It’s been a long three years since Selena Sturmay has had the chance to represent Alberta at the New Holland Canadian Juniors.
After posting a 6-4 record at the 2016 event in Stratford, Ont., the 20-year-old from Edmonton captured her second women’s provincial title earlier this winter to punch her ticket to this year’s nationals in Prince Albert.
“I’m really happy to be here, especially as it’s the last year in juniors for myself and my second (Kate Goodhelpsen),” Sturmay said.
“There’s so many good curlers and good teams in our province, so to be able to represent all of them here is a real honour.”
Coming off a convincing 10-3 win over Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton Saturday afternoon, the Sturmay rink continued their strong play Sunday morning as they cruised to a 14-2 triumph over Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen at the Art Hauser Centre.
“Our main goal during the first two days was to get a good handle on the ice, with the outcomes of our games being secondary,” said Sturmay, who will face British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels in a matchup of unbeaten teams at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club tonight.
“We’re already in a good grove and we’ve been lucky enough to get a couple of wins already, so we’re all pretty pleased about that.”
Although the rink is in their first year together, all four members of the team play for the Alberta Golden Bears program in U Sports.
Goodhelpsen has also won a national junior title as the second on Kristen Streifel’s Alberta rink in 2017.
“(Third) Abby Marks is the newcomer for our team, as Kate, (lead) Paige Papley and I all played together last year,” Sturmay said.
“Being a part of the University of Alberta program and to be able to curl out of the national training centre in Edmonton has been huge for us. I think everyone that goes there has an extra edge when they move up to the World Curling Tour, which we have done a little bit this year.”
In the other women’s games Sunday morning, Brunton picked up her first win by topping Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw by a score of 7-1, while Kaitlyn Jones’ Nova Scotia rink defeated Ontario’s Thea Coburn in an 8-5 affair.
Over in the men’s bracket, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Greg Blyde cruised to an 11-4 win over the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen and Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle picked up an 8-5 triumph over New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer.
Standings after Draw 4
Men’s
Pool A
- British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 2-0
- Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 2-0
- Alberta (Desmond Young) – 1-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 1-1
- Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 1-1
- Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-2
- Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 0-2
Pool B
- Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 2-0
- Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 1-0
- Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 1-0
- New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 1-1
- Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 1-1
- Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-2
- Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 0-2
Women’s
Pool A
- Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 2-0
- British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 2-0
- Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 2-0
- Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 1-1
- Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 0-2
- Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-2
- Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 0-2
Pool B
- Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 2-0
- Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 2-0
- New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 1-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 1-1
- Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 1-1
- Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-2
- Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 0-2
Draw 5 Schedule – 2 p.m.
Art Hauser Centre
- Sheet A – Saskatchewan/Alberta (Men’s)
- Sheet B – Northwest Territories/New Brunswick (Women’s)
- Sheet C – Quebec/Prince Edward Island (Women’s)
- Sheet D – Northern Ontario/Nunavut (Women’s)
- Sheet E – Newfoundland & Labrador/Manitoba (Women’s)
Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club
- Sheet F – Ontario/Newfoundland & Labrador (Men’s)
- Sheet H – Northern Ontario/Prince Edward Island (Men’s)
