SHERBROOKE, QUE. – It was a big weekend for a pair of Thunder Bay Nordic skiers at the 2024 Eastern Canadian Championships, which took place at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que., from Feb. 2-4.
National Team Development Centre and Big Thunder skier Nicholas Randall won the open men’s sprint on the opening day of the meet after putting in the third-fastest qualifying time earlier that morning.
Randall also had a fourth-place result in the open men’s six-kilometre race and a ninth-place finish in the men’s 10 km skate race.
Meanwhile, Ruth Zavitz of Lappe Nordic reached the top of the podium in the under-18 girls’ sprint race. She also came home in 11th spot in U18 girls’ distance event.
Lappe Nordic’s Brooke Ailey finished 10th in the U20 women’s six km race and was 15th in the open women’s sprint.
Kiera Hall came away with an 11th-place finish in the U16 girls’ sprint, with Lappe Nordic clubmate Brooke Ailey finishing 15th in the open women’s sprint.
Tzipi Levkoe-Stephens, Charlotte Ailey, Hanna Abbink, Kaia Hakanen, Kiera Hall, Sydney Ball, Avery Sproule and Edgar Sarrazin also represented Thunder Bay at the meet.
The next big meets for local skiers are the Ontario Winter Games at the Lappe Nordic Ski Centre from Feb. 16-18, and the Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals in Cantley, Que., next month.
