Last week, the St. Marys Curling Club was the venue for the Perth high school curling championships.
Six county schools and 17 teams competed in the two-day event last Wednesday and Thursday. The DCVI Salukis entered three teams, two boys squads and one girls’ team.
Both Saluki boys teams were in the first draw. St. Marys No. 1 was up against St. Mikes Warriors, while St. Marys No. 2 started off against Stratford Central.
The No. 1 foursome had a fairly easy match, beating their Warriors’ opponent, while the No. 2 rink had to go an extra end before earning the victory.
All three teams played in draw No. 3. The girls’ rink lost to Stratford Northwestern, St. Marys No. 2 lost to Listowel No. 3, and St. Marys No. 1 won their game against Northwestern No. 2.
In the last draw on Wednesday, the DCVI girls rink played Mitchell No. 1. Salukis played hard, but it was not meant to be as they lost and were eliminated from the tournament.
Team members are: skip Melanie Heard, vice Natalie Mitchell, Josie Hendry and Kate Olar.
Boys teams still in action
Draw No. 1 on Thursday saw both DCVI boys teams still in action.
St. Marys No. 2 was up against St. Mikes Warriors, while St. Marys No. 1 played Listowel No. 2. Both Saluki rinks won to move on.
The No. 1 team advanced to the ‘A’ final, while the No. 2 foursome advanced to the ‘B’ quarter-finals. St. Marys No. 2 had to return to the ice immediately to play Listowel No. 2. This was a see-saw affair, which came down to the last end.
The DCVI rink was defeated and their tournament ended. Team members are: skip Bevan Shute, Tyler Nairn, Matt Pearce and Steven Aquino.
St. Marys rink faces Listowel
The host Salukis were now down to just one team. Their opponent was Listowel No. 1 in the final.
The home team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in securing the victory and an undefeated day. As a result, for the eighth straight year, a DCVI rink has earned a berth in the Huron-Perth curling championships, Salukis’ coach Wayne Murray notes.
“We thought everything through on each shot,” second Josh Mitchell pointed out as a key to his team’s success. “And we had fun as well,” he added.
In addition to Josh Mitchell, other team members this year are: skip John Urquhart, vice Brett Shute, and lead Greg Urquhart.
“Congratulations and good luck in the upcoming Huron-Perth championships being held in Wingham on Wednesday, Feb. 24,” coach Murray added.