By Andrew Mitchell
Whistler’s Madison McLeish was crowned the overall K2 (age 13 to 14) champion at the K2 National Championships at Mont Tremblant this past weekend. Her Whistler Mountain Ski Club teammates also posted solid results, holding their own against 160 of the top club racers from across Canada as they raced for their provincial teams.
McLeish got off to a good early start, placing seventh in the super G on the first day to win the silver medal in super combined. She followed up with a gold medal in the giant slalom, winning by 1.7 seconds, then rounded out her week with another gold in the slalom and a silver in the kombi event.
At last year’s championships she placed fourth overall, but with another year of training and racing she easily took the overall championship title.
“I attained my season-long objectives today,” she said. “I had stepping stones to accomplish before coming here. It was a long road from my first ski run of the season.
“The competitive level has grown a lot in Canada.”
A national title complements McLeish’s other achievements for the season, including the Bob Parsons Memorial Downhill trophy and the K2 provincial title in early March. In April she’ll face the top K2 skiers from around the world in the Whistler Cup, with her sights set on winning the Nancy Greene trophy as the top Canadian woman.
Other WMSC results in the super G went to Elyse Timoshenko in 38 th place and Bria Darlington 54 th .
On the men’s side the top racer was William Konantz in 21 st place, Ford Swette 25 th , Isaac Penn 27 th , Michael Cadman 45 th , and Matthew Sawchyn 56 th .
For super combined, Elyse Timoshenko was 43 rd on the women’s side, while William Konantz was the top Whistler skier on the men’s side, placing 17 th . Teammate Ford Swette was right behind in 18 th , Michael Cadman was 26 th , Patrick Taillefer 27 th , Matthew Sawchyn 48 th , Spencer Morris 51 st , and Isaac Penn 53 rd .
In the giant slalom, Elyse Timoshenko was 24 th . Isaac Penn was 20 th on the men’s side, followed by teammate Michael Cadman in 21 st . Matthew Sawchyn was 59 th .
In slalom, Bria Darlington was 33 rd , while Isaac Penn moved up to 15 th in the men’s competition. Matthew Sawchyn was 27 th , Patrick Taillefer 41 st , and Ford Swette 49 th .
In the kombi slalom, Bria Darlington was 23 rd and Elyse Timoshenko 29 th . On the men’s side, Michael Cadman tied for 14 th , Isaac Penn was 20 th , Ford Swette 21 st , Spencer Morris 25 th and Patrick Taillefer 47 th .
Complete results are posted online at www.bcalpine.com .
