ClUb nATIOnAls 2012 U.s. Club national Championships March 3-10, 2012 • Mankato, Minn.
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wo-time U.S. junior champion Aaron Wald of Minnesota led his team to a gold-medal victory over Seattle’s Doug Kauffman to win the men’s title at the 2012 USA Curling Club National Championships at the Mankato Curling Club. Wald’s Bemidji Curling Club teammates Trevor Andrews, Josh Bahr and Atticus Wallace (all of Bemidji, Minn.) earned the 9-5 win and their first Club Nationals title. This is Minnesota’s fifth overall win and third straight at this event, which began in 2005. After Minnesota jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after two ends, Kauffman (Edmonds, Wash.) and his Granite Curling Club team of John Rasmussen (Edmonds, Wash.), Ken Trask (Seattle) and Andrea Callegari (Seattle) got on the scoreboard with a deuce and then stole a single in the fourth end when Wald attempted an angle-raise takeout using a stone out in the weeds that didn’t convert. Wald’s team got back on track in the fifth end and tried to split two stones at the top of the rings into the house for three but settled for two to extend the lead to 6-3. Washington was forced to a single in the sixth but they kept pace by holding Minnesota to a takeout for one point in the seventh. Minnesota applied pressure in the eighth end and made Kauffman draw for a single to pull within three points again. Washington made Minnesota earn its single in the ninth and ran out of rocks in the 10th when Wald made an open takeout. Greg Wilson’s team from Illinois had to go to an extra end to defeat Roger Smith’s North Dakota squad, 9-8, for the bronze medal. The game was backand-forth with Smith (Bismarck, N.D.) and his Capital Curling Club teammates Curt Bradbury (Bismarck, N.D.), Matthew Shappell (Steele, N.D.) and Todd Ussatis (Bismarck, N.D.) taking the early lead. However, Wilson (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and his Chicago Curling Club team of David Durrant (Chicago), Michael Rane (Glencoe, Ill.), Jim Wilson (Winnetka, Ill.) and Colin Rittgers (Highland Park, Ill.) took control in the second half with two ends in which they scored three points each to maintain a lead. Trailing by two points in the 10th end, Smith’s rink was able to get the necessary points in the house and survived to play an extra end when Wilson couldn’t convert the double takeout. In the extra end, however, Wilson connected with a draw into the eight-foot to secure the bronze medal for Illinois.
U.s. Men’s Club national Champions Year 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
site Mankato, Mn Mankato, MN Madison, WI Utica, NY Mankato, MN
Winning Club bemidji, Mn Duluth, MN Mankato, MN Madison, WI Madison, WI
skip Aaron Wald Seppo Sormunen Todd Birr Mike Fraboni Dave Brown
2007 2006 2005
St. Paul, MN Superior, WI Chicago, IL
St. Paul, MN Duluth, MN Exmoor, IL
Mike Farbelow Dave Running Russ Armstrong
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