The Duluth Curling Club tandem of John Shuster and Cory Christensen ousted Olympian siblings Matt and Becca Hamilton 6-5 in the quarterfinals of the USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship on Saturday in Seattle.
Shuster and Christensen, who finished round-robin play 4-1 after beating Lance Wheeler and Clare Moores on Friday, faced Duluth's Joe Polo and Tabitha Peterson in the semifinals late Saturday. Polo and Peterson won their group with a 5-0 round-robin record.
The other semifinal pits Duluth's Chris Plys against Nina Roth and Kroy Nernberger, who eliminated Duluth's Korey Dropkin and teammate Sarah Anderson earlier in the day.
• The Senior Men's Championship moved closer to the finish Saturday as playoff berths were determined at the Heather Curling Club in Mapleton, Minn.
Several Northland curlers were vying for one of the four playoff spots heading into the evening session.
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Superior's Phil DeVore beat Hibbing's Paul Pustovar 5-4 to remain alive; Pustovar also lost 7-3 to Geoff Goodland's qualifiers earlier in the day but had another late match in an effort to advance. Duluth's Ross Litman also lost 9-5 to Goodland's team but also was not eliminated pending a late match.
• In the Senior Women's National Championship at Portage, Wis., defending champion Margie Smith and teammate Norma O'Leary of Silver Bay improved to 3-0 in round-robin play by beating Kim Wapola's rink 8-3 in the morning session. Play continued late Saturday, with the round-robin winner considered the national champion.
