Top: On the left, Paige Everson concentrates on the feet of Claire Keech of Hudson, Wisconsin in the girls’ U-13 amateur championship log rolling match at the Hayward Lumberjack World Championships. Left: A happy group of North Shore Rollers displays their winning plaques. (L-R) Paige Everson, Ali Duclos, Dominic Wilson and Taylor Everson.
One month ago Paige Everson rolled in four matches at a log rolling tournament held in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and she lost all four matches. It was clear she lacked confidence and the “fire in her belly” was missing. A pep talk from Hayward, Wisconsin’s Brian Duffy, at age 47 the “old man” of competitive professional men’s log rolling, put Paige on a new course. But would she be able to bounce back at the Hayward Lumberjack World Championships held July 28-30?
The answer was a decisive yes as Paige had the tournament of her life and ended up winning the U-13 girls’ log rolling world championship in Hayward, Wisconsin on Friday, July 29.
Not only was it the biggest win of her life, it was her first win as a log roller, with a long string of second-, third- and fourth-place finishes in big meets.
And frankly the competition wasn’t really close, as Everson took the final match three falls to one over Claire Keech of Hudson, Wisconsin.
Paige’s victory might have been the highlight for the North Shore Rollers, but it was far from the only bright spot at Worlds. Alexis Plummer showed off her fast feet and great balance to finish second in the U7 mixed division, where both boys and girls compete against each other.
Not to be outdone, Ali Duclos rolled through a deep field and had a tremendous match against Libby Magnone, finishing second in the U-10 girls division. Both girls showed remarkable balance and footwork on the logs, rolling down to the four log, which isn’t much bigger than a toothpick.
Taylor Everson also had a great day, placing fourth in the U-10 girls’ field. Out of all of five North Shore Rollers who competed at Worlds, Taylor’s fourth place was the lowest finish for the team, which is a pretty incredible result when weighed against the much larger teams who get professional coaching and more practice time.
Saying he had too much adrenaline running through his system, Dominic Wilson, the former U-10 boys’ World Champion, was off his game early in the boys’ U-13 division. He was down two falls to none to Sam Polentini of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin before coming back and tying the match two-two. However, Polentini earned a decisive quick third fall to win the match and move to the championship round where he lost to Dominick Magnone of Illinois.
Holding a plaque almost as big as she is, Alexis Plummer was a happy second-place finisher in the co-ed U-7 log rolling championships.
Meanwhile Wilson was relegated to rolling for third place, and with his nerves settled, he won that bout over a game Jacob Dietheart.
This week the kids end their outdoor competition with the Minnesota State Championships held in Grand Marais during the Fisherman’s Picnic. A strong women’s professional field is also coming and will feature this year’s world champion Ellie Davenport of Hudson, Wisconsin.
Come out and cheer on the kids on and watch the best professional women log rollers on the planet go head to head in what should be a thrilling competition.
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