Saturday was day one of the Haywood Ski Nationals at the Whistler Olympic Park, and it brought sunny skies and exciting team sprint races. For those who don’t know, the team sprints involve two teammates alternating to ski six laps total. The Carleton University men and women started the day off in the CCUNC category. The women’s teams were composed of Ingrid Hagberg with Kendra Murray, and Liza Rozina with Holly Jones. Ingrid and Kendra triumphed with a bronze medal, while Liza and Holly earned an excellent 8th place finish. Ingrid and Kendra managed to stay in the top four throughout the race, and Kendra pulled away from an Augustana skier in the finishing stretch to win third place in an epic photo finish with a Laval skier.
Ingrid and Liza enjoying the sunshine after some super solid sprinting.
In the men’s category, Lee Hawkings partnered with André Marchand. Both of the men put in a valiant effort, staying in the top four for the first two laps, amidst three other Lakehead teams. In the final lap, Lee did what champions do, and threw down fearlessly. He pulled away early on, but ended up tagging off to Andre in fifth place. The final lap ended with Augustana edging onto the podium in third, with Lakehead teams taking first and second.
Later in the day teams of Sheila with Katie, and Peter with Matthias represented XC Ottawa in the competitive open categories. Sheila and Katie each had excellent races, finishing their heat in 6th place. This left them wondering if they made it into the final, which is reserved for the top ten teams. After a nervous wait, it turned out that the ladies finished 11th overall, meaning they could at least profit from an afternoon of rest. Matthias and Peter likewise threw down, as they know how to do so well. The Owen Sound natives sprinted their way to a stellar fifth place finish in their heat.
Matthias heads in for a strong finish.
After the races the crew was quick to head back to the North Vancouver Outdoor School, the fantastic venue where we are staying this week. It was straight to recovering, since Sunday would be the short distance skate races – 5km for the women, and 10km for the men. Alright stop - Hammer time!
Thanks for sharing the pics, Pete!
"Heat Recovery Formula!"