Fei Yang, Ryan Chen help Jericho earn 10th straight Nassau boys badminton title
Jericho wins the Nassau boys badminton team championship against Grea Neck South on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Plainview. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The margin of victory may be shrinking, but the clutch gene is still alive and well in Jericho boys badminton.
With all eyes in the gymnasium fixed on the last court with ongoing action, Jericho’s Fei Yang and Ryan Chen were tied at 14 in the third set with Great Neck South’s Owen Zou and Alan Hu.
Jericho’s duo pulled off a 21-18 win in the deciding set, taking the match, 20-22, 23-21, 21-18. The win gave the top-seeded Jayhawks a 4-3 victory over No. 2 Great Neck South and the program’s 10th consecutive county title.
“Before our match ended, we saw everyone finish up and walk off,” Chen said. “We knew we were the last ones, so we got kind of nervous. But we did it. The hard work paid off.”
It was the second straight year the two teams faced off, with Jericho’s fourth doubles team pulling off a victory to decide the match.
“We just tried to play every point,” Yang said. “Stop worrying about the win or loss and just give every point our all.”
The Rebels (14-3) took the first two matches as Arthur Xu defeated Aiden Chen, 21-18, 21-18, at first singles and Jason Chuck and Aidan Wu defeated the doubles county champions, Justin Liu and Henry Qiu, 21-10, 21-18, at first doubles.
“My athletic director joked with me that he’s starting to see grey hairs after these close ones,” Jericho coach Anthony LaRosa said. “These kids work so hard year-round and it pays off. Watching from the side, I had all the faith in the world that these guys would get it done.”
Jericho (17-0) took the next three matches with John Shi defeating Shenglin Tang at second singles, 21-16, 21-18. Matthew Tang and Ryan Chan defeated Kelton Yu and Jinyuan Chen, 21-17, 23-21, at second doubles and John Chen and Jinhyeok Lee grabbed a 21-18, 23-21, win over Anthony Chen and Trevon Chen at third doubles.
“I tell the kids anytime someone comes in to play us, it’s their Super Bowl,” LaRosa said. “We have to come out from the jump ready to go because we’re the reigning champs and everyone wants to knock us down. They use that as motivation. They know they’re the best because they work the hardest.”
South’s Albert Weng won at third singles, 21-17, 13-21, 21-16, over Stephen Yuan, to tie the match at 3 and shift the focus to fourth doubles.
Yang and Chen dropped a close first set but saved a match point in the second and ultimately forced a third.
“We just tried to fight off the nerves,” Chen said. “We just wanted to play every point to the best of our abilities and let the results follow.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
