(Gatineau, Quebec) - -
Racing continued this week at the 2019 National Ski Championships with fast paced classic team sprints Monday and distance mass start classic technique events today. Thunder Bay athletes did not disappoint, earning an outstanding six medals over Day Six and Seven at this elite level of competition.
In today’s grueling long distance classic mass start events Thunder Bay named another national champion in the Senior Women’s 30-kilometer event. Alanna Maclean, a previous NTDC Thunder Bay veteran, was skiing for Big Thunder and Lakehead today, showed her skill and experience claiming the gold. Mia Serratore (BT) and Erika Mihell (LU) followed strongly in 8th and 11th respectively. Lappe Nordic’s Sarah Peters and Laura Inkila finished a strong 21st and 27th.
In the senior men’s 50-kilometer event, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields narrowly missed the podium in 4th spot. Angus Foster (NTDC TBAY/BT) placed a strong 15th followed by Noah Thompson and Geoffrey Way-Nee (BT/LU) in 28th and 30th respectively. Toby Quinn (BT/LU), Cameron Roe (LU) and Paul Inkila (Lappe) all cracked the top 50 in 41st, 43rd and 49th.
Both the Junior men and Junior women were edged out of gold and silver by members of Norway’s Junior team making for exciting and competitive events. Norway’s Albert Sunde Oehlschlaegel and Haakon Skaanes claimed gold and silver followed closely by NTDC Thunder Bay’s own Pierre Grall-Johnson with bronze in the 30-kilometer Junior Men’s event. Conor McGovern (LU) placed 6th followed closely by Kai Meekis (NTDC TBAY/BT) and Malcolm Thompson (BT/LU) in 7th and 9th respectively. Nicholas Randall (BT/U of Calgary) cracked the top 20 in 16th and Fred Serratore (BT/U of Ottawa) was 32nd.
In Junior Women, skiing 20 kilometers, Norway’s Tuva Bakkem claimed gold, clocking a time of :59:22.5 narrowly followed by her teammate Julie Drivenes with a time of :59:55.9. NTDC Thunder Bay’s Heidi Stewart (BT) managed to make the top ten in 10th spot followed by teammate Shaylynn Loewen in 13th.
Monday, in the Canadian Colleges and University Nordic Championships (CCUNC) Team Sprint events, Lakehead Thunderwolves were a strong force. Shaylynn Loewen and Alannah Maclean who have both been chosen to represent Canada at the World Cup Finals in Quebec City next weekend, were the top women’s team capturing gold while LU teammates Noah Thompson and Conor McGovern snagged bronze in the men’s event. Big Thunder’s Mia Serratore and Sadie White (also competing at World Cup next weekend) captured the silver in Open Women. Annika Richardson and Laura Inkila from Lappe Nordic finished a strong 8th. Skiing for Big Thunder, Graham Richie and Malcolm Thompson earned the silver in Open men. Annika Richardson and Graham Richie will also be competing for Team Canada in Quebec City next weekend.
Racing concludes Wednesday with classic mass start events for younger age groups. Full results can be found at www.zone4.ca.
Written and submitted by Laura Swancar, Communications Director,
Big Thunder Nordic Ski Club
