Telemark athletes skied their way to eight medals at the B.C. midget cross country sprint championships.
More than 200 skiers from across the province competed in the nine to 12-year-old age group March 3 and 4 at the Telemark ski club.
Twenty skiers from the Telemark race team, junior development and ski league programs participated, placing fourth overall
The event consisted of an individual start classic 2km race on Saturday morning. The overnight snow and warm temperature made for slick tracks especially for the later starters. Despite the tricky conditions Telemark’s waxing techs were able to provide a combination of good grip and glide. The Telemark team had the following results:
• In the 2002 girls race Sophie LaChappelle placed 15th.
• In the 2002 Boys race the results were Grayson McKinnon third, Tristan Lee 10th, and Connor Hobbs 14th.
• In the 2001 girls race the results were Kennedy Dickie 6th, Sally Haaheim 14th, Michelle Kraetzer 20th, Abigail Ertel 29th, and Piper Barta 31st.
• In the 2001 boys race Aaron Myshak-Davis was 2nd, Hamish Graham 9th, Cameron McInnes 21st, and Bryson Conlin-Mouat 27th.
• In the 2000 Boys category Ian Williams was 2nd, Matt Shipley was 7th, Ben Shipley 11th, and Scott McKinnon 13th.
• Madison Dickie placed 18th in the 1999 girls race.
On Saturday afternoon there were four-person team relay races. The first two legs are classic and the next two legs are skating. Each relay leg is 1.5km. There are separate races for both boys and girls. The boys’ team of Aaron Myshak-Davis, Matt Shipley, Ben Shipley, and Ian Williams placed second battling throughout the whole race with four other teams.
The team of Cameron McInnes, Grayson McKinnon, Hamish Graham and Scott McKinnon steadily moved up through the race ending in 8th place. The team of Connor Hobbs, Carter Fortney, Tristan Lee and Bryson Conlin-Mouat placed 18th gaining valuable race experience. In the girls’ race the team of Madison Dickie, Kennedy Dickie, Sally Haaheim and Michelle Kraetzer placed eighth in a very tight race. The team of Piper Barta, Jazmin Gustavson, Abigail Ertel and Sophie LaChappelle placed 18th.
Jazmin Gustavson skied extremely well for her first ever ski race.
Sunday’s races started with a sprint qualifier to determine the starting position for sprint heat. The sprints use a ‘King’s Court’ format. This ensures that all participants race four rounds. The top skiers in each heat move up within their category while the bottom skiers move down to ski against other top or bottoms skiers from other heats.
Heats may be comprised of up to six skiers, where the top three skiers would move up and the bottom three skiers moved down for the next series of heats.
Telemark’s results included in the 2002 girls race Sophie LaChappelle eventually placing ninth. Sophie qualified in second but became ill during the competition).
In the 2002 boys race results were Grayson McKinnon 2nd, Tristan Lee 8th, and Connor Hobbs 17th. In the 2001 girls results were Sally Haaheim 3rd, Kennedy Dickie 12th, Michelle Kraetzer 16th, Abigail Ertel 24th, and Piper Barta 25th.
In the 2001 boys race Aaron Myshak-Davis was 3rd, Cameron McInnes 18th, and Bryson Conlin-Mouat was 20th.
In the 2000 boys’ category Ian Williams was 1st, Matt Shipley was 7th, Ben Shipley 8th, and Scott McKinnon was 14th. Madison Dickie placed 19th in the 1999 girls race.
