Long weekend of ski racing at Eastern Canadian Championships

Nipissing Nordic skiers capped off three consecutive weekends of out of town races with a three-day set of races at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec. The team competed in a classic-style sprint, a middle distance skate race, and a long distance classic mass start. The skiers made their mark against the province’s varsity teams alongside racers from the Maritimes, Quebec, Alberta, BC and the Yukon, moving up in the field compared to previous years.
The team’s best result came from rookie Matt Chalmers, who set out at an aggressive pace for the Nakkertok Ski Centre’s hilly trails, moving up from a seeded starting position of 103rd in the mass start to a 77th place finish out of 135 racers, posting a time of 1.35.45 over the 30km course. His finishing position was notable for putting him in front of a National Development Centre athlete and many of the province’s varsity racers. Teammate Kevin Durkee trailed Chalmers by six minutes and nine seconds, while Lynsey Bialkowski toughed it out with a strained muscle to finish 52nd on the women’s side in Sunday’s long distance race.

In Saturday’s middle distance skate races, Bialkowski posted a time of 34.27.4 over 10km, earning herself a 48th place finish overall. The contingent of Lakers men dropped off the punishing pace set by the winner and National Ski Team member Michael Somppi, with Chalmers finishing in 96th place and Durkee in 103rd. 

Friday’s classic sprint races saw the team bumped after the qualifiers, with the top thirty qualifiers moving through to the heats in the open men’s and women’s races. Nipissing recruit Jess Demers powered through to a silver medal in the junior girls’ long distance classic race.

The Lakers will regroup and train for the OUA Championships coming up on February 23 and 24in Thunder Bay, before setting their sights on the last Ontario Cup of the season and the National Championships at the end of March.

Results: http://zone4.ca/results.asp?id=5409