Vernon’s Eric Byram was dressed more for summer than a nordic skiing race, but the choice of attire was a good one for the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club member.
Donning a sleeveless racing top in nearly 20-degree weather, Byram thrived on the melting snow pack to collect gold in the 7.5-kilometre freestyle event at Haywood Nordic Ski National Championships in Monte Ste. Anne, Que.
“Eric had an awesome week and was the only Juvenile boy that had all his finishes in the top 10,” said Ken Byram, Eric’s father.
Byram secured second overall in the Juvenile aggregate in a field of 81 racers, finishing second in the 10km classic, fifth in the freestyle sprint and 10th in another 10km classic.
Sovereign Lake was also well represented in the senior men’s and women’s categories at the national. Despite the warm temperatures and threat of melting snow, they battled against what Sovereign GM Scott Lemon described as “one of the strongest fields our country has ever produced.
“Over the past few seasons, Canada has established itself as a super power in the world cup of cross country skiing,” added Lemon. “This year our national team, including Devon Kershaw, with a second place world cup finish, made the trip home from Europe for nationals.”
Racing in the senior women’s division, Vernon’s Heather Mehain finished 29th in the 30km classic, 39th in the skate sprint and 57th in the 5km classic. Alysson Marshall of Larch Hills finished second in the 10km, 11th in the freestyle sprint (1.4km), and eighth in the women’s 30km classic to record fourth overall.
Matt Wylie (Senior men) was 22nd in the skate sprint, 24th in the 50km classic, 26th in the 15km Skate and 58th in the 10km classic.
Sovereign Lake also contributed to B.C.’s coaching contingent, with the club’s head cocah Darren Derochie assisting the squad under the guidance of retired national team coach Dave Wood, now of Rossland.
Earlier, Byram competed for B.C. at the biathlon nationals in nearby Val Cartier, Que.
Byram, whose older brother Joe is enjoying a successful rookie season with the University of Alberta Golden Bears swim team, skied well throughout the event, posting sixth- and 13th-place finishes.
Said Ken: “In the first race, an individual start of five skis, four shoots, Eric lost a contact lens out of his shooting eye. Makes it just a little tough to see the target 50 meters away. However he turned in the fastest ski time and finished 13th.”
On the second race, a sprint with three skis and two shoots, Byram shot well below his average and finished sixth.
Byram is sponsored by Stussi Sport, Fisher skis and Swix poles. He thanked Skeets Morel, Mary Edgar, Bill Maloney, Rob Swan and Arne Hetherington for all their support.
