The fourth and fifth Coast Cup events of the season took place this past weekend at Whistler Olympic Park, hosted by the Spud Valley Nordics and the Whistler Nordics Ski Club.
Saturday’s event was a free technique team sprint, while Sunday was dedicated to an individual classic race. The turnout was strong on both days, with roughly 125 participants taking part from as far away as Banff, Alberta.
Local racers from Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton took part in the classic race, many of them landing on the podium.
In Mini Atom Boys, Mathias Shorter of the Whistler Nordics raced alone to finish the 300 metre course in three minutes, 0.6 seconds.
In Mini Atom Girls, the podium went to three locals with Camie Matteau Rushbook in first in 3:41.3, Lily MacConnachie in second in 3:57.6, and Elle Johnston in third in 4:26.4.
In the Atom Girls 700 metre race, Cassia Jean of the Spud Valley Nordics was first in 5:24.1, followed by Arabelle Ng and Sierra Goss of the Whistler Nordics in 5:38.5 and 7:37.2 respectively.
In Atom Boys, Michael Murdoch, Ian Davidson and Sam Johnston took the top three spots for Whistler, with times of 3:57.7, 4:08.8, and 4:19.3 respectively. Whistler’s Fraser Doak and Graeme Bowers rounded out the top-five.
In Pee Wee Girls, racing a 1.4 km course, Gabrielle Smith of Whistler and Erica VanLoon of Pemberton were third and fourth behind two strong skiers from Hollyburn Jackrabbits Ski Club.
In Pee Wee Boys, all three top spots went to Hollyburn skiers, with Keenan Widmiaer of the Whistler Nordics placing fourth.
In the 2.5 km Mini Midget Girls race, Sarah Bowers and Jennifer McTavish of the Whistler Nordics placed second and third behind Marissa Woods of Hollyburn, with times of 12:33.1, and 13:01.7 respectively. Woods finished the race in a speedy 10:14.2, over a minute faster than any of the Mini Midget Boys.
In the Boys competition, Marc Dupuis of Banff was first, followed by Colin Kirkby and Sim Kayden of Hollyburn. Braden Metza of Whistler was a close fourth, less than 10 seconds back of the bronze.
In Midget Girls, racing 3.3 km, Maya Guttmann, Lucy Williams and Jessica Smith were on the podium for Hollyburn, with Tachona Jones of Spud Valley and Whistler’s Nicki Murdoch in fourth and fifth.
In Midget Boys the top-five was all Hollyburn; Adam Woods, Kalum Utley, Sam Morris, Nicholas Foellmer, and Jonathan Wilkinson. The top local was Birken Metza in seventh.
In Juvenile Girls, a 5 km category, Akiko Clarke of the Whistler Nordics was first by almost two minutes over Hollyburn’s Camille Roberge. Whistler’s Marlin Beswetherick was third.
In Juvenile boys, Zach Holland and Paul Dupuis of Banff were first and second, followed by George Urosevic of Hollyburn. Jorgen Liset of Squamish was fifth.
The Junior Boys raced 6.6 km. Alistair Hardy-Poirier of the Nordic racers was first, followed by Nicolas Spurling and Paul Sales of Hollyburn.
Annie Maurer and Sonja Panozzo of Hollyburn were first and second in the Junior Girls 5 km race.
In Senior Women, Maria Lundgren and Minttu Repo of the Whistler Nordics were second and third behind Tasha Betcherman of Lappe Nordic, a club based in Thunder Bay.
In Master Men 41-50, Vesa Suomalainen of the Whistler Nordics was first by more than three minutes, followed by Todd Eastman and Ron Carmichael. Rob Metza of Whistler was fourth.
In Master Women 41-50, Joan Denroche of Whistler was second to Brigit Weaver of Hollyburn.
Next up for Nordic racers is the 30 th annual Whistler Loppet, Feb. 24 out of the Nicklaus North Golf Course clubhouse. There is a 28.7 km open race, a 17.9 km race for recreational and junior categories, and races from 2.8-10.4 km for jackrabbits, and 2.8-4.8 km for Para Nordic racers. Registration forms are available at www.whistlernordics.com.
