Curling provincials feature teams from small and big schools

The best high school curlers from across the province will be in Beausejour this weekend, competing for a provincial championship.

Teams from Steinbach Regional Secondary School and Pointe-des-Chenes Collegiate won the Zone 13 boys and girls championships respectively last week to earn a berth at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association curling finals, which will be hosted in Beausejour.

Action will come fast and furious inside the Beausejour Sportplex (formerly Sun Gro Centre) over three days Feb. 13-15. The final will take place at 6 p.m. on the 15th.

Teams will be divided into four pools for both championships, with the top two finishers from every pool advancing to a single-elimination bracket.

Steinbach regional won the Zone 13 tournament in dramatic fashion, winning two consecutive games against the Ste Anne Lynx after falling in the A-Side final to complete the comeback and claim the banner.

The team is skipped by Noah Giesbrecht, and features Brennan Doig (third), Parker Fast (second) and Otto Goertzen (lead).

No such final was needed at the girls tournament, as the Pointe-des-Chenes Cavaliers took down Powerview in both the A and B-Side events to advance.

The team, which doesn’t feature a player in grade 12, squeaked out a 7-6 victory in the A-Side final before cruising to a 9-3 victory in the B-Side to eliminate any need for a final, decisive game.

Pointe-des-Chenes’ team includes Joëlle Plourde, Sophie Connelly, Alyana Beaumont, Danika Vermette and Leah Bérard. The small Ste-Anne K-12 French language school has roughly 300 students.

No team from the region qualified for the mixed doubles championships, hosted this weekend in Virden.