John Shuster and Team USA won the Championship at the Curl Mesabi Cashspiel in Eveleth last weekend, beating Andrew Wickman of Winnepeg 5 to 1 in six ends.  Nice job.

And speaking of Olympians, Canada will be represented by Kevin Martin and Cheryl Bernard in Vancouver.  Tough competition.

John Shuster and company are playing in the Grey Power World Cup of Curling this weekend in Mississauga (a.k.a. south Toronto), Ontario.   This event is a prelude to Vancouver:   The Olympic representatives from Scotland, Norway, China, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark and USA’s Shuster will be competing against five Canadian teams, one of which will represent Canada in the Olympics.

Tonight (Thursday, Oct. 21) at 7pm CST, John Shuster takes on Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue in the first draw.  You can see end-by-end scoring at this link.  Good luck John!

Thursday morning update:

Good start, Team USA!

The Chris Plys and Tyler George rinks earned spots in the 2009 U.S. National Championships / 2010 Olympic Team Trials to be held in Denver, CO, Feb. 21 to 28.  John Shuster and Aileen Sormunen are still in the hunt to represent the U.S. in Vancouver; they will compete in a challenge round on Jan. 28.  Shuster will be playing in Bismarck, N.D. and Sormunen will play in Green Bay, WI.  Good luck curlers!

P.S.  Thank you Duluth News Tribune, for including results of the Team Trials and the Over 40 ‘Spiel in the Sports section!

The regional qualifying rounds for the 2010 Olympic Team Trials are underway, and there are several teams from the DCC competing. The winners of the qualifying rounds earn a trip to the Olympic Trials in Broomfield, CO in February.

In the first draw last night in Green Bay, WI, a battle between Duluth rinks was very one sided: Amy Wright shut out Aileen Sormunen 8 to 0 in five ends. Meanwhile, Marjorie Smith had a loss to Madison powerhouse Deb McCormick. And the Alexandra Carlson rink (with lead Sophie Brorson of DCC), fresh off their victory in the Minnesota Junior Championships, lost to Cassie Potter 6 to 3. The second draw begins at 1pm today (friday), and you can see end by end scoring at this link.

The Mens’ qualifiers are in full swing too, with two draws completed yesterday. In Green Bay, John Shuster’s rink is undefeated, with lopsided wins over Bill Morehouse and Jeff Wright. Last year’s Junior World Champion Chris Plys had a loss to Jay Packard. Draw three is underway this morning, but there are no Duluth teams playing– Shuster and Plys play next at 2pm this afternoon in draw 4. You can catch the live scoring here.

Tyler George’s rink is playing in the Midwest North Region in Grand Rapids, MN, and is undefeated after two draws with a wins over Chisolm’s Aaron Wald and Greg Persinger (the latter game won with the comfortable score of 9 to 1 after four ends). Draw 3 begins at 1pm this afternoon, and live scoring is at this link.

Good luck Duluth curlers– next stop Denver!

Belated congratulations to Chris Plys, Aanders Brorson, Matt Perushek, Matt Hamilton and coach Phil Drobnick! Team Plys won the Minnesota State Junior Playdowns at the Bemidji Curling Club last weekend, going undefeated. Next up for Chris and his team are the qualifying rounds for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Trials January 7-11 in Centerville, WI. Good luck guys!

Duluth curler Sophie Brorson also helped Alex Carlson, Tabitha Peterson, and Tara Peterson (of the St. Paul Curling Club) go undefeated to win the playdown. These young ladies have been curling together for four years, and this is their third state championship. The Alex Carlson rink will compete next week in Green Bay in the qualifying round for Olympic Trials. Nice work Sophie, and good luck next week!