Perfect end to a perfect week

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This article was published 22/03/2024 (591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kadriana and Colton Lott finally did it.

The Gimli couple captured their long-awaited national championship together with a 7-5 triumph Friday over Alberta’s Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres in the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship final in Fredericton, N.B.

“We did it,” a tearful Kadriana said, as she embraced her husband in the house.

The Lotts, who play out of Winnipeg Beach, have been one of the best mixed doubles teams in the country for the last six years and were finally rewarded after settling for two silvers and a bronze medal in three previous appearances at the national championship.

They were a perfect 10-0 this week.

“It means everything,” Colton said. “We’ve been there two times before and fell short and to finally have that happen and just the rush of emotions that came in, like, we finally did it.”

The Manitobans were slow out of the gates, down three after giving up steals in consecutive ends, but quickly rebounded with three points in the third. After the teams traded singles for three ends, the Lotts scored a deuce in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead into the deciding end.

Coming home, Walker was left with only a difficult triple-takeout with her final stone and nearly made it. She eliminated two Lott counters but left one yellow stone in the four-foot along with one of their own red rocks. After a pair of measurements, an umpire awarded the Lotts a steal of one to complete a narrow victory.

“I couldn’t even look,” Kadriana said of the measurements. “I was keeping myself busy in the back putting rocks away. I was trying to hold it all in because I knew it was either going to be a win or an extra end.

“Colton glanced over at me and he said under his breath, ‘It’s us.’ It’s a crazy feeling, I can’t even put it into words what kind of feeling it is.”

The Lotts made a key change after losing to Colton’s brother, Tanner, in their second game of the provincial championship.

Colton, who typically held the broom and swept on the tail-end of Kadriana’s shots, started in a sweeping position next to his wife, who aims at a spot on the ice.

The pair is 17-0 since making the change.

“It just worked better with our chemistry and it gets us talking a little bit more, too,” Colton said. “It got us comfortable right away to make all those shots that we needed to.”

The Lotts earned a $35,000 payday and will wear the Maple Leaf at the 2024 world mixed doubles championships in Sweden from April 20-27.

They also earned a berth in the Canadian mixed doubles Olympic trials in Liverpool, N.S. in December. Trials spots were also awarded to Walker and Muyres for their runner-up finish, and to bronze-medal winners Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant of Alberta.

Colton represented Canada at the 2015 world junior championship in Estonia and the Lotts played together at the 2019 Curling World Cup in Sweden.

They will need their A-game once again overseas.

“The depth we have here in Canada is pretty big and we know we’ve got to bring this game to worlds in a few weeks here,” Colton said. “Every game is going to be tough and we’re going to just have to keep in that same mindset that we are in, and get comfortable with our surroundings as quickly as we can.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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