Tuesday, January 10 2023 

With the completion of the U18 National Qualifiers, the field for the fifth annual USA U18 National Curling Championship is set. The tournament will be held this week in Lafayette, Colorado, at Rock Creek Curling from January 12-15, 2023. There will be twelve (12) U18 women’s and twelve (12) U18 men’s teams competing for the national title.

“U18 curlers are the future of our sport,” said USA Curling Interim CEO Dean Gemmell, “to give these young athletes the chance to compete on championship-level ice at a gorgeous, new facility is a way of saying thank you to them for the hard work they put in daily.”

Each region was allotted one (1) spot at the U18 National Championship. Any additional spots were given to the region(s) with the greatest number of teams registered for their playdown.

“Any time we can host an important event like the U18 National Championship, we do our best to make the event feel special and run as smoothly as possible,” said Sean Stevinson, co-owner of Rock Creek Curling. “Competing in a national championship is a great accomplishment for these athletes, and we’re very excited to have the future of our sport competing here at Rock Creek Curling!”

Field for the 2023 U18 Women’s National Championship:

At-Large 1: Team Pekowitz - Addison Neill, Julia Pekowitz, Kailey Price, Alexa Pekowitz

At-Large 2: Team Neil - Ivy Neil, Emma Betteridge, Sara Bassiri, Lily Marzullo

Dakota Territory 1: Team Black - Demi Black, Lexi Donner, Molly Anderson, Claire Kozojed

Dakota Territory 2: Team Karjalainen - Lia Karjalainen, Heidi Holt, Makenzie Vangstad, Christabella Clairmont, Lily Rokke

Great Lakes 1: Team Hollands - Natalie Hollands, Megan Stopera, Lillian Molitor,  Jersey Hollands

Great Lakes 2: Team Schroden - Alana Schroden, Ashley Hofmeister, Eli van der Leij, Rachel Luptowski

Mid-America: Team Biesecker - Zoe Biesecker, Lila Farwell, Ella Riley, Scarlett Wilson

Midwest: Team Hagenbuch - Isabella Hagenbuch, Rilee Kraft, Mae Hagenbuch,   Lauren Hein

Minnesota 1: Team Berg - Gracia Berg, Brooklyn Saiger, Raelyn Trask, Nia Berg

Minnesota 2: Team Ryhorchuk - Sophia Ryhorchuk, Morgan Zacher, Allie Giroux, Brooke Giroux

Wisconsin 1: Team Viau - Clare Viau, Ella Fleming, Megan McPhee, Ella Wendling

Wisconsin 2: Team Roessler - Ava Roessler, Natasha Swatzina, Savannah Koch, Mika Haessly

Field for the 2023 U18 Men’s National Championship:

Alaska: Team Skaggs - James Evans, Dylan Skaggs, Tyler Skaggs, Coleman Martin

At-Large: Team Cenzalli - Nicholas Cenzalli, Daniel Laufer, Connor Hardin, Dylan Ciapka

Dakota Territory 1: Team Brenden - Zach Brenden, Owen Nelson, Kjell Olmanson,  Kyan Ponzio

Dakota Territory 2: Team Fitzgerald - Aiden Fitzgerald, Jackson Askew, Carter Mitchell, Jake Ring

Great Lakes: Team Marcin - Peyton Marcin, Jacob Luce, Cooper Davis, Zach Myer, John Henderson

Mid-America: Team Rose - Caiden Rose, Avery Wilson, Brock Sando, Tate Reeder-Holman

Midwest: Team Schallmo - Nick Schallmo, Joey Pieracci, Gideon Heltzer, Tristan Knoll

Minnesota: Team Guentzel - Mason Guentzel, Stuart Strack, Will Podhradsky,  Sawyer Owens

Mountain Pacific: Team Hanson - Brayden Hanson, Cecil Lynn, Tucker Hellman, Carter Hellman

Pacific Northwest: Team Zheng - Bowen Zheng, Alex Ge, Alex Lee, Steven Hagen

Wisconsin 1: Team Hebert - Caden Hebert, Jackson Bestland, Benji Paral,  Jack Wendtland, Shane Nelson

Wisconsin 2: Team Lannoye - Matthew Lannoye, Brody Weichmann, Campbell Packard, Nick Welty  

Check out USA Curling’s website for more information on the event, including tickets and volunteer opportunities.

USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), Rock Solid Productions, IHG, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling, as the National Governing Body for the sport in the United States, is also supported by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.