Three National Titles for CJS at the 2026 Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals
What a tournament for our CJS juniors!
Eight CJS players earned the opportunity to compete against some of the very best young squash players in South Africa at the 2026 Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals in Cape Town.
And they certainly made their presence felt.
By the end of the championships, three CJS players had been crowned South African national champions:
🏆 Juan Corné Brand – Boys U19 National Champion
🏆 Starla Phillips – Girls U17 National Champion
🏆 Chanel Leppan – Girls U15 National Champion
Three different age groups. Three national titles. And some fantastic performances from the rest of our CJS players as well.
We could not be prouder.
Juan Corné Brand takes his first U19 national title
What a moment for Juan Corné Brand from Hoërskool Zwartkop, who claimed his first Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals title in the Boys U19 division.
Juan Corné went into the tournament as the number one seed, but there was certainly nothing easy about his road to the title.
After progressing through a very strong field, he met Western Province’s Joseph Feast in the deciding match.
And what a match it turned out to be.
It went all the way to five games. Juan Corné had a match point in the fourth before Joseph fought back to force a deciding fifth game. Juan Corné regrouped, settled himself and eventually took the final game to secure a 3–2 victory and the 2026 Boys U19 South African national title.
The final score was 3–11, 12–10, 12–10, 10–12, 11–6.
For a player who has spent so many years growing and developing within CJS, seeing Juan Corné reach this milestone was incredibly special.
Strong performances from Logan and Déwan in the Boys U17
CJS was also represented by two players in the Boys U17 championship, Logan Kidson from Hoërskool Zwartkop and Déwan Borstlap from Hoërskool Waterkloof.
Both faced a very strong field of players from across South Africa.
After the opening rounds, Logan moved into the fifth to eighth place playoffs and finished the tournament strongly, beating KZN’s Mathew McKenzie 3–1 to secure 5th place overall.
Déwan also fought his way through the tournament and defeated Western Province’s Milton Posthumus 3–1 in his final match to finish 7th overall.
For both players, competing on this stage against the country’s top U17 players is a fantastic achievement in itself, and we are incredibly proud of the way they represented CJS and Northerns.
Elzandri finishes third in the Girls U19
In the Girls U19 competition, Elzandri Janse van Rensburg from Midstream College once again showed why she has been one of South Africa’s leading junior players for several years.
Elzandri came into the event as the top seed and produced another excellent performance in an extremely competitive U19 field.
She eventually finished third overall, adding another national podium finish to an already impressive junior squash career.
Elzandri is no stranger to this level of competition. She won the Growthpoint U17 national title in both 2024 and 2025 and has also represented South Africa at World Junior level.
Watching her continue to compete at this level as she moves through the junior age groups has been wonderful for all of us at CJS. We wish her the very best for her squash after school.
A fantastic first Nationals for Shannon
Joining Starla in the Girls U17 competition was Shannon Render from Hoërskool Waterkloof.
Shannon was competing at her first Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals and certainly made the most of the opportunity.
She progressed into the fifth to eighth place section and finished 7th overall in South Africa after a strong tournament against some extremely experienced opposition.
For a first appearance at this level, that is an achievement Shannon can be very proud of, and we are excited to see where she goes from here.
Chanel Leppan follows in some familiar footsteps
The celebrations continued in the Girls U15 competition when Chanel Leppan from Hoërskool Zwartkop added another national title to the CJS tally.
Chanel entered the tournament as the Northerns number one seed and produced a brilliant performance throughout the competition.
In the deciding match she faced Western Province’s Aakiefah Taliep, holding her nerve to take a 3–1 victory and become the 2026 Growthpoint SA Girls U15 National Champion.
And there is a lovely bit of CJS history behind this one too. Chanel follows in the footsteps of her sister Chanté Leppan, another former CJS player who knows exactly what it feels like to compete and succeed on the national stage.
It is wonderful to see the next Leppan sister making her own mark.
Mia Bakkes takes fourth place in the Girls U15
CJS had another reason to celebrate in the Girls U15 division, with Mia Bakkes from Midstream College also qualifying for the national event.
Mia competed strongly throughout the tournament and finished an excellent 4th place overall in South Africa.
Another top four national finish for a CJS player is a fantastic achievement and one that deserves plenty of recognition.
Eight players. Three national champions. So much to be proud of.
When we look back at the 2026 Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals, there is a lot for CJS to celebrate.
- Juan Corné Brand – Championship Winner, Boys U19
- Logan Kidson – 5th place, Boys U17
- Déwan Borstlap – 7th place, Boys U17
- Elzandri Janse van Rensburg – 3rd place, Girls U19
- Starla Phillips – 1st place, Girls U17
- Shannon Render – 7th place, Girls U17
- Chanel Leppan – 1st place, Girls U15
- Mia Bakkes – 4th place, Girls U15
Behind every one of those results are many hours on court, training sessions, difficult matches, disappointments, lessons learned and the willingness to keep working.
National titles are wonderful to celebrate, and we certainly will. But we are equally proud of all eight players who earned their opportunity to compete on this stage and represent CJS among South Africa’s best junior squash players.
To Juan Corné, Starla and Chanel, congratulations on becoming 2026 South African National Champions.
And to Logan, Déwan, Elzandri, Shannon and Mia, congratulations on your fantastic performances and national finishes.
You have all made CJS incredibly proud. 💚
