Members of the century club, in any facet, are few and far between but when Jacob Horgan, 19, donned a Northern Ontario jersey for the first time in 2014, he never envisioned playing 100 games at the national level. 

Horgan competed in his 100th match representing Northern Ontario on Sunday morning at the 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships in Langley, British Columbia versus Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle (1-1; Chester). Horgan’s tally comes from combined appearances at U18 Canadian Championships and Canadian Junior Championships, a U21 event.

“All the years have gone by so fast. It really doesn’t feel like I’ve played 100 games yet.” said Horgan. “It was never really on my mind. I knew the most Junior Championships I could make was eight but I never even thought to think about 100 games.”

Horgan is no stranger to success and has amassed the majority of his playing time alongside his brother, Tanner, who is another well decorated Northern Ontario curling athlete. The two have played together in several Canadian Junior Championships including 2019 at Prince Albert, Sask. (6-4, Northern Ontario playing third for Tanner Horgan); 2018 at Shawinigan, Que. (8-3, silver medal, Northern Ontario third for Tanner Horgan); 2017 at Victoria (7-3, bronze medal, Northern Ontario third for Tanner Horgan); 2016 at Stratford, Ont. (9-2, silver medal, Northern Ontario third for Tanner Horgan); 2015 at Corner Brook, N.L. (5-5, Northern Ontario third for Tanner Horgan); and 2014 at Liverpool. N.S. (5-5, Northern Ontario second for Tanner Horgan).

“It does feel significant. I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to do something like this” said Horgan.

Jacob hasn’t relied on his brother for success either – he’s medaled in every U18 Canadian Championship he’s participated in as a skip including 2018 at St. Andrews, N.B. (8-2, bronze medal) and 2017 at Moncton, N.B. (7-3, gold medal).

When asked about his success and well decorated trophy cabinet, Horgan said: “When we made the Junior National final in 2016, that was special. I was only 15 at the time and my brother (Tanner Horgan) was 17 at the time. We were a really young back-end and it was our first time playing on TV under the big lights. Even though we didn’t win the game, it was a really special moment.”

And now for the first time, Jacob is leading his Northern Ontario team of third Scott Mitchell, second Mitchell Cortello, lead Chase Dusessoy, and coach Collin Mitchell of Curl Sudbury into the 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships as a skip.

“Skipping a team at this event doesn’t change my approach too much. It’s my first New Holland Canadian Juniors as a skip, but I’m pretty used to calling the game in an arena.”

Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle played spoiler for Horgan’s 100th match, defeating the Northern Ontario team 5-3, but Horgan felt his team provided an excellent effort despite the loss 

“Our set-up in the seventh end wasn’t looking too pretty. We were lucky to get our one point. The next ends, we had to make a lot of high precision shots – a lot of team shots. It was a really well played game by both teams; we were just on the wrong side of the inch a couple of times. They had our number that game,” said Horgan.

Despite the accomplishment of 100 total games representing Northern Ontario and an array of Canadian Championship hardware, Horgan has no plans of slowing down.

“My dreams are big. I’m a really ambitious guy. I’m never going to give up and I have a never quit attitude. No matter what the future holds, I think I’ll keep curling and keep trying to get better. I’ll keep trying to win.” said Horgan.

In other Draw 4 men’s action from the 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships, Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter (2-0; Saskatoon) defeated Ontario’s Ownen Purdy (0-2; Kingston) by a score of 7-4. Manitoba 2, represented by Jaques Gauthier (2-0; Winnipeg), beat New Brunswick’s Liam Marin (0-2; Saint John) 9-5. British Columbia 1’s Hayata Sato (2-0; New Westminster) bested the Northwest Territories’ Sawer Kaeser (0-2; Fort Smith) 8-6. 

In women’s play, Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen (1-1; Iqaluit) rebounded with a win over New Brunswick’s Melodie Forsythe (0-2; Moncton) by a score of 9-4. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mackenzie Mitchell (1-1; St. John’s) defeated the Northwest Territories’ Tyra Bain (0-2; Inuvik) 6-3. Québec’s Noémie Gauthier (2-0; Kenogami) remained perfect with a win over Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson (0-2; Cornwall) 9-6. 

Play will resume with Draw 5 action from the Township of Langley at 2 p.m. PST. 

Additional Online Reports:

Men — Click here

Women — Click here

For event information, visit www.curling.ca/2020juniors.

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For further information, contact:

Al Cameron

Director, Communication and Media Relations

Curling Canada

Cell: 403-463-5500

acameron@curling.ca