The 2009 BCA Junior Nationals kicked off on June 23rd with 92 players across the four divisions of play. After three days of play; it was Landon Shuffett, Brendan Crockett, Liz Lovely and Briana Miller emerging with the crowns.
The Boys 19 & Under division saw forty six players in competition. Although reigning Champion Austin Murphy was not in attendance, there was no shortage of talent with reigning 14 & Under Champion Landon Shuffett joined by last year's runner-up Nick Tafoya and Ryan Behnke.
Fans expecting anyone to hold off Shuffett in this event were in for a surprise as he won his first 2 matches by a combined score of 18-1. Shuffett sent Tafoya to the one loss side by a 9-5 margin and allowed Jesse Engel to get closer than any opponent at 9-6 in the hot-seat match. After Engel eliminated Tafoya 9-7 on the one loss side, Shuffett cruised to an 11-6 win to capture the title.
With Shuffett no longer eligible for the 14 & Under title, last year's runner up Billy Thorpe looked to be the early favorite. That prediction faltered quickly as Thorpe lost his first match to Tanner Nickels. Nickels then lost to Jonathan Castillo and Castillo lost to Brendan Crockett. Crockett didn't lose to anyone as he took the hot-seat with a 7-3 win over Bryce Lepak.
On the one loss side, Thorpe won eight straight matches to earn his place in the finals against Crockett, but a title was not meant to be for Thorpe as Crockett scored a 9-5 win in the finals.
The Girls 19 & Under Division featured another runner-up looking for the title with last year's Runner-up Chelsea Hardwick an early favorite. Hardwick played like a favorite, but was unable to hold off Liz Lovely in the match for the hot-seat. Hardwick then lost to Jauslinn Arnold on the one loss side, setting up Lovely for Arnold for the title. Lovely has won her share of major events, and the pressure of this event did nothing to phase her as she went on to win the event by a lopsided 9-3 score.
The Girls 14 & Under Division saw only two players two time champion Briana Miller facing Taylor Reynolds. The decision was made to have the two players face each other in two races to seven with a third set played for the title in necessary. That third set was not needed this year as Miller won both sets 7-5 and 7-1 to earn her third straight 14 & Under title.
