The team prize eluded him, but Vernon’s Jim Cotter returned with some hardware from the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian Men’s Curling Championship in Calgary.
Cotter won the Ross Harstone Trophy, presented each year to the player chosen by his peers as the curler in the Brier who best represents Harstone’s high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.
“There were many others just as deserving, if not more,” said Cotter. “With that said, it’s a real honor to be chosen. It very well could be a team award because my teammates bring the best out in me and any one of them could have been selected.”
Cotter and his B.C. championship rink of Ryan Kuhn, Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky, finished with a record of 6-5, missing a chance at a tie breaker by losing his final round-robin game, 4-2, to Steve Laycock of Saskatchewan Friday morning.
Pat Simmons drew to the button with his final rock in the 11th end to give Team Canada a 6-5 win over 2013 Brier champ Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario in Sunday’s final.
The win gives Simmons and his Calgary rink, which includes 2014 Cotter teammate John Morris, a spot in the Ford World Men’s Championships in Halifax.
Meanwhile, Vernon rinks skipped by Thomas Love and Clare Schmidt won bronze medals at the Tim Hortons B.C. Juvenile Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships in Lake Cowichan Sunday.
Love and his rink of Erik Colwell, Brendan Chapple and Johnathan Schwartz scored three in both the first and fourth ends to knock off Brayden Carpenter of New Westminster 7-4 in the bronze medal match.
Love had been undefeated going into Sunday morning’s semifinal against eventual champion Matthew McCrady of New West.
The Vernon quartet was 3-0 after an 11-5 win over Hayato Sato of Coquitlam, a 7-6 victory over Carpenter and a 15-2 romp over Julian Chmelyk of Fraser Lake to take their round robin pool.
McCrady won the semifinal, 5-2, to advance to the gold medal game.
On the women’s side, Schmidt and her rink of Jaelyn Cotter, Winter Harvey and Cassidy Schwaerzle, 2-1 in the preliminary round despite the fact they were without their head coach, Jim Cotter, away at the Brier. Jim’s mom, Pat, filled in admirably.
Schmidt beat Emily Smith of Parksville/Nanaimo 6-3, dropped a 6-3 decision to Alyssa Connell of Prince George/Quesnel, then rebounded to defeat Elizabeth Schulz of Fraser Lake 12-3 to qualify for Sunday’s semifinal.
Jessie Withey of Prince George scored four points in the final two ends, including a steal of one for the victory, in a 7-6 semifinal win over Schmidt.
The Vernon squad bounced back, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after three ends, which included a five-ender in the third, on the way to an 11-2 romp over Smith.
Withey lost the gold medal match, 8-2, to Heather Drexel of Coquitlam.
