There was a bit of history in the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association regional curling tournament this past weekend at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
For the first time ever, a rink from Cornerstone Christian School has advanced to the SHSAA provincial championships, set to begin across all divisions on Friday.
The Falcons rink of skip Callen Nyhof, third Payton Fisher, second Nami Tsuchiya, lead Ninnie Buakaek and alternate Becca Hobbs defeated Swift Current’s Abby Kroeker 10-1 in the ‘B’ qualifier on Saturday afternoon to book their spot in provincials.
Cornerstone got off to a bit of a tough start, dropping an 8-7 decision in their opener to Swift Current, but they were able to rebound in the ‘B’ semifinal with a 5-4 victory over Peacock’s Reise Bakken. That set the stage for the winner-take-all qualifying game, where the Falcons would avenge their first-round loss with their commanding victory.
Next up are the provincial championships in Langham beginning Friday, with Cornerstone in a pool with Regina Winston Knoll, Watson and North Battleford. The Falcons open against Watson on Friday morning.
The Peacock Toilers had a longer road in their mixed draw, but skip Dayne Heisler, third Kaylee Hogeboom, second Callista McQueen and lead Trevor Coxe would get the job done just the same.
The Toilers got off to a solid start, defeating Hazlet’s Andra Todd 9-7 and Loreburn’s Dylan Glubis 9-3 to advance to the ‘A’ qualifier, but a 10-9 loss to Maple Creek’s Louise Parsonage would send them to the ‘B” side. There, Peacock would rebound in style, rolling to a 9-4 win over Hazlet to book their provincial berth.
Heisler and crew are off to Hanley this weekend, where they’ll take on Lampman, Tisdale and Meadow Lake in their round robin. They play their first game Friday against Tisdale.
Things didn’t go as well for Vanier’s Kendall Ebbett in the boys division, as they lost their ‘B’ qualifier 8-3 to Swift Current.
Ebbett, third Erik Lacombe, second Joey Kukura and lead Stephen Walcer defeated Gull Lake’s Tyson Lamarre in their opener but lost their ‘A’ semifinal 10-5 to Outlook’s Drew Ivan. That dropped the Vikings all the way back to the ‘B’ quarter-final, where they defeat Kyle’s Brody Ikert 14-4 and followed up with a 9-1 win over Gull Lake. That sent Vanier to the ‘B’ qualifying game, where they’d fall to Swift Current’s Ethan Robinson.
You can check out the full results from regionals at www.shsaa.ca.
