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Yukon鈥檚 junior squash team showed a lot of fortitude at the Northwest Territories Championship, said Squash Yukon president Stephen Buckler.

The five junior athletes that attended the tournament all played in adult divisions and posted impressive results.

鈥淭he juniors really came out swinging,鈥� he wrote in an email to the Star.

鈥淸They] all played hard while showing a lot of respect to their opponents and referees.鈥�

Playing inside a fishbowl, athletes have to keep their heads even when they鈥檙e losing.

鈥淪quash really fosters athletes to have a strong inner strength,鈥� said Buckler.

鈥淚f you are losing or not playing well, you cannot blame your team or fall back on them.鈥�

Mackenzie Cameron, playing in the Men鈥檚 B final displayed a lot of grit as he 鈥渨as being out-muscled by a 6鈥�2鈥欌�� fellow,鈥� said Buckler. 鈥淚nstead of giving up, Mackenzie played calmly to the man鈥檚 weaknesses and won in the last games convincingly.鈥�

Other juniors鈥� results included Maya Cairns-Locke winning Women鈥檚 D, Kennedy Cairns-Locke taking second place in Women鈥檚 B, Rannon Johnson earning second place in Special Plate Men鈥檚 D, and Ivan Johnson taking sixth in Men鈥檚 C.

Not to be left behind, the adults in the tournament also posted strong results.

Lori Muir was second in Women鈥檚 A, Terri Cairns was third in鈥圵omen鈥檚 A, Michael Tillbrook was fourth in Men鈥檚 A, Cam Webber took fifth in Men鈥檚 Open and Buckler was second in Men鈥檚 A.

The results helped the Yukon recapture the Yellowhorse Cup, which the Northwest Territories had won at the Yukon Open last month. Yukoners were up 76-56 over the N.W.T in games between the two territories鈥� players.

The Yellowhorse Cup should stay in Whitehorse until it is next expected to be in play at the 2018 Yukon Open, where Buckler hopes to break this year鈥檚 attendance record.