Hayward, Campbell rule the ice at U-18 in Selkirk

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This article was published 07/01/2024 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK — There was no room for error.

Unlike the last two years, just reaching the final of the 2024 U-18 Manitoba Women’s Curling Provicial Championship wasn’t going to cut it.

The province — due to recent struggles at the Canadian championship — was granted just one women’s berth to this year’s nationals in Ottawa (Feb. 5-10), meaning the stakes were sky high Sunday afternoon at the Selkirk Curling Club for Carman’s Shaela Hayward and Onanole’s Cassidy Dundas.

Hayward, who also knocked off Dundas 5-4 in Saturday’s Page playoff 1 vs. 1 game, proved to be too much to handle as she came away with a 6-3 victory in the final to earn a trip to the nation’s capital and the right to wear Manitoba’s colours.

Hayward, third Keira Krahn, second India Young, and lead Rylie Cox went a perfect 7-0 at provincials and outscored their opponents 53-21.

“I’m just so proud of my team and the week we had and the whole year we had. This was our goal all season and this just feels so good,” said Hayward, 17.

Winning the big one feels even sweeter considering they settled for third at last year’s U-18 provincials and lost the Manitoba 2023 Canada Games trials final.

It’s a group that has a lot of experience together as Hayward, Krahn, and Cox have curled together since Grade 5, while Young joined the group three years later.

They’ve won the past two provincial high school curling titles for Carman Collegiate.

“It’s nice to finally come out on top,” said Krahn. “We’ve been together forever, so, we know each other so well and we’re connected on and off the ice. We love each other so it’s easy to play with them.”

It’s been a breakout year for Hayward and Co. as they had already clinched a spot to the Manitoba Scotties in Morden (Jan. 23-28).

“It’ll really just be about getting experience for nationals,” said Hayward.

“We’re just so happy to get to play against the best female curlers in the province and for us to gain as much experience as we can.”

The men’s final also took place Sunday afternoon with Rylan Campbell of Altona Curling Club dismantling Morden’s Nash Sugden 11-1. The pressure was turned down a notch as both sides will represent Manitoba at nationals, but it doesn’t make the win any less special for Campbell, third Logan Zacharias, second Nick Senff, and lead Rylan Graham.

“It’s been a dream since I was a young kid,” said Campbell. “We’ve had a good year with a couple final losses… To finally win a final, it feels awesome. We came out firing.”

Campbell had to take the scenic route after losing Saturday’s Page 1 vs. 1 against Sugden 8-5. They bounced back by beating Assiniboine’s Kieran Callewaert in Sunday morning’s semi.

“It was a little frustrating because obviously you want to win that 1 vs. 1 to secure yourself in that final, but we came out in the semis and won that. We knew that coming out and getting some practice on the ice earlier this morning in a game would help us this afternoon which it for sure did,” said Campbell.

Campbell, a 17-year-old from Brandon, is in his first year at skip.

“Obviously, it was a shaky start to the year because it was a first time for me, but the more games we played, the more experience I got. (Head coach Sheldon Zacharias) kept telling me after every game that I was gaining confidence in the house and that it was good to see,” said Campbell.

“So, by the time we got here, I was prepared, and we were good to go. Skipping is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m not really a big sweeper so it’s a good change for me.”

Logan, 17, has seen his older sisters Mackenzie and Emily win seven provincial crowns between their time playing U-18, U-21, and now women’s. Now he has a jacket to add to the family collection.

“I’ve seen them win the Buffalo multiple times and it’s really cool to just be able to earn one myself,” said Logan. “My whole childhood I just saw them earning multiple Buffaloes and it’s really cool.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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