There was a solid turnout of close to 100 racers at the first Coast Cup competition of the season, Sunday at Whistler Olympic Park, hosted by the Hollyburn Jackrabbit Ski Club.
The Whistler Nordics were out in force for the races, especially in the younger age categories.
In Atom Boys (one kilometre free) Jackson Waller placed first in 6:02, followed by Ben Hepditch in 8:56.0 and Scott Waller in 11:52.9.
Julia Hepditch raced alone in Atom Girls (1 km free), finishing in 13:04.8.
Pee Wee Boys (2 km free) was extremely competitive with 16 racers. Cam Fitzmaurice of Hollyburn took the top spot in 6:33.4, followed by Michael Murdoch of the Whistler Nordics in 6:47.9 and teammate Samuel Johnston in 7:03.1.
Hollyburn girls Jenna Sim and Anna Goodwin were first and second in Pee Wee Girls with times of 7:57.5 and 7:59.9, with the Whistler Nordics' Caitlin MacConnachie placing third in 10:03.6.
Jack Iles skated away with the win in Midget Boys (4 km free) with a time of 13:33.7, followed by teammate Braden Metza in 14:15.0. Kayden Sim of Hollyburn was third.
Annika Richardson and Dot Forder were first and second for Hollyburn in Midget Girls, followed by Sarah Bowers of Squamish. Iyla Nordin of the Whistler Nordics was fourth.
In Juvenile Boys (4 km free) Hollyburn racers James Panozzo and Marcus Laube were first and third, while Liam Fannin of Nordic Racers was third.
Marissa Woods of Hollyburn won the Juvenile race in 12:54.6, followed closely by Nicki Murdoch of the Whistler Nordics in 13:03.0. Jenya Nordin of Whistler was third in 13:37.0.
In Junior Female (8 km free) Jocelyn Poirier-Hardy of the Nordic Racers was first to the line in 27:42.9, with the Whistler Nordics' Katie Madden close behind in 27:47.0. Sonja Panozzo of Hollyburn placed third.
In the Open Men (8 km free) race Matt and Aaron Neumann were first and second in 19:15.6 and 20:05.3, followed by Ilmar Heinicke in 20:35.0. The top Whistler racer was Brent Murdoch in 24:21.0 in seventh place overall out of 21 starters.
Jennifer Tabbernor placed third in the Open Women in 26:21.3 behind Jytte Apel of the Black Jack Ski Club (25:32.4) and Emma Lunder of the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club in 25:55.9.
Next up for local racers are the B.C. Winter Games Trials on Jan. 3 at Whistler Olympic Park, followed by the B.C. Cup in Kelowna on Jan. 9-10, the second Coast Cup in Whistler on Jan. 16, and the third Coast Cup in Pemberton on Jan. 17.
For complete results visit www.zone4.ca.
