TEAMS KADLEC, JOHNSON CAPTURE U18 NATIONALS TITLES
Team Kadlec
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, January 12, 2025] — Rock Creek Curling hosted another successful U18 Nationals, as 12 Girls teams and 12 Boys teams came to Lafayette, CO, to vie for the titles. After four days of outstanding competition, it was teams from the Wisconsin Curling Association and the Minnesota Curling Association that left as national champions.
On the Boys’ side, Wisconsin’s Austin Kadlec led his team (Austin Kadlec, Kyler Warring, Zac Hess, Davis Britton, Coach Sandra McMakin) into the finals by defeating Minnesota’s Team Jordan (William Jordan [Fourth}, Nolan Sigel, Rylyn Cooper [Skip], Brody Wilson) in a qualification game—the first playoff round—and then topping Team Rose (Caiden Rose, Mason Geuntzel, DJ Neill, Adam Hein, Coach Sean Franey) from the Mid-American Curling Association by a score of 7-6 in the semi-finals.
Team Grabow (Miles Grabow, Will Podhrasky, Brennen Krenz, Nick Staveteig, Coach Allison Grabow) from the Dakota Territory advanced to the championship game by defeating the Team Berube (Lucas Berube, Ryan Trout, Ryan Best, Liam Guerin, Seth Ford, Coach Trevor Gau), representing the Grand National Curling Club, 9-3 in the other semifinal. Berube bested Team C. Meyer (Charlie Meyer, Zach Thompson, Tanner Holmes, Luke Leonhardt, Coach Bruce Irvin) from the Pacific Northwest Curling Association 7-6 in a Qualification Round matchup.
The Boys’ final between Kadlec and Grabow was a back-and-forth affair with two extra ends needed before the game was decided. After the final rocks were thrown, it was Team Kadlec earning gold with a 5-4 victory.
In the Boys’ bronze medal game, it was Team Rose earning the hardware, defeating Team Berube by a score of 9-5.
Team Johnson
On the Girls' side, Minnesota 1 Team Johnson (Allory Johnson, Gianna Johnson, Bailey Vaydich, Mae Hagenbuch, Coach Chris Johnson) finished undefeated in the qualifying round before defeating Team Biesecker (Zoe Biesecker, Kalina Petrova, Lila Farwell, Scarlett Wilson, Coach Elliott Mansell) from the Mid-America Curling Association 5-4 in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, Minnesota 2 Team Berg (Nia Berg, Ella Wilford, Solveig Berg, Carol Chance) topped Team Hollands from the Great Lakes Curling Association (Jersey Hollands, Heidi Holt, Kate Stevenson, Isabel Molitor, Coach Addison Hollands) by an identical 5-4 score.
In the championship game, it was Team Johnson jumping out to an early 5-0 lead on their way to a 7-5 victory. For Allory Johnson, Gianna Johnson, and Bailey Vaydich, it was their second straight U18 title. It was Hagenbuch’s first U18 national championship win.
In the Girls’ bronze medal matchup, Team Biesecker topped Team Hollands by a score of 8-4.
In voting by all competitors, Lucas Berube of the GNCC won the Garland Legacie award, recognizing the player who demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship througout the event.
Additional information, including scores and standings, can be found on the U18 National Championships page.
BOYS’ TEAMS
Team C. Meyer—Pacific Northwest Curling Association (Charlie Meyer, Zach Thompson, Tanner Holmes, Luke Leonhardt)
Team Hellman—Mountain & Pacific Curling Association (Tucker Hellman, Carter Hellman, Cecil Lynn, Troy Nelson, Luke Shuster)
Team Rose—Mid-America Curling Association (Caiden Rose, Mason Guentzel, DJ Neill, Adam Hein)
Team Dial—Rock Creek Curling (Calvin Dial, Martin Fleming, Adam Peters, Gavin Brackle)
Team Jordan—Minnesota Curling Association 1 (William Jordan [Fourth}, Nolan Sigel, Rylyn Cooper [Skip], Brody Wilson)
Team Stygles—Great Lakes Curling Association 2 (Robert Stygles, Joey Height, Alex Nelson, Lyndon Stygles, Holden Jackson)
Team Berube—Grand National Curling Club (Lucas Berube, Ryan Trout, Ryan Best, Liam Guerin, Seth Ford)
Team K. Meyer—Great Lakes Curling Association 1 (Kyle Meyer, Jin Lazor, Julius Peplisnki, Zack Meyer)
Team Martin—Alaska Curling Association (Coleman Martin, Tobin Simko, Paitin Traxler, Aidan Lazarus)
Team Grabow—Dakota Territory (Miles Grabow, Will Podhrasky, Brennen Krenz, Nick Staveteig)
Team Kadlec—Wisconsin Curling Association (Austin Kadlec, Zac Hess, Kyler Warring, Davin Britton)
Team Mihm—Minnesota Curling Association 2 (David Mihm, Oliver Brooks, Radlee Cooper, Henry Jordan)
GIRLS’ TEAMS
Team Biesecker—Mid-America Curling Association (Zoe Biesecker, Kalina Petrova, Lila Farwell, Scarlett Wilson)
Team Chou—Rock Creek Curling (Abigail Chou, Olivia Kemp, Penny Fleming, Addison Clark)
Team Johnson—Minnesota Curling Association 1 (Allory Johnson, Gianna Johnson, Bailey Vaydich, Mae Hagenbuch)
Team Charles—Wisconsin Curling Association (Katie Charles, Madelyn Lehman, Audrey Ivey, Grace Rubenzer)
Team Clark—Alaska Curling Association (Charlie Clark, Ainsley Persinger, Eva Piehl, Rosa Hoppe, Maybe Clark)
Team Rokke—Dakota Territory (Lily Rokke, Olivia Johnson, Madilyn Johnson, Karena Thurlow)
Team Berg—Minnesota Curling Association 2 (Nia Berg, Ella Willford, Solveig Berg, Carol Chance)
Team Hollands—Great Lakes Curling Association (Jersey Hollands, Heidi Holt, Kate Stevenson, Isabel Molitor)
Team Stilp—Grand National Curling Club (Freya Stilp, Sara Bassiri, Rebecca Lassoff, Jessica Lassoff, Sahana Venugopal)
Team Carroll—Great Lakes Curling Association 2 (Elizabeth Carroll, Josephine Cabala, Avery Nickel, Alana Pretto)
Team Miller—Pacific Northwest Curling Association (Greta Miller, Jessie Wu, Shriya Patankar, Audrey Campbell)
Team Treynor—Mountain & Pacific Curling Association (Karina Treynor, Alice Mihm, Violet Bartels, Srihasini Malladi)
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
