February 1, 2024
TEAM USA WINS BRONZE
The U.S. youth mixed curling team of Wausau’s Ella Wendling and Eau Claire’s Benji Paral won a thrilling match over Sweden yesterday to take home the bronze medal.
Their final game at the Youth Olympics in Gangwon, Korea, was one of the most competitive of the eight they played in the 24-team competition.
With Sweden leading 4-3, the Americans tied the game in the last end, and then scored three in the extra end to seal the victory and the bronze medal.
In the gold medal game, Great Britain defeated Denmark.
Overall, Wendling and Paral went 5-0 in round-robin play to win their pool, then defeated Czechia in the quarter-finals, and lost 6-5 to Denmark in the semi-finals before their medal win last night.
The team was coached by Wausau West curling coach Jim Wendling.
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January 30, 2024
TEAM USA MIXED DOUBLES ADVANCES AT YOUTH OLYMPICS
The U.S. mixed doubles curling team, featuring Wausau West's Ella Wendling and Eau Claire's Benji Paral, defeated Ukraine 9-1 in six ends on Monday to assure the team a spot in the playoffs.
The win followed a crucial 8-3 win over Norway on Sunday before at the Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea.
The pair now stands at 4-0 in pool play, with a match against Slovenia remaining.
According to Wausau West curling coach Jim Wendling, the Norway game went back and forth through the first four ends, before the Americans played a "fantastic fifth end and stole four to take a 7-2 lead." The US then gave up--or forced--just a single point in the sixth end, and came back to grab a point in the seventh and force Norway to call the game.
Against Ukraine, Team USA piled up an insurmountable lead and the game was called early. Earlier, the Americans had defeated Sweden and Qatar.
Action can be followed at http://www.olympics.com. The competition features youth teams in a range of winter sports, mirroring the Olympics.