Young challengers cannot break through
John Shuster keeps the curling train rolling on down the tracks.
The veteran skip and 2018 Olympic champion roared from behind to score a stunning 11-6 comeback win over Korey Dropkin in the men’s final of the 2024 USA Curling National Championships on Sunday to win his ninth national title and sixth in the last nine years.
Earlier in the day, Tabitha Peterson defeated Sarah Anderson 10-5 to capture another U.S. women’s team crown at the American Dream mall, retail and entertainment center in East Rutherford, N.J.
It was another pivotal five-point end late in the game, as Shuster rallied for the win on another championship stage. Trailing Dropkin 5-3 after six ends, Shuster registered a mammoth five baller to turn the two-point deficit into a three-point lead.
The skip from Superior, Wisconsin has now won five-straight nationals that he has competed in. Shuster missed the 2018 Nats after winning gold at the Olympics and opted not to play in the 2021 Wausau, Wisconsin bubble—which took place after they competed at the men’s worlds a month earlier.
Team Shuster—with Chris Plys, Matt Hamilton, Colin Hufman and John Landsteiner—will now represent the United States, again, at the 2024 world men’s titleshoot Mar. 30-Apr. 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Opening with the hammer, Dropkin blanked the first end before grabbing early momentum with a three in the second end. But clubmate Shuster—both skips represent Duluth, Minn.—came right back with an important deuce in the third frame.
The teams traded singles in the fourth and fifth ends, as Dropkin and mates Tom Howell (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Mark Fenner (Bemidji, Minn.) and Andrew Stopera (Briarcliff Manor, NY) led 4-3 at the break.
In the sixth end, facing one yellow Shuster rock that was a quarter buried, Dropkin’s draw to the button was perfect to go back up by two.
But Shuster took it to another level in the seventh end. A hit and roll on his first stone removed Dropkin’s red counter to lie four. Dropkin’s final stone of the end didn’t roll far enough, leaving Shuster an open hit for five. The ever-confident skip drilled it, causing Hufman to turn around and give a loud bark to his skip.
Shuster stayed on the offense in the eighth end without hammer. A fantastic shot on Shuster’s last gave them two counters, forcing Dropkin to an open draw for one. They ended things with a big triple in the ninth and the teams shook hands.
It was a shocking loss for Dropkin who had staked leads of 3-0 and 5-3. Team Shuster ended up winning the seventh, eighth and ninth ends by an 8-1 points count.
The women’s competition started on Monday and saw Peterson drop a 10-5 decision to Anderson. However, the veteran skip from Eagan, Minn. then reeled off eight straight victories en route to winning the 2024 title.
The squad will now represent USA Curling at the World Women’s Curling Championship next month (March 16-24) in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
A deuce in the fourth end followed by a steal of three in the fifth proved to be the difference for Peterson, who has now won three of the last four women’s national championships.
“It feels great,” said Peterson third Cory Thiesse. “So proud of the girls on such a great week. We definitely played our best games in the playoffs and not much more you could ask for. We’re excited to keep working and have a great showing at the worlds.”
An interesting decision by Peterson was to give up last rock advantage—or “hammer”— in favor of their choice of rocks before the game started. And once things got underway, points were hard to come in the matchup between the two best women’s teams all week.
Anderson and Peterson swapped singles in the first three ends before the defending champions struck for the game’s first deuce in the fourth end. Lying one with Anderson biting the back of the four-foot rings, Peterson executed a perfect soft weight hit for a pair and a 3-2 lead.
Peterson and Becca Hamilton (McFarland, Wisc.), sister Tara Peterson (Eagan) and Thiesse (Duluth, Minn.) kept the pressure on without hammer in the fifth end, lying six red stones and forcing Anderson into a tough draw—or an even tougher chip for one.
Coached by legendary Canadian Earle Morris, skip Sarah Anderson opted for the chip but their yellow stone ran too far across the house, resulting in a steal of four which gave Peterson full control.
“It was a very close game to start and after we got the deuce we felt like we were in control,” Thiesse said. “We were able to put a lot of pressure on them in the fifth and got a half shot which was the difference in the game for sure.”
Anderson, with Leah Yavarow (Bemidji, Minn.), Lexi Lanigan (Duluth) plus sister and third Taylor Anderson (Minneapolis, Minn.) could only manage a single in the sixth end. The two teams then traded deuces before a Peterson single in the ninth resulted in handshakes.
Besides Peterson and Shuster leaving North Jersey as winners, USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell also declared victory after successfully executing the event inside a shopping mall.
Gemmell, a Jersey native himself who is still in his first full year leading the organization, made the decision to bring Nationals back to the East Coast and have America’s largest media market help deliver the growing game to many new sets of eyes.
“The big thing here was to expose curling to a different audience,” Gemmell said. “It wasn’t without its challenges but in the end, we’re really happy. No matter what city we’re in, we need to get people in to sit it.
“This will give a boost to all the clubs in the area and positive for the growth of the game on the East Coast.”