Lia Johnson went into the junior national squash championships in Calgary this past weekend ranked 41st in the country.

The Yukon athlete returned home ranked in the mid 30s, after defeating an opponent ranked 30th, showing everyone she's bound for success.

'Lia was the story,' stated Yukon head coach Marie Desmarais. 'It was very exciting and very good for her.

'That moves her up in the rankings, so she was very excited. It was a nice ending to her squash season, and she's leaving the Yukon to attend university this year, so it was a nice ending to her squash playing in the Yukon.'

Squash Yukon will also be losing junior squash player Marc Emond to university this fall, and Emond also had an impressive tournament in Calgary. Up against 63 other athletes in the under-19 main category, he picked up a victory after being down two games in his match.

For some of the other nine juniors from the territory that made the trip, it was their first time at a national event. And a couple of those first-timers managed to win a match as well.

'To win a game at nationals, where the best in Canada are, is just awesome,' said Desmarais.

The nationals featured more than 200 athletes in total, and since the event was being used to select the Canadian junior women's team for the world championships in July, the best of the best brought their game to the court.

For that reason, it was also a good opportunity for a few referees from the Yukon to gain some experience calling high-quality matches. Lori Muir, Chris Toleman and Don Emond made the trip as referees.

While Toleman is already a level B2 referee, and is currently refereeing at the senior nationals, Muir and Emond are looking to upgrade so they can take part in the 2007 Canada Winter Games you need to be a level C2 referee.

'Lori received what's called a signature in refereeing,' explained Desmarais. 'That means she got upgrade (she's now a C2), so that's great for her.

'Don, it was his first time refereeing at that level, so it was good experience for him.'

The junior nationals were the last trip Outside for the Yukon team, as the squash season winds down this month with the last two local tournaments. The Squash Thaw tourney will take place May 13-15 at Better Bodies while the Yukon junior championships are scheduled for 27-28.

In August, Squash Yukon will hold a camp and also name the 2007 Games training squad.

Here are the full results from last weekend's nationals:

Lia Johnson

U-19 Main, 32 participants

Won in five vs. Miranda Linklater

Lost in three vs. Alisha Turner

Won in three vs. Olivia Vipond

Won in five vs. Anne Ritter

Lost in three vs. Heather Lamb

Jane Bell

U-15 Main, 32 participants

Lost in three vs. Nickki Todd

Won in three vs. Brigitte Tousignant

Won in three vs. Jen Miller

Lost in three vs. Becky Law

Marc Emond

U-19 Main, 64 participants

Lost in three vs. Cameron Mundle

Lost in three vs. Adam King

Won in five vs. Eric Sadler

Lost in three vs. Matthew Balfour

Julien Revel

U-19 Main, 64 participants

Lost in three vs. Andrew McDougall

Lost in three vs. Billy Hatch

Won in three vs. Matthew Jefferson

Lost in three vs. Nick Tayler

Jeanette Carney

U-13 Main, 17 participants

Lost in three vs. Danille Letrouneau

Lost in three vs. Heather Yong

Won in five vs. Sophia Flather

Lost in three vs. Brooke Shmon

Robert McMynn

U-17 Main, 64 participants

Lost in three vs. Alex Paisley

Lost in three vs. Chettey Kimesh

Lost in three vs. Dustin Mercredi

Sophia Flather

U-13 Main, 17 participants

Lost in three vs. Rachel Au

Lost in three vs. Daniels Brynn

Lost in five vs. Jeanette Carney

Shaun Stinson

U-15 Main, 74 participants

Lost in three vs. Andrew Silvestri

Lost in three vs. Jason Pynre

Cameron Traynor

U-19 Main, 64 participants

Lost in three vs. Robert Miller

Lost in three vs. Michael Ferraris

Lost in three vs. Nick Tayler

Zoe Walker

U-13 Main, 17 participants

Lost in three vs. Michelle Gemmell

Lost in four vs. Samantha Johnson

Lost in three vs. Brooke Shmon

Jessica Borgford

U-15 Main, 32 participants

Lost in three vs. Winnie Hough

Lost in three vs. Brittany Van

Norman

Lost in four vs. Tataryn Devon