great athlete, works hard, doesn't really need to be coached, knows what to do, and so Kevin Daoust and I are her head coaches and we couldn't be more proud of her."

Pecson is heading to the University of Saskatchewan once she graduates this year.