Congratulations to Team Kunkel (Coyotes – Jeff Kunkel, Woody Wu, Kenny Duncan, Matt O’Brien, Hal Brown, Coach Jeff Baird) on winning the 2026 5&U National Championship! Improving on their bronze medal finish in 2025, they went undefeated in the tournament to clinch the gold.
And congratulations to Team Gilbert (Oval – David Hurst, Ramin Gilbert, Jerry St. James, Gerard Trimberger) who took home silver at their second appearance in the national championship.
5 MoPac teams qualified to enter the 24-team field at this year’s championship. 3 teams – Kunkel, Gilbert, and Nie (SFBACC) – advanced to the playoffs at the end of pool play through the quarterfinals.
At the end, it was an all MoPac final featuring Teams Kunkel and Gilbert playing for gold. Up 7-2 at the half, Team Kunkel converted their hammer in the 5th to score 2 and bolster their lead. Team Gilbert made a gallant effort to close the gap, scoring 3 in the 6th and stealing 1 in the 7th. But the 3 point steal to force an extra was no easy feat against Team Kunkel with their ability to peel guards and keep the end clean. Ultimately, Team Kunkel came out on top after a dominant performance in the gold medal match with a 9-6 win!
Congratulations to Team Kunkel, Team Gilbert, and all the other MoPac teams that competed in this year’s national championship. And thank you to all the club members that helped mentor these players in their first years in the sport. It is a great sign of the growth of competitive curling in our region to see so many teams in this competition come from our region every year and see many reach the podium. Cheers!
