By Andrew Mitchell
The Whistler Mountain Ski Club K2s (age 13 to 14) spent the past weekend at Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island, competing against more than 150 skiers from across B.C. in the K2 Provincial Championships.
Although there were some disappointments, WMSC athletes still managed to pick up 13 medals in eight races, and 10 club athletes were named to Team B.C. Madison McLeish was also crowed the Girls Provincial Champion, with solid results in four races.
The first race was a super G on Thursday, March 1, taking place after a snowstorm the night before. Although the course was a little soft all of the WMSC athletes managed to stay on course.
Madison McLeish was the top WMSC skier, finishing second. Elyse Timoshenko just missed the podium in fourth, MacKenzie Patterson was eighth, Catriona Blair 11 th , Marielle Thompson 15 th , Jocelyn Ramsden and Jenny Rea 16 th , Eve Zessel 23 rd , Taylor Green 25 th , and Bria Darlington 26 th . MacKenzie Patterson also won Most Improved.
On the boys’ side, Isaac Penn and Michael Cadman shared the second step on the podium after tying for second. Spencer Morris was fifth, Ford Swette sixth, Patrick Taillefer seventh, Josh Robertson eighth, Willy Konantz ninth, Max Horner 13 th , Daniel Kwong 14 th , Aiden Lee 16 th , Tyler Allison 17 th , Eric Holler 18 th and Matthew Sawchyn 20 th . Tyler Allison earned Most Improved.
Day two of racing was a giant slalom, as race conditions worsened with more snow, overcast skies, poor visibility and continued soft conditions. Still, after a pep talk from K2 head coach Pierre Luc Dumoulin, the WMSC skiers stepped it up to earn four of six medals, making the most of the conditions in the morning and taking advantage of better weather conditions in the afternoon.
Madison McLeish was in second place after her first run, but moved up to first in the afternoon. Catriona Blair was fifth, Taylor Grenn sixth, Jocelyn Ramsden 10 th , Jenna Newton 13 th , Marielle Thompson 17 th , Bria Darlington 25 th and Eve Zessel 27 th .
It was a sweep of the top-four for the boys team, with Ford Swette winning the gold by nearly a second, Isaac Penn picking up his second silver medal of the weekend, Michael Cadman in third place, and William Konantz missing the podium by just 0.02 seconds. Patrick Taillefer and Spencer Morris were sixth and seventh, Tyler Allison was 10 th , Daniel Kwong 13 th , Blake Newton 21 st , and Eric Holler 26 th .
The slalom event was on Saturday, with temperatures at six degrees, more soft snow and clear skies.
Madison McLeish was golden once again, this time by more than a second and a half. MacKenzie Patterson was sixth, Bria Darlington eighth, Jocelyn Ramsden ninth, Jenna Newton 13 th , Taylor Green 16 th , Samantha Smith 17 th , and Nelly Nardelli 22 nd .
For the boys, Isaac Penn picked up his third silver medal to lead the team. Spencer Morris, Daniel Kwong, Michael Cadman, Matthew Sawchyn and Eric Holler were sixth through 10 th ; Joshua Robertson, Tyler Allison and Daniel Hasle were 19 th through 21 st ; Patrick Taillefer was 27 th and Blake Newton 30 th .
The final event was Sunday’s Kombi, a new medal event that combines elements of all racing disciplines to award the best all-around skiers.
On the women’s side that was Madison McLeish, winning her third gold with a gap of almost two seconds. Elyse Timoshenko just missed the bronze medal by 0.04 secnds, Bria Darlington was sixth, Taylor Green seventh, Lauren Cameron 11 th , Jocelyn Ramsden 16 th , Samantha Smith 19 th , Marielle Thompson 22 nd , Nelly Nardelli 24 th , and Eve Zessel 25 th .
Isaac Penn picked up his fourth straight silver for the men, followed by teammates Matthew Sawchyn and Ford Swette. Aidan Lee was ninth, Daniel Kwong 13 th , Nick Geddes 25 th , and Blake Newton 27 th .
The 10 WMSC athletes named to the B.C. Team were Madison McLeish, Elyse Timoshenko, Bria Darlington, Michael Cadman, Isaac Penn, Spencer Morris, Willy Konantz, Patrick Taillefer and Matthew Sawchyn.
The nationals take place at Mont Tremblant March 19-24.
— With files from Cheryl Green, WMSC
