TISDALE — An impressive week of curling has resulted in Curl Sask Masters men’s and women’s provincial championships for Weyburn’s Jim Nikolejsin and Yorkton’s Cathy Inglis.
Nikolejsin had a nearly perfect showing, dropping a single game on his way to claiming the men’s title, while Inglis was even better, going undefeated through her six games on the way to the women’s championship.
It was a great start for Nikolejsin, third Jaime Miller, second Ray Calbow and lead Darcy Cretin, as they put together a perfect 4-0 record to sit all alone in first place after the round robin. That sent Nikolejsin into the Page Playoff 1-2 game against Langenburg’s Jeff Hartung, where they’d drop a 4-3 decision and move on to the semifinal.
The Page 3-4 game saw St. Front’s Murray Sunderland score four in the fifth and five in the sixth on their way to a 9-3 win over Wadena’s Lloyd Franko, advancing to face Nikolejsin for a spot in the gold medal game.
There, Nikolejsin led 5-2 heading into the final two ends, but Sunderland would get within one with a deuce in the seventh before Nikolejsin finished things off with one in the eighth for a 6-4 win.
That sent Nikolejsin into the championship game against Hartung, and they’d get off to a great start, stealing points in the first four ends — including a pair in the third — to build a 5-0 edge. Hartung got one back in the fifth, but Nikolejsin used his first hammer to score three in the sixth, and the teams shook hands after an 8-1 win for the Weyburn rink.
Inglis and her rink of third Joan McCusker, second Patsy Kuspira and lead Bev Fuches strung together four straight wins through their round robin — twice hitting double digits in the process — to finish 4-0 and advance directly to the final.
Wynyard’s June Campbell finished 2-2 and took Moose Jaw’s Diane Foster in the semifinal after they capped their round robin with a 3-1 mark. Campbell stole two in the first and another three in the second for a 5-0 lead, and after Foster battled back to make it a two-point game after four ends, Campbell pulled away with another deuce in the fifth. A steal of two the next end would finish things off with a 9-2 Campbell win.
The championship game saw Inglis score one in the first and steal two in the third for a 3-0 lead, and after Campbell got two back in the fourth, Inglis looked to take complete control with three in the fifth for a 6-2 edge. Campbell wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, getting that three right back in the seventh, but Inglis would finish things off with a deuce in the eighth and an 8-5 win.
The Nikolejsin and Inglis rinks will now play as Team Saskatchewan at the 2026 Canadian Masters championships Apr. 6-11 in Grande Prairie, Alta.
