The 2023 Provincial U18 Curling Championships are underway in Altona.

With just one day left in the round-robin, Portage's own Colton Olafson is looking to lead his team into the playoff rounds. The skip helped guide the squad to three consecutive victories, and they now have a record of 3-2, needing a win today to make the elimination rounds.

It took the Portage team a few games to get going but they have outscored their last three opponents by a combined score of 27-14.

Team Olafson is made up of Hunter Jefferies (lead), Tristan Blight (second), Nolan Ross (third), and Olafson as the skip. He says he has quite a bit of experience in high-pressure scenarios.

"For me, it's just about being in the right mindset. I listen to music a lot before the games."

Olafson says Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' is one song that always gets him into the right head space to give his best effort. The Portager notes they won't want to change too much heading into today's big match against Team Robins, led by Luke Robins.

"I think we just have to keep our intensity up and keep going at the same pace that we have been."

The skip was able to take part in this specific tournament last year, and he believes that has been a major benefit this time around.

"It helps us in situations that we've seen before. Now, we know exactly what to do."

One thing Olafson is stressing to the rest of his teammates ahead of today's outing, is to play to their own strengths, rather than playing to their opponent's weaknesses.

Team Olafson's last game of the round-robin takes place today at 4 p.m., with the semi-final and championship matches going down tomorrow.

For the full tournament schedule click here.

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