Five Manitoba curlers have cracked the all-star rosters at the Canadian junior curling championships in Langley, B.C., as the playoffs get underway this weekend.
Skip Mackenzie Zacharias and Manitoba No. 2 skip Jaques Gauthier both made the first all-star team in their respective positions.
Zacharias’ rink went a perfect 10-0 in the round robin, earning a bye to the gold medal match Sunday morning.
It’s the same story for Gauthier and his Manitoba 2 squad, as they get to skip Saturday’s semi-final action after finishing with a 9-1 record.
Zacharias’ rink’s performance during the round robin was fuelled by a fifth-place finish at the tournament last year that saw them miss the playoffs.
“We’re going to take everything we learned last year and go into every game with the same mindset that we had last year,” the skip from Altona told CJOB’s Christian Aumell before departing for the tournament last week.
Zacharias wasn’t the only player on her team earning the nod, as lead Lauren Lenentine and third Karlee Burgess both made the first all-star team alongside their skip.
Brandon’s Brayden Payette made the men’s second all-star team in the second position.
Both Manitoba rinks’ opponents will be decided Saturday during the quarter and semi-finals.
Zacharias and Lenentine will go for gold at 11 a.m. CT Sunday, while Gauthier, Payette and Manitoba No. 2 play for the championship at 4 p.m.