STATE CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS - Each Medford team wins once at state curling championships

STATE CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The difference between a win and a loss in the sport of curling can be measured in the width of a hair.

The Medford Raiders girls curling team found that out the hard way as missed opportunities on take-outs turned what should have been big scoring ends into a 7-6 loss to Lodi in the opening round of the Wisconsin State High School Championships held at the Wausau Curling Center Friday and Saturday.

On paper, the girls should have been able to overcome the Lodi team as the lowest-ranked team in their pool. However, the Lodi girls, and particularly their skip senior Lexie Birchler, were on fire, making clutch shots to block Medford from scoring big ends. Medford head coach Stu Amundson noted the Lodi girls team also nearly upset top-seeded Wausau West in the pool.

The girls rallied in their second game and were able to hang on in the back-and forth-contest to get the 7-6 win over Poynette. On Saturday morning, the girls faced Wausau West knowing it was going to be the most challenging contest of the weekend. They took a 7-2 loss. The Wausau West girls advanced to the state finals Saturday evening where they ultimately took second place to the Portage girls team that Medford had beaten at the start of the season in the annual Battle of the Brooms competition.

In addition to skip Caidyn Zenner, third Erica Brandner, and second Stacey Dassow, the team was joined by Adalyn Dittrich for Friday’s competitions. The Medford girls have curled three-handed most of the season and brought in Dittrich, who curled with the team two years ago, to be their fourth for the state tournament.

Erica Brandner is the team’s only senior, and Amundson said there are some curlers coming up from the middle school he is hoping will stay with the sport and allow them to have a full roster next year.

On the boys side, the Medford team of Rylan Stockwell, Jaeden Brandner, Atticus Winkler and Gavin Koplin came out of the tournament with a 1-2 record. The boys opened with a 6-3 loss to Lodi. They played a strong game against Stevens Point losing 8-5. The Stevens Point boys went on the finals where they took second after losing to Portage.

The Medford boys picked up their one win of the tournament with 10-9 victory over Pardeeville.

Junior Jaeden Brandner is the only upperclassman on the Medford boys team with the others all freshman. Throughout the tournament, the boys showed they could put rocks in the house and set up the potential for some big ends. Finishing the deal remained the challenge for the boys, something that will come with time as the talented team matures and the players gain more experience.

Amundson said there were a lot of positives to come out of the season and the tournament and looks forward to building on those going forward.