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Canadians hold their on in Whistler NorAm Championships

Large number of "Did Not Finish" results due to variable snow conditions

The U.S. may outrank Canada on the international level, but at last week's NorAm Cup Championships in Whistler the Canadians held their own.

It was a tough competition to stage with snow falling on most days and temperatures that fluctuated day-to-day, but Weasel Worker crews managed to get every event off, other than the women's super combined. There was a large number of DNFs in some events due to the variable snow conditions, and start positions played a huge role in the final outcome.

On the women's side, Erin Mielzynski set the tone on day one with a win in the slalom, with teammate Elli Terwiel second. Whistler's Madison McLeish placed sixth. B.C. Ski Team members Rae Swette, Charley Field and Kailee Darlington, competing in their first NorAm championships, were 27th, 28th and 33rd respectively.

Mielzynski, who has been competing with the national team this year, proved her skills by winning the second slalom as well - this time by over a second-and-a-half. Madison Irwin picked up the silver medal for Canada. Rae Swette placed 30th and Charley Field 39th.

Marie-Pier Prefontaine, also with the national team, won the opening women's giant slalom race, with Madison Irwin placing a close second. Madison McLeish was 12th, Jocelyn Ramsden 39th and Kailee Darlington 41st.

Marie-Pier Prefontaine was first again in the second GS, with over a second-and-a-half on Kiley Staples of the U.S. The win secured the overall GS title for Prefontaine and earned her a World Cup spot next season. Madison Irwin placed third for Canada, making it four double podiums in four events. Kailee Darlington was 48th and Jocelyn Ramsden 50th.

In the first super G race, Madison Irwin earned Canada's only podium, finishing in third place. Madison McLeish was 10th, Jocelyn Ramsden 20th and Kailee Darlington 33rd.

Ontario skier Julia Roth was the only Canadian on the podium in the second super G, claiming the silver medal. Madison McLeish came within five one-hundredths of a second of the podium but settled for fourth place. Jocelyn Ramsden was 20th and Kailee Darlington 40th.

On the men's side, the first event was the giant slalom. The top Canadian was Jeffrey Frisch, who finished in seventh place. Morgan Pridy was the top Whistler skier, 15th, with Conrad Pridy placing 25th.

Frisch moved up to fourth on the second day, missing the podium by 0.04 seconds. Conrad Pridy moved up to 14th, Morgan Pridy dropped to 30th and Ford Swette, a WMSC alum with the B.C. Ski Team, placed 40th.

In the opening men's slalom, national team skier Brad Spence earned the Canadian men's first medal of the competition with a third place finish.

While NorAm Cup events typically attract Canadian and American skiers, several European skiers showed up to compete for FIS points and earn World Cup starts. In this event, the win went to French skier Gabriel Rivas. The field also included skiers from Norway, Finland, Austria and New Zealand.

Conrad Pridy was the top Whistler skier, in 30th place, while Broderick Thompson - also new to the B.C. Ski Team this year - placed 41st.

Paul Stutz won the second men's slalom, just one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Petter Brenna of Norway. Conrad Pridy was 29th.

Jan Hudec of the national team placed third in the opening super G race. Conrad Pridy moved up to 10th, Morgan Pridy was 17th and Broderick Thompson 60th out of 69 starters.

Philip Brown of Alberta was the lone Canadian to podium in the men's super combined race, placing third. Conrad Pridy was 15th, Morgan Pridy 26th, Ford Swette 40th and Broderick Thompson 46th.

Brown, just 18, had a great day racing against national level athletes while earning the second Nor-Am level podium of his career. "I started first in the super G this morning so I had a clean course and I just went as fast as I could," he said of his seventh place finish.

"I was around a bunch of speed skiers going into the slalom so I knew that I could make a move up. I think I had a pretty solid slalom run and I'm definitely satisfied with a podium result."

Jan Hudec was third in the second super G race. Conrad Pridy placed 19th, Morgan Pridy 22nd, Ford Swette 53rd and Broderick Thompson 63rd.

The final event was the GMC Nations' Cup event, a dual slalom race at the base of Whistler Mountain. The format was head-to-head slalom racing, Canada vs. the U.S., with four men and four women on each team.

The red side of the course was a little faster, and Canada took all but one race in the first round. The teams switched sides on the second round, and the U.S. team couldn't afford to lose more than one race. However, they lost two events and the title went to Canada.

In other Nor-Am news, local para-alpine skier Matt Hallat won the Canadian men's standing titles in slalom and giant slalom, as well as the IPC Nor-Am Cup giant slalom.

"I've had an amazing three days," said Hallat. "Everything is starting to come together. It's very encouraging.

"I skied really well, it was actually the best I've skied all year. I was just really motivated."