From high school to high stakes on the pebble

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This article was published 24/01/2024 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MORDEN — Shaela Hayward will never forget her first day competing at women’s provincials.

Manitoba’s under-18 champion didn’t have the luxury of easing into things as she made her debut in Wednesday morning’s draw at the Access Event Centre in Morden against tournament favourite Kaitlyn Lawes.

A team of Grade 12 students from Carman Collegiate going up against a two-time Olympic gold medallist went exactly how you’d expect it to. Lawes dominated from start to finish en route to a 12-2 win.

“Right when we went out there, I was really nervous. The crowd was there, and we had a lot of people from Carman come cheer us on, so, we just had a lot of adrenaline that game,” said Hayward.

Hayward, third Keira Krahn, second India Young, and lead Rylie Cox easily could’ve crumbled after a result like that. To their credit, they immediately shook it off and bounced back in a massive way by upsetting No. 4 seed Beth Peterson 13-1 in the afternoon.

Lawes finished Day 1 at 2-0 after beating Fort Rouge’s Kristy Watling 10-1.

Hayward claimed the U18 title in Selkirk earlier this month.

“I think we just really focused. We had a lot of trouble with the ice the first game. It was our first time on arena ice so we’re just trying to get used to it,” said Hayward.

“We had a team meeting and I think we really figured it out this game. We didn’t miss much, we played really well. We’re super excited and hopefully we’ll keep playing like that and see where it goes.”

Walter hopes to finish what she started

Meghan Walter was the breakout star of the 2022-23 campaign.

It was at this time last year when the then 20-year-old skipped a team to the Manitoba Scotties final against one of the most accomplished names in the sport: Jennifer Jones.

Walter failed to knock off the legend, but she did secure a wild-card spot at nationals in Kamloops with teammates Abby Ackland, Sara Oliver and Mackenzie Elias.

“It was definitely a surreal moment. We worked for that all season, and for it to pay off was super exciting. I know we didn’t capture that provincial title, so we’re hoping we can get that this year,” said Walter.

“With the time and effort we put into the game, anything’s possible and you can beat any body at any point.”

It was an incredible experience, but Walter realized she needed more seasoning to feel more comfortable playing under the bright lights. In the off-season, Walter and Elias joined forces with Kate Cameron and Taylor McDonald. Walter bumped down to third so Cameron could handle final-stone duties.

The No. 3-seeded team is off to a strong start in Morden after a 9-2 afternoon victory over Tiffany Armstrong.

“Taylor and Kate have a lot of experience in the women’s game. Mackenzie and I recently came out of junior. I’ve really learned a lot from Kate, especially in the strategy game and how to play the women’s game. Based on coming out of juniors, it’s a lot different,” said Walter.

Cameron, a 32-year-old from New Bothwell, thinks her young teammate will be a force at this event for a long time.

“I think Meghan is the future of Manitoba women’s curling,” said Cameron, who played Portage’s Lisa McLeod in last night’s late draw.

“I think she has a really bright future ahead of her and will have a lot of success in curling to come.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31