Brainerd Lakes Curling Association wraps up league season

Curling rocks are on the ice — Brainerd Dispatch file photo

By Dispatch staff report

April 09, 2023 at 4:57 AM

BRAINERD — Six months of curling came to a close recently for 225 members of the Brainerd Lakes Curling Association, as Winter League champions were crowned, followed by the annual Fran Holden Memorial Bonspiel that put an exclamation point on the season.

The Winter League, which started Jan. 2, featured 56 teams that played in five different leagues. All the teams had at least four curlers except for the nine doubles teams. Nine weeks of league played were followed by two weeks of playoffs, which ended recently. Here are the winners of each league.

Monday Doubles League

Raising Button Biters - Tony Michals and Brent Gunsbury.

Tuesday Men's League

A-Bracket: Wes Hanson Builders - Jeromy Kunz, Mike Hushagen, Ron Everson, Alex Tiffany.

B-Bracket: Baratto Brothers Construction - Brady Knettel, Justin Goss, Matt Indihar, Ben Gottschalk.

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Wednesday Open League

A-Bracket: Holy Sheet - Ron Everson, Clara Navin, Alex Tiffany, Dusty Nelson.

B-Bracket: Giovanni's & Shep's - Jace Stallman, Megan Junge, Tim Thorson, Nick Weeks, Dan Nelson.

Thursday Women's League

Holden Hotties - Judy Osbakken, Janice Oakley, Jill Anderson, Kelly Gorvin.

Friday Open League

Oak Tones - Mary Pappas-Ladd, Joe Gans, Michael McEniry, Tom Jones.

The Fran Holden Memorial Bonspiel was a two-day tournament that featured 16 four-person teams. It was for club members and their guests only. The winners were as follows.

A Event

On The Rocks - Jarrett Swanson, Robert Haugly, Mike Williams, Ron Everson.

B Event

Ripcurl - Paul Murray, Daniel Murray, Dalen Hodge, Shawn Close.

C Event

Lord of the Rings - Barry Christensen, Mike Hushagen, Brent Gunsbury, Greg Whiteman.

D Event

TBD - Lori Hodge, Tina Johnson, Craig Johnson, Sara Simon.

The curling club recently finished its 16th season, which started Oct. 1. Along the way, the club had three open bonspiels (weekend tournaments), an introductory Learn to Curl program, a Youth Curling program, Open Curling on Saturdays for the public to give the game a try, Fall League, Winter League and the members-only Holden bonspiel that honored Fran Holden, who donated $1 million to build the club in 2012.

Located in the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds, the Brainerd Lakes Curling Association is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.brainerdcurling.org or email brainerdlakescurling@gmail.com .

By Dispatch staff report

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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