JT Ryan made Manitoba curling history on Monday.
Ryan became the first curler ever to skip his team to three straight Manitoba Junior Men’s titles in the more than 70-year history of the tournament.
Ryan and his rink from the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club pulled off the three-peat as they defeated Jordon McDonald in the championship game of the Junior Men’s Provincial Championship at the Heather Curling Club. The top seeds scored three points in the second end and added a four-ender in the sixth end en route to a convincing 10-1 victory in just six ends in the final.
It’s the third straight Manitoba Junior Men’s title for Ryan and his third, Jacques Gauthier. Ryan’s lead, Cole Chandler, and second, Jordan Peters, won the provincial junior title for the first time after joining his team this season.
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Ryan didn’t lose a game the entire event, winning all nine matches.
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Elmwood Curling Club’s Mackenzie Zacharias stole her way to the provincial Junior Women’s championship. Zacharias beat Meghan Walter in the championship game. Zacharias and her top-seeded squad of lead Caitlyn Labossiere, second Emily Zacharias and third Lauryn Kuzyk, stole points in six of the eight ends in the final. They had steals in the first three ends and the last three ends in the 8-2 triumph.
Walter also lost in the championship game last year.
Zacharias finished the round robin with a 6-1 record before reeling off three straight playoff victories to win the crown.
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Ryan and Zacharias will now represent Manitoba at the 2019 Canadian Junior National Championship later this month in Prince Albert, Sask. Ryan finished third at last year’s nationals and had a fourth-place finish in 2017.
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