During his wheelchair curling career, Frank LaBounty has tossed plenty of rocks in national championship tournaments.
This year, his bid for another appearance at nationals fell agonizingly short.
LaBounty, a Prince George resident, was part of a team that competed at the B.C. finals in Kamloops on the weekend. He threw third stones for a crew skipped by Gary Cormack and was up against the Darryl Neighbour rink in a best-of-three affair. Neighbour, by way of huge comebacks, won in the minimum number of games.
In the first game, Neighbour dug out of an early 6-0 hole and prevailed 7-6. In the second game, Neighbour trailed 6-1 after three ends but battled back for a 9-8 victory. With his last rock, he drew for three points and the B.C. crown.
Neighbour's rink, which includes Sonja Gaudet at third, Gerry Austgarden at second and Corine Jensen at lead, will now represent B.C. at nationals, March 18-25 in Thunder Bay. Neighbour lives in Richmond.
Cormack's team -- which entered the playdown as the defending B.C. champion -- is rounded out by second Vince Miele and lead Allison Duddy, who hails from Quesnel.
At last year's national tournament in Edmonton, Cormack and company finished fourth. Earlier in his career, LaBounty helped B.C. rinks claim three consecutive national titles.
