Derrick McLean of Bothell and Joe Purvis of Kenmore’s Washington junior curling team won the national title last Saturday with a 7-3 victory over Minnesota 2 at the Bemidji Curling Club in Bemidji, Minn.

The Seattle Granite Curling Club team — also consisting of team namesake Sean Beighton of Edmonds and Sam Galey of Seattle — will represent the United States at the 2010 World Junior Curling Championships in Flims, Switzerland, March 5-14.

They become the first junior curling team from Washington to win a national title since Travis Way’s team won in Schenectady, NY, in 1996.

Beighton took the tough road to the finals game on Saturday, coming into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. After wins over Massachusetts and Trevor Andrews’ hometown Bemidji team on Friday, Beighton had to beat Aaron Wald’s (Chisholm, Minn.) team to take home the gold.

The turning point in Saturday’s finals came in the fifth end, with the score tied at 2-2. Minnesota had the hammer (last-rock advantage), but Beighton was able to get a bunch of rocks in the house with guard stones out front. Minnesota’s vice-skip missed a couple of tough takeout attempts, opening the door for Washington. Facing a difficult draw to a packed four-foot circle, Wald’s final shot came up short of the house and Washington stole three points to take a big 5-2 lead heading into the break. Wald would score only one more point, and after Beighton stole a point in the ninth end, the teams shook hands as Minnesota conceded the 7-3 win.

Scores, photos and archived Web casts of the 2010 Junior Nationals games can be found here