At State Capitol, Woodbury Student Honored for Leading CT Curling Squad to Championship

Sen. Rob Kane (left) welcomes Woodbury resident Kent Suslavich (right) to the State Capitol’s Senate Chamber on May 2. Suslavich led his team to win the men’s Gold Medal at Optimist U18 International Curling Championships in British Colombia, Canada April 2-6, 2014.

On May 2, Woodbury resident Kent Suslavich was honored by state legislators at the State Capitol for leading his team to win the men’s Gold Medal at Optimist U18 International Curling Championships in British Colombia, Canada April 2-6, 2014

The Kent Suslavich rink from Connecticut earned a spot in USA Curling’s history books with the U.S. National Curling Association’s first-ever men’s title win at the Optimist U18 (Under 18) International Curling Championships held at the Cloverdale and Langley curling clubs in British Columbia last month.

“I was great to welcome Kent to the State Capitol and introduce him to my fellow legislators,” Sen. Rob Kane said. “We are so proud of what Kent and his team have accomplished. His work ethic and positive attitude make him a role model for young people across our state. We wish Kent all the best in the future.”

As skip, Suslavich and teammates Hunter and Caleb Clawson (Clarksville, Md.) and Will Pryor (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.) went 4-1 in round robin play against two rival U.S. men’s teams from Minnesota and Washington, Alberta, British Columbia and Japan to reach the playoffs. In the semifinals, the Connecticut team defeated Nova Scotia’s Adam Cocks team, 6-2, to advance to the gold-medal game. They won the event on with a 5-3 win over the previously undefeated Tanner Horgan rink of Northern Ontario.

This Gold Medal is the first for a U.S. men’s team since the Optimist International Curling Championship was begun in 2001, and brings the Connecticut Team to the standing as Top World Seed in 2014. The Connecticut team was coached by Don Arsenault (Brick, N.J.).

Suslavich, 17, is a junior at Nonnewaug High School and a Chapter Officer of the Ellis Clark Agricultural Science program. He began curling at the not-for-profit Nutmeg Curling Club located at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport five years ago, an interest sparked by the Winter Olympics. Curling, a Scottish sport, dates back to the 1600s and is widely known as “chess on ice” for its degree of difficulty to move granite rocks on specially treated “pebbled” ice toward a bulls eye 140’ away. Two teams with four players play eight ends for points.