Home-ice proved to be an advantage for a pair of Okotoks teams.
The Okotoks Curling Club’s Team Kiist and Team Johnston advanced through the Alberta Optimist U18 qualifiers from Dec. 10-12 at their home rink to stamp their tickets at next month’s provincials.
“It means a lot to me,” said skip Ben Kiist, a Grade 11 student at Foothills Composite. “I’ve been trying to get there for 11 years now so it will be a good experience and we’ll see where we can get to.”
Kiist edged Calgary’s Team Wright 4-2 in dramatic fashion in the boys second qualifier on Dec. 12 with the skip’s final shot knocking out Wright’s two shot rocks in the eighth and final end.
“We tried the little bin off their outside rock because we had the security stone if we were to roll out for the extra point,” Kiist said. “That was the gut feeling the whole way and there really was no easy shot there and just had to pick one.”
Team Kiist, with Kiist throwing last stones, Aidan Snider at third, Marcus Yurko at second and Logan Thomas at lead, went into the match battle tested after two tight contests decided by one point earlier in the competition.
“I think so and it helps that it’s the home club too,” said Kiist. “Every game is going to go close, it’s always a good game, these guys (Team Wright) are great curlers and we always look forward to the games.”
The focus was on execution for Team Kiist heading into the qualification final, with the skip noting deliveries have been a bit a struggle leading into the day.
The qualifying event had a triple-knockout format where teams had as many as two opportunities to recover from losses.
Team Kiist opened the competition by outlasting Team Wright by a 6-5 count and then dropped a 6-5 decision to the Lowell Whittmire rink.
“It’s different in the sense that we’re used to the round-robin,” Kiist said. “You’re looking at it as if you lose a game you might have to play three more.
“Usually getting to Sunday is a good thing, but not this time.”
In the girls event, the Okotoks Curling Club's Team Johnston grabbed the third qualification with a convincing victory.
“For us, we’re really good friends and for us to get through as a team we had to be good friends and have that relationship,” said skip Chloe Johnston, a Grade 11 student at Foothills Composite. “So fighting for that, curling and practising together it helped that bond to form and that’s the most important thing, getting out there and having fun.
“And having those wins with it just made it ten-times better.”
Team Johnston, with Johnston at skip, third Ava Koe, second Katrina Minshull and lead Halla Grunow, dispatched Airdrie's Team Northwood by a 9-0 count in a six-end final on Dec. 12.
“It was definitely focus, the past few games we’ve had were definitely a bit more challenging and we were struggling a bit,” Johnston said. “We were supporting each other, that was our whole momentum and making shots go where they needed to go.”
Particularly in the third end, a four-ender for the Okotoks team, serving as a big turning point in the match.
“It was definitely our draw-weight,” the skip added. “We were pinpointing our shots, we were sticking our hits thanks to our lead, second and third. I had easy shots, draws and open hits.”
Earlier in the competition, Team Johnston dropped its curtain raiser 8-3 to Kayleigh Shannon, defeated Cassie Wright 7-3 and were blanked 9-0 by Claire Booth.
Johnston got by fellow Okotokian Faith Thomas 6-2 in the C-event semifinal on Sunday to get through to the third qualifying final versus Northwood.
“Saturday was not our best day, but it made us feel better that we had more chances,” Johnston said. “It was more work, but definitely more fulfilling once it was done.”
The provincial experience will be a first for both teams as they’re currently constructed as they make the long trek to the Alberta Optimist U18 Championships being held in Hinton from Jan. 12-16.
In Hinton, Kiist, Yurko and Thomas as well as Johnston and Grunow can draw on big competition experience having won the Alberta Winter Games curling gold medal in February 2020.
For more information go to curlingalberta.ca.
