- U.S. Junior National Championships: 2006 (8th)
- Wisconsin Junior Women's Championship: 2006
(runner-up)
- Minnesota Junior Women's Championship: 2005
ABOUT LAUREN BJERKE:
Curls out of: St. Paul Curling Club
Other sports: "I have played girls travel fast-pitch
softball for a number of years. My U-12 team finished second in the state in
2002. I play centerfield in softball."
Hobbies: "I write poems and last year my high school
English teacher submitted one of my poems, which were published in a magazine in
my high school newspaper."
Something unique: "When I was 13 years old, Dragonfly
TV came to the St. Paul Curling Club and did a television episode on curling. I
was selected by the producers to participate in the episode along with my
friends Haley, Mimi and Tara. The episode has been broadcast nationally by PBS."
Volunteer efforts: "I have been on mission trips with
my church to inner city Chicago, where I painted houses and cared for
underprivileged children; and Reynosa, Mexico, where I worked at an orphanage
caring for children from ages roughly 5 to 14. I really connected with several
of the children in Reynosa making my trip to Mexico one of the most rewarding
experiences of my life."
Curling start: "I began curling when I was 10 years
old. I immediately fell in love with the sport. I guess you could say Matt
Peterson, a friend of the family and member of my church, introduced me to the
sport, but mostly I was interested because I accompanied my best friend, Haley.
Haley also had been brought into the sport by Matt Peterson. Matt was a junior
national curler from out of the Ak-Sar-Ben Curling Club when he was a kid. Matt
is a member of the St. Paul Curling Club, and has gotten a number of adults and
children from our church interested in curling. My first experience curling were
at the St. Paul Club in the youth program on Saturday mornings. Tim Dougherty
was my first instructor from Bantams and taught me a lot about the game. During
my early years in juniors I was primarily a skip and Pat Yelk, my junior
instructor, helped me with my strategic game. Throughout my time at the St. Paul
club Jim Dexter "Dex" has been a constant source of encouragement and I am very
fortunate to have Dex as a mentor. This year I have learned a lot from my
teammates (Megan, Jacque, Randi), and my coach, Rusty. This season has been
unforgettable. I feel I am very fortunate to be competing at the national level
at my young age (15). It was a great experience to play one of my idols, Aileen
Sormunen. Aileen is such an awesome curler. After meeting her in person I was
even more pleased to discover how nice she and her teammates are."
Additional information: "This year my family is hosting
a foreign exchange student from Germany. Two years ago, I was hospitalized for
three months with an eating disorder. I am better now, but it is a constant
battle to remain on a healthy meal plan."
Career goals: Author, poet
Curling goals: 2010 Olympics |
