Jericho gets 68th consecutive win and fourth straight Long Island badminton title
Jericho’s Jerry Haung makes a return in 10-21, 21-16, 21-12 second singles victory over Half Hollow Hills’ Brian Yun on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Credit: Dawn McCormick
It’s been 208 days since Jericho boys badminton competed for and won its eighth consecutive Nassau title. But on Wednesday, the Jayhawks had to dust off their racquets for the Long Island championship against undefeated Half Hollow Hills.
Although maybe not. After all, Jericho didn’t look rusty and the racquets certainly weren’t dusty as the Jayhawks flew their way to the team’s 68th consecutive win and fourth consecutive Long Island championship as Jericho defeated Hills, 6-1, at Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School Wednesday afternoon.
“Even though we didn’t practice for a long time, we still went to the gym together and worked out,” Jericho’s Jerry Huang said. “I think that’s what makes us ready for the battle.”
Huang dropped the first game against Hills’ Brian Yun before ultimately winning, 10-21, 21-16, 21-12, in second singles.
“I was just hitting toward him,” Huang said. “I started slowing down and telling myself, ‘It’s OK, I got this.’ ”
His final point was a memorable one, mainly for the backflip Huang pulled off right afterward as he landed with a wide smile.
“I looked at my coach [Anthony LaRosa], and I was pointing at him,” Huang said. “I was like, ‘This one’s for you.’ ”
Jonathan Chau added a 21-17, 21-10 win over Hills’ Timothy Kogan in third singles, and the first doubles duo Aiden Chen and Justin Liu won, 21-13, 21-18 over Jerry Lin and Daniel Lin.
Jericho’s depth is as deep as the talent at the top is strong, but the desire to win showed itself most at second doubles. Caleb Kao, who spent the fall season as part of the team’s first doubles, learned he would be playing with alternate Timothy Pang with just two days of practice after Kao’s partner dropped out.
Yet when trailing 20-19 in both Game 1 and Game 2, the Jericho senior duo looked as experienced as ever together as they went on to win, 24-22, 23-21, over Eric Kim and Ryan Kim. The trial-by-fire nature of the pairing made it “more special” according to Kao.
“This is my first time coming up, so it’s a nice win,” Pang said. “It’s good to be part of the team here.”
Hills (17-1) gained its only point in a battle between the two best singles players on Long Island in Jericho’s Jerry Zhang and Hills’ Rajveer Gujral, with the latter winning, 21-19, 21-17.
There was never any doubt in Jericho’s status as the best boys badminton program on Long Island, finishing the year with an 18-0 record. The only question is when that will change, and the Jayhawks haven’t shown any signs of conceding the crown just yet.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
