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B.C. and Whistler skiers dominate Pontiac GMC Cup

The top junior club and provincial team skiers in Western Canada faced off in the Pontiac GMC Cup races at Apex Resort last week, looking for prize money, FIS points and points towards the Pontiac GMC Cup national titles.

The top junior club and provincial team skiers in Western Canada faced off in the Pontiac GMC Cup races at Apex Resort last week, looking for prize money, FIS points and points towards the Pontiac GMC Cup national titles.

A mid-week snowfall caused delays for the racers, but organizers managed to get two super G and downhill events through the gates.

B.C. skiers, including some Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) racers and alumni managed to capture many of the podium positions, sweeping the medals in some races. The Pontiac GMC Cup series is for FIS-level racers, age 15 and up.

Carlotte Whitney and Alison Leighton, two WMSC racers who are now with the B.C. Ski Team, finished second and third in the first super G event, behind Janelle Miller of Alberta. Jillian McArthur, Shannon Smith and Alix Browne-Munz of the WMSC finished 19 th , 24 th and 28 th respectively to land in the top-30.

In the men’s race, Brett Haney of Calgary carved out a win against Graham Kraft of Vernon and Trevor Conroy of Truro, Nova Scotia and the WMSC.

The WMSC’s Ben Chaddock was a close fourth, and Chris Colpitts, Matthew Holler and Conrad Pridy were 10 th , 19 th and 34 th respectively out of a field of 80.

In the second super G on Thursday, Feb. 5, the B.C. men started a podium sweep that would last the rest of the weekend, with Ben Chaddock of the WMSC and B.C. Ski Team leading the charge with a time of one minute, 18.66 seconds. His teammate Trevor Conroy was second by just 0.12 seconds, and Graham Kraft of the Silver Star Racers in Vernon was third in 1:19.30.

"The win couldn’t have happened at a better time, I’m very pleased," said Chaddock. "I had one of my best races. I was technically very strong."

The WMSC’s Matt Holler finished just out of the top-15 in 16 th overall. Teammate Conrad Pridy was 19 th , Tyler Self 21 st , Rey Stanislas 29 th and James-Douglas McLean 32 nd .

The women’s race finished almost the same, with Janelle Miller taking the gold and Alison Leighton and Charlotte Whitney battling it out for the silver. This time it went to Leighton, who is back in form after a knee injury earlier this season at Nakiska.

"The injury didn’t affect the confidence I had in skiing," said Leighton. "I made good moves today off the jumps and I stayed forward on my skis."

Whitney, who is battling an ankle injury, felt she could have done better.

"I was all over the place, it wasn’t good. I tweaked the ankle again yesterday and I can really feel it going down the hill. I can’t push as much as I would like, but still I expected a better result today," said Whitney.

Also for Whistler, Jillian McArthur finished 15 th , Alix Browne-Munz 20 th , and Shannon Smith 25 th .

In the first of two foggy downhill races on Sunday it was Trevor Conroy’s turn to take the lead. Conroy’s time of 1:07.09 seconds was good enough for his first gold medal of the season, and his fourth medal in as many races.

"The course was really great and I felt very good about my run," he said. "I took some risks and it paid off. I was anxious to get a victory."

Second place went to Robbie Dixon of the WMSC and the B.C. Ski Team in a time of 1:07.54. Dustin Fraser of the B.C. Ski Team and the Mountain Washington Ski Club was third in 1:07.76.

Behind their teammates, the WMSC men landed another four spots in the top-15. Ben Chaddock was fifth, Marcus Waring 10 th , Matthew Holler 11 th , and Chris Colpitts 13 th . Taylor Self was 31 st , Darren Chaddock 37 th , Conrad Pridy 38 th , Rey Stanislas 48 th , J.D. McLean 52 nd , and Jonathan Wells 55 th .

In the women’s race, Alberta’s Janelle Miller claimed her third straight gold medal, edging out Megan Kidston of 100 Mile House and Allison Empey of Calgary.

Whistler’s Julia Murray was the top J1 (age 15 and 16) in fifth place overall. Also from the WMSC, Rachel Nixon was sixth and Shannon Smith 17 th .

The racing continued on Monday with yet another B.C. podium sweep for the men. Dustin Fraser took the gold, Paul Rokosh of Kimberley was second, and the WMSC’s Robbie Dixon was third. Marcus Waring was fifth, Matthew Holler 18 th , Chris Colpitts 20 th , Conrad Pridy 31 st , Darren Chaddock 32 nd , Taylor Self 34 th , J.D. McLean 46 th and Rey Stanislas 54 th . Trevor Conroy, Ben Chaddock and Jonathan Wells were among the nine racers who did not finish.

In the women’s downhill, Allison Empey of Calgary moved up to first, Kristen Tarchuk of Banff was second, and Charlotte Whitney captured her third medal in four races. Also from the WMSC, Rachel Nixon was fifth, Alison Leighton sixth, Julia Murray seventh, and Shannon Smith 22 nd .

The Pontiac GMC Cup is a development race series for skiers aged 15 and older at the club, provincial and national level.

In the west there are races at Nakiska and Apex, and in the east at Georgian Peaks, Craigleith and Mont Sainte Anne. The Pontiac GMC Cup national championships, which include members of the national and national development teams, take place in March at Le Massif and Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec.