The Stonewall team of Ralph Nespor and Rob LaCombe is bringing a national title back to Manitoba.
With an undefeated run at the Canadian 2-Person Open Stick Curling Championship at Grande Prairie Curling Centre in Grande Prairie, Alta., Nespor and LaCombe captured the national title — marking Manitoba’s third championship win in the Open division in the past four years.
The Stonewall curlers, who also won this year’s Manitoba Stick Curling Association Open Championship, went unbeaten through five games in the Open Canadian Division Pool H before rattling off four straight playoff victories on Sunday to clinch the title.
Their playoff run began with a narrow 4–3 win, followed by a 3–1 quarterfinal victory and a 3–2 win in the semifinal — all against Alberta teams.
In the final, Nespor and LaCombe faced Paul Landry and Keith Bennett, the defending champions from 2023. A three-ender to open the game gave the Manitobans a near-insurmountable lead in the six-end final. They led 4–2 after three ends, blanked the fourth, and added a single in the fifth to go up by three coming home. From there, they simply ran their opponents out of stones to seal the championship.
Nespor and LaCombe now join a growing list of recent Manitoba champions in the event, including 2024 winners Warren Johnson and Dan McDonald (St. Vital), and the 2022 duo of Norm Magnusson and Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge). Other provincial champions from the past decade include Tom and Rae Campbell (Killarney, 2018) and Jim Rouse and Ross MacMillan (Warren, 2015).
In the women’s division, Gwen Smith and Lynne Rehbein of St. Vital earned bronze — their second in three years — with a dramatic comeback win. Trailing by two heading into the final end, they scored three to edge a New Brunswick duo 5–4.
By Resby Coutts
