Team Miller prepares for the Curling Alberta Optimist U18 Curling Championship in Leduc from Jan. 2-5, 2025. Chris Marfleet/CHAT News

By Jesse Gill

SPORTS

Medicine Hat’s Team Miller off to U18 provincial curling championship

Dec 27, 2024 | 12:39 PM

Medicine Hat will be represented at the Curling Alberta Optimist U18 Championship in Leduc from Jan. 2 to 5.

Earlier this month, Team Miller from the Medicine Hat Curling Centre rallied off three straight wins after dropping their first two games at playdowns in Taber to qualify for the event.

Lyndon Sherwick, a grade 8 student who plays lead for the team, said it was good feeling beating a familiar opponent in Team Falkenburg out of Brooks to qualify for U18’s this year.

“It was kind of a revenge game because we had the same game against them last year, and they beat us, so we were relieved to beat them this year,” Lyndon said.

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Missing out on the U18’s last year, the team had brought home a silver medal at the U15 level in 2024.

Colby Sherwick, a 10th grader, and older brother of Lyndon, plays third on the team.

He said they will face a lot of familiar opponents in Leduc.

“There is only one team we haven’t beat there, so everyone else we’ve beat before,” Colby said.

“I think we have a chance if we play good and lock in.”

Skip Ryker Miller, who is in Grade 11, is looking forward to the tournament.

“I think it’s going to be really fun this year,” Miller said.

“Last year was tough. There was only three teams at qualifiers, so it was a double knock out,” he added.

“We have a new teammate Emmett, so he has given a lot to the team this year. So it’s going to be a big difference, so that’s good.”

Emmett Cook, a Grade 10 student who plays second on the team, said he is a happy to be the teams newest member.

“They are great guys, it’s awesome to hang out with these guys,” Cook said.

“Curling is an awesome sport and love doing it. So I do more and more of it. It’s fun.”

The team continues to improve under head coach Terry DeValter.

Lyndon Sherwick, who still has four more seasons of curling after this year at the U18 level eventually wants to work his way up to being a skip.

He had initially watched his brother playing with Team Miller before joining the team a few years back, and has enjoyed the team success.

“Oh, it’s awesome. I never would have thought I’d make it that high just going from junior curling here all the way up to Alberta,” Lyndon said.

“It’s a big jump, but we’re doing pretty good.”

Making the jump to a provincial event at the U18 level this year Team Miller will look to sweep and draw it to the button to bring home a medal again this year.