Two Bemidjians earned all-star team honors Saturday night at the Junior National Curling Championships banquet at the Bemidji Armory. Skip Trevor Andrews and vice skip Aaron Tasa of the Minnesota 1 rink were named.
Curlers, coaches and families enjoyed a dinner of Red Lake walleye and wild rice.
Head official Greg Volk presented several awards. The first was the Katie Beck award given in honor of the late 2002 World Junior champion and two-time U.S. Junior National champion. This annual award has been established by Sharon O'Brien to be presented at the U.S. Juniors each year to an athlete playing in the second position who is coachable and has a true love for the sport of curling. This year's recipient was Cloe Pahl of the Wisconsin 2 women's team.
The Spirit of Curling award is a peer award given to one men's and one women's team who exemplify the best sportsmanship and spirit of curling. This year's recipients were the North Dakota 2 women's team and the Alaska men's team.
Players voted to select all-stars at each position. This year the Minnesota 1 women swept the voting, with lead Sophie Brorson, second Tara Peterson, vice skip Tabitha Peterson and skip Alexandra Carlson. Joining Tasa and Andrews on the men's all-star team were lead John Muller of Minnesota 2 and second Jared Zezel of Minnesota 2.
