// CHAMPIONSHIPS
Solem, Dropkin rinks win 2013 Junior National titles
By Terry L. Kolesar, Editor
in Wayland, Mass. In the men’s division, Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) defended his national championship crown. Making her third straight appearance in the gold-medal game in her
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final year of junior eligibility, Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) scored two points with the final stone to defeat the defending champions from Minnesota, led by Cory Christenen (Duluth, Minn.), 7-6. "I knew the last game would be a tough battle to the end and patience
was going to be key," said Solem, who attends the University of Wisconsin- Madison as a dietary student. "Tere were a lot of great shots on both sides throughout the championship game. Having to make that last draw for the win made winning the gold feel that much more rewarding and special for my whole team. It has been a goal of mine to represent the U.S. at worlds for a few years now, and to finally reach it my last year of juniors aſter falling short the last couple of years feels incredible. All of the hard work and sacrifices made have finally paid off. I feel honored and privileged to be a part of Team USA and hope to represent our country well in Sochi." Dropkin’s team prevailed over Washington’s Jake Vukich, 8-6, to earn
the men’s title. Both games went down to the skip’s shots with Solem, need- ing two points to win, drawing into the four foot. Dropkin, in contrast, did not need to throw his final stone as Vukich, needing to steal two points, came up light on his final draw into the house. Te Solem and Dropkin rinks will now represent the U.S. at the 2013
World Junior Championships Feb. 28-March 10 at the Ice Cube Curling Center in Sochi, Russia, which is the Olympic venue for curling in 2014. "Representing the U.S. with this team at Worlds will be an unbelievable
time," Dropkin said. "Last year was really fun, and now having it this year at the Olympic facilities in Sochi makes us even more excited for it. Our main goal this year was to make it to the Junior Worlds, and now that we have done that, we are going to be wearing USA on our backs in Sochi. It's a dream come true." Te women’s game was close throughout with both teams taking con-
trol of the match at times as the momentum swung back and forth. Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) and teammates Vicky Persinger (Fairbanks, Alaska), Karlie Koenig (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Chelsea Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) patiently waited for a chance to score multiple points and put two on the scoreboard in the third end to take a 2-1 lead. Christensen then missed a runback to give up a single steal. Christensen and teammates Becca Funk (McFarland, Wis.), Anna Bauman (Duluth, Minn.) and Sonja Bauman (Du- luth, Minn.) were forced to draw for a single in the next end but capitalized to steal two points when Solem wrecked on her final stone of the sixth. Te button was leſt open for Solem to draw into for two points in the following end to put Team HP ahead 5-4. However, the defending champs from the Duluth Curling Club scored one point in the eighth and stole a single in the ninth when Solem’s runback attempt jammed.
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usacurl.org ))
hird time was the charm for Minnesota’s Miranda Solem as she led her team to the 2013 USA Curling Junior Women's Nation- al Championship title Feb. 2 at the Broomstones Curling Club
Leading by one, Christensen set out to steal the 10th end as well. Te Min-
nesota ladies had control of the house until Koenig converted a raise double takeout. Christensen made a hit with her first stone to put two in scoring position. Solem countered with a freeze attempt that was leſt ripe for pick- ing. However, Christensen never hesitated in throwing the freeze to that stone in an attempt to win but it was heavy and sat behind the tee-line in second position. Tat leſt the button exposed for Solem to draw into for the win. Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and teammates Tomas Howell III
(Brick, N.J.), Mark Fenner (Bemidji, Minn.) and Alex Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.) had control of most of its match against Vukich’s squad from Se- attle’s Granite Curling Club. Aſter exchanging singles, Dropkin’s team grabbed the deuce in the third end to take the early advantage. Vukich (Seattle) and teammates Evan McAuley (Sammamish, Wash.),
Luc Violette (Granite Falls, Wash.) and Nicholas Connolly (Seattle) were forced to make a takeout for a single in the fourth and gave Dropkin a hit for two in the following end when Vukich missed his final shot. Vukich fi- nally earned his deuce in the sixth end when Dropkin rolled out on his final takeout, giving the Washington skip an open draw into the rings. Dropkin, however, responded with a draw for two in the following end to retain con- trol of the game. Aſter giving up a single steal in the eighth, Vukich earned another deuce to stay in the game when he converted a split to spill two stones into the house. Te Washington rink had the 10th
steal, or at least pressure Dropkin into a tough shot for the win, but Vukich’s final stone came up light as they tried to brush it into second scoring posi- tion. Dropkin never had to throw his final rock as the team had the win. Tis is the first junior title for the Solem sisters and Persinger, 20, who
moved from Alaska to Minnesota to train. Koenig, 19, won titles previously in 2011 and 2008. On the men’s side, both Dropkin and Howell earned their second titles, while Fenner, Fenson and alternate Connor Hoge (Southbor- ough, Mass.) won their first. Tis is, however, the second trip to the World Juniors for Miranda Solem, who served as alternate and won a bronze med- al with the Alex Carlson rink in 2010. Dropkin and Howell finished fiſth at last year’s world junior championship. "Defending our national title was a great feeling," said Dropkin, who
won in 2012 as vice skip along with Howell, who played second. "Because Stephen [Dropkin] and Derek [Corbett] aged out last year, Tom and I de- cided to step up a position and play back end for Alex, Mark, and our fiſth, Connor. Although it was our first year together, we became great friends, and built our team chemistry pretty quickly. Te guys all did amazingly the whole week, and we really enjoyed Nationals. Having it be at my home club, and winning it, made the experience even more memorable." Te 2013 Katie Beck Memorial Award was presented to Minnesota II’s
Jesse Jaeger (Madison Lake, Minn.). Te award honors 2002 world junior champion and two-time U.S. junior champ Katie Beck, who passed away from cancer, and is presented to a player in the second position who displays great talent on and off the ice. Te Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship award recipients were the Sarah Anderson (Pennsylvania) and Preston Kramer (Colorado) rinks. n
end set up well to
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