Morrin had the Midas touch this past weekend when they hosted the curling zone championships at the Drumheller Curling Arena.
All three teams representing Morrin School, came away zone champions in their respective divisions.
“It’s amazing. We have a high school of 45 kids and we’re playing against schools with 500 to 1,000. To win one gold medal is something, but getting all three is amazing. It feels great,” said Don Yavis, principal of Morrin School.
All three Morrin teams will be heading to provincials in Bonnyville on March 1 and 2.
The championships began early Friday morning. Twenty four teams, with a total of 96 players and their families descended upon Drumheller for the tournament. The players represented teams from all over the Alberta School Athletics Association south central zone, which includes an area stretching between Canmore to Oyen and Sundre to Brooks.
The Morrin teams were strong throughout the tournament and easily earned their spots in the finals for their respective divisions.
The boys were up against the Cochrane High School boys in the finals. The Morrin boys took the lead early in the match and remained dominant throughout.
The Morrin girls also faced their Cochrane counterparts in the final game. However, it proved to be a much closer contest. The Morrin girls held a small lead for most of the game, but Cochrane managed to tie the game up at five apiece in the second last end.
The final end was tense, with spectators on the edge of their seats as each rock was thrown. The game came down to the final shot. Morrin had the shot rock, lying in the outer ring. Cochrane had the hammer and all they had to do was draw for the win.
The Cochrane skip threw the last rock of the game. As the rock sailed down the ice, spectators were hushed. Fortunately for the Morrin girls, the rock had too much weight behind it and it came to a stop inches past the Morrin shot rock. The Morrin girls had stolen the winning point of the game and the gold medal.
The Morrin mixed team held the reins for the final game against Bow Valley and came away with a decisive win for the gold.
Yavis credited the success to the Rumsey Junior Curling, where the young curlers play.
“We’ve got to thank Rumsey Junior Curling, because all of our curlers are a part of that program. Our curlers curl in Rumsey. They’ve got a junior program, so our kids hop on the bus at the end of school on Tuesday and curl in Rumsey,” said Yavis.
The teams will head to Bonnyville in two weeks to compete for the title of provincial champions.
The Morrin Boys curling team, consisting of skip Bradley Nelson (left), 3rd Matthew McNaughton, lead Garrett Holowath, 2nd Marcus Head, and coach Kent Holowaith are heading to provincials.
Coach Betty Primrose (left), skip Katie Primrose, 3rd Brittney Cawiezel, 2nd Amy Adams, and lead Jessica Wolf celebrate after winning gold at zones.
Lead Jordan Fergusen, 2nd Lowell Nelson, 3rd Caitlin Wolf, skip Evan Hampton, and coach Melanie Nelson won first place at zones this past weekend.
