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Lawton, Kasner grew up playing tag around P.A. curling club

Jan 28, 2016 | 10:16 PM

She may be curling out of Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club and grew up in Shellbrook, but Stefanie Lawton will always have a soft spot in her heart for Prince Albert.

She and her sister Marliese Kasner born in Prince Albert and they spent many days in P.A. Most of those were at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club—where they’re currently playing at the 2016 Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts Women’s Championship.

While they were still rambunctious youngsters, Lawton and Kasner got bored out of their skulls as got tired of waiting for their parents’ or siblings’ curling games to end. They eventually found some creative ways of killing the time around the PAGCC.

“The games would go on for so long and we couldn’t just sit there when we were so young, so we went and played in the change room,” laughed Lawton. “We turned off the lights and played blind man around there, played tag and did all kinds of stuff. It was fun.

“I grew up in Shellbrook and Prince Albert’s another home to me. We’ve been here so much, I’ve watched my siblings play here. I’ve watched my parents play here. It’s definitely so much fun coming back here and there’s so much family and friends around watching.”

Now, Lawton and Kasner don’t need to chase each other around the rink anymore, they’re having enough fun out on the ice. The Lawton rink, consisting of Lawton as the skip, newly-added third Trish Paulsen as the third, Sherri Singler as the second and Kasner as the lead, have won the last two provincial Scotties.

They’ve started their bid for a three-peat by winning their first two games this year, beating Nancy Inglis on Thursday 8-4 and Kim Schneider 9-5 on Wednesday.

Lawton’s now 2-0 after the first two days, joining Regina Highland’s Jolene Campbell as the only two undefeated teams in Pool A.

“We’re learning the ice and getting a feel for it and making some great shots,” said Lawton, who added the ice was ‘fantastic and consistent’. “We left some room for improvement, but that’s to be expected at the start of a tournament.

“We’re happy with the way that we’re playing but we’re going to keep turning on the fire and keep playing harder.”

Lawton has won four provincial Scotties since 2005. In her four national Hearts appearances, Lawton has finished fourth overall in each.

Michelle Englot and Robyn Silvernagle are the two undefeated teams in Pool B, both with 2-0 records. Silvernagle beat Balgonie’s Mandy Selzer 9-1 after six ends of play. Englot beat the previously undefeated Kelsey Dutton of Swift Current 7-3.

Kristie Moore squeaked by Nancy Martin 7-6 in extra ends to pick up their first win of the tournament, getting a single in the 11th to break the deadlock.

There will be three draws on Friday, 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea