2026 EXCELLENCE AWARDS
On an annual basis, the USA Curling Excellence Awards celebrate the accomplishments, contributions, and commitment of athletes and coaches.
Designed to reflect the sentiment of the entire curling community, voting is open to the following stakeholder groups: Fans, Peers, Hall of Fame Committee, Coaches, Board of Directors.
Athletes of the Year: Awarded to one male athlete, one female athlete, and one wheelchair athlete. Winners of these awards define excellence both on and off the ice, and have demonstrated a strong commitment to competitive achievement.
Cory Thiesse Olympic silver medalist in mixed doubles curling, earning USA's first-ever Olympic medal in the discipline. Thiesse also competed in the women’s event at the Olympic Games, with a fourth-place finish.
Tabitha Peterson Skip of Team USA’s Olympic women’s curling team, leading the United States to a fourth-place finish at the Olympic Games. Peterson was also ranked as one of the top-performing skips at the Olympics, finishing fourth in shooting percentage at her position.
Allory Johnson Silver medalist at the World Junior-B Championships and a fourth-place finisher at the World Junior Curling Championships. Johnson also captured gold at the U18 National Championships and earned bronze at the Junior Mixed Doubles National Championships.
Margie Smith Ten-time Senior Women’s National Champion and skipped her team to a fourth-place finish at the Senior World Championships.
Korey Dropkin Olympic silver medalist in mixed doubles curling, helping Team USA earn its first-ever Olympic medal in the discipline.
Aidan Oldenburg Had the highest shooting percentage among leads at the Winter Olympic Games. Finished fourth with Team Shuster at the Men’s World Championships.
Rich Ruohonen Established new record for the oldest Winter Olympian on Team USA. Captured the 2026 World Senior Men's Championship as a member of Team Farbelow.
Caden Hebert Skipped Team USA to a World Junior Championship title. Won the World Junior-B Championship and earned bronze at the Junior Mixed Doubles National Championships.
Sean O'Neill Skipped at his first Paralympics and ranked second in shooting percentage for his position at the Games.
Laura Dwyer First Paralympic appearance, finishing fourth in mixed doubles at the Paralympics. Won the first ever mixed doubles Paralympic Trials in Sioux Falls.
Steve Emt Three-time Paralympian, finishing fourth in mixed doubles at the Paralympics. Won the first ever mixed doubles Paralympic Trials in Sioux Falls.
Team of the Year: Awarded to the team that best exhibits sportsmanship, integrity, and elite performance.
Team Thiesse/Dropkin—Mixed Doubles Olympic silver medalists in mixed doubles curling, earning the first-ever Olympic medal for the United States in the discipline.
Team Hebert—Junior Men's 2026 World Junior Champions and World Junior-B gold medalists.
Team Farbelow—Senior Men's 2026 Senior World Champions.
Olympic/Para Coach of the Year: Recognizes a coach who has been a major contributor to the success of an established American team or teams on the Olympic and Paralympic pathway.
Cathy Overton-Clapham Coach of the 2026 Olympic mixed doubles silver medal team (Thiesse/Dropkin) and the U.S. women’s team (Peterson), which finished fourth at the Olympic Games.
Jordan Moulton Coach of the 2026 U.S. Olympic men’s team (Casper).
Pete Annis Head coach for the U.S. Paralympic teams and coach of the mixed doubles team (Dwyer/Emt), fourth-place finish at the Paralympic Games.
Theran Michaelis Coach for Team Shuster at the World Men’s Championship and Olympic Games data analyst. Led Team Shuster to USA's highest finish in the World Curling Team Rankings.
Developmental Coach of the Year: Recognizes a Coach who has been a major contributor to the success of an emerging American team or teams.
Evan Workin Coached Team Pekowitz to a Junior National Championship title.
Mike Peplinski Coached Team Hebert to a World Junior Championship title, a World Junior-B gold medal, and a repeat national championship title.Jim Wendling Coached Team Wendling/Paral to a Junior Mixed Doubles Nationals title and a solid performance at the World Junior Mixed Doubles Championships.
Ann Swisshelm Coached Team Hebert to a World Junior Championship title and a World Junior-B gold medal. Also coached Team Wendling/Paral at the World Mixed Doubles Championships.
The Outstanding National Performance Award.
This award recognizes athlete(s) who made a bold and memorable impact on the national stage. Whether through a historic first, standout performance across multiple championships, or a breakthrough season that captured attention, these athlete(s) rose above expectations and left a lasting impression on the curling community.
Evan Workin Coached Team Pekowitz to a Junior National Championship title, skipped a team to a Mixed National Championship title, and secured the first-ever Regional Cup for North Dakota.
Team Berg Silver medalists at Junior Nationals, U18 Nationals, and Club Nationals.
Leena Hornlein & Jacalynn Sharp Bronze medalists at the 5U Nationals and the only two women in the field to reach the medal round.
Shalon Holbeck & Nina Roth Gold medalists at the Women's Club Nationals and bronze medalists at the Mixed Fours Nationals.
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