After competing against other K2s in regional events, the Whistler Mountain Ski Club took on the rest of the province last week at the CIBC Wood Gundy K2 Provincial Championships at Panorama.
The turnout was massive with almost 170 K2 skiers (age 13 and 14) in the field.
Ian Morrison of Whistler earned a gold in the opening super G event, followed by Fernie’s Tyler Werry and Christopher Campbell of Timberland.
Michael Cadman, another WMSC racer, came within two-hundredths of a second of the podium but settled for fourth place.
Isaac Penn was seventh, Alexander Binks 12 th and Patrick Taillefer 15 th to round out the top-15.
In the women’s super G, the WMSC’s Brynne Benbow continued to dominate her age group with another win. Teammate Madison McLeish was second, and Sarah Elliot of Big White third.
Other Whistler skiers in the top-15 include Chanelle Segal in seventh, Madelaine Podborski in 13 th and Alexandra Fogarty in 15 th .
Alexander Binks jumped up to second place the following day in the giant slalom, nine one-hundredths of a second behind Christopher Campbell. Tyler Werry was third.
The only other WMSC racer up front was Simon Timoshenko in 12 th .
On day two Brynne Benbow was the girl to beat yet again, followed once more by Madison McLeish. Teammate Nancy Bayly made it a WMSC sweep with a bronze. Alexandra Fogarty was ninth.
In the slalom skills race, Sarah Elliot took the win, while Madison McLeish took her third silver of the weekend. Chanelle Segal was eighth, Nancy Bayly 11 th , and Taylor Green 13 th . Benbow was disqualified after missing a gate.
In the men’s slalom skills Ian Morrison picked up his second gold, followed by Tyler Werry and Ian Deans. Alexander Binks was sixth, Isaac Penn eighth, and Michael Cadman ninth.
In the last slalom, Morrison picked up his third gold ahead of Tyler Werry and Rossland’s Brandon Bunkowsky. Alexander Binks was fourth, Isaac Penn seventh and Patrick Taillefer 14 th .
For the women, Brynne Benbow picked up her third gold, Madison McLeish a fourth silver, and Sarah Elliot of Big White earned bronze.
Nancy Bayly was fourth and Chanelle Segal 14 th .
The next major contest for the Whistler K2s is the Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup April 7-9, which will feature more than 300 kids aged 11-14 from 20 countries.
Whistler Cup organizers are still looking for a few volunteers to help out. If you’d like to be involved, sign up at www.whistlermountainskiclub.com.
