The Gryphon Nordic ski team travelled to Thunder Bay, Ontario this past weekend to represent the University of Guelph at the 2013 OUA Championships. It proved to be a very successful weekend, with the women's team ranking third overall and the men's team a respectable fourth.
The busy weekend of racing started off with an individual start skate race on the Saturday. The weather was mild and sunny, beautiful for racing despite the soft snow. The women were the first to brave the 5km course, including the notorious dual hills – Pilon's Loop and The Grunt – both within the final kilometer.
The top female skier was veteran
Mary Thompson who was fourth, just 50 seconds from the leader and 15 seconds from third place. Rookies
Melissa Jones and Ashley Huet also had strong races, placing eighth and 10th. Meanwhile, the depth of the women's team shone with
Robyn Klinkman pacing midpack and the tight pack of Erin Creasor, J
Jennie Hissa,
Catherine Mallinger, and Laryssa Kemp all finishing within 13 seconds of each other.
On the men's side, in their 10km event, Scott Weersink was the top male Gryphon, placing 13th
in a very strong field of racers. Rookie
Daniel Kerrfinished his season off strong, as the second Gryphon male across the finish line, placing midpack 28th.
Ryley Hilker, Connor Paddock, Thor Stewart,
James Morton, and
Shaun Guerin all skied very well, also placing close to each other.
The 3.75km team relay took place in the afternoon. The women's A team (Ashley Huet, Melissa Jones, and Mary Thompson) placed fourth, ahead of the very quick Lakehead B team. The Guelph B team (Erin Creasor, Robyn Klinkman, and Jennie Hissa) placed eighth
falling just short in their battle with the Laurentian and Queen's A teams.
The men's A and B teams were both very close. The A team (Daniel Kerr, Scott Weersink, and
George McTaggart) placed seventh, just ahead of the B team (Connor Paddock, Thor Stewart, and Ryley Hilker) which placed eighth. Honourable mention has to go out to Ryley Hilker, who caught an edge during his anchor leg, yet still managed to hold off the Nipissing A team despite a face full of snow.
After much rest and lots of pasta, the Gryphons rallied again for Sunday classic mass start event. Indeed, Thunder Bay lived up to its reputation, providing many hills and technical downhills. The women raced first, again – an exciting 10km race with many strong female athletes and even a few broken poles. Mary Thompson was the top female, placing sixth. Catherine Mallinger shone in her favourite event, placing 13th, followed by Melissa Jones (14th). Robyn Klinkman, Jennie Hissa, and Ashley Huet worked together in a pack to place within the top twenty, with Erin Creasor and Laryssa not far behind.
Duncan McTaggart, who was injured in the previous day's race, fought for the top male in the Men's 15km race, a 10th place finish amongst the best Lakehead and Carleton skiers. Scott Weersink was next, placing 20th with Ryley Hilker, Connor Paddock, Daniel Kerr, and Thor Stewart placing closely together once again. Shaun Guerin and Jamie Morton had an exciting finish, pushing each other throughout the race, with Shaun just managing to edge out Jamie in the last kilometer.
With one last team event remaining, a weekend of sprint and long-distance Ontario Cup races outside Barrie, Ontario, the Gryphon Nordic team will finish strong and, as ever, looks forward to training hard and improving for the next season.
For full results, see Zone4.com
