Junior racers of the Strathcona Nordics made their club proud by achieving several top 10 results, and earning a number of medals at the Western Canadian Cross Country Skiing Championships in Red Deer, Alta. mid-January. The athletes skied hard and represented Vancouver Island well in a field of close to 500 racers from across western Canada and Ontario.
In the day one skate sprint race junior mens category, Tallon Noble’s victory earned him a gold medal. Emma Wong, juvenile girl, placed sixth. In the juvenile boys group, Stephen Lamon blasted ahead of the field to earn a gold medal, his teammates close behind with Gabe Gledhill winning bronze and Aiden Noble ninth.
In the classic mass start event on day two, Tallon won a bronze for junior men. Gabe Gledhill, a juvenile, won a second bronze and Stephen Lamon was fifth.
On the final day in the skate relay, Tallon’s open men’s team won a bronze medal. Amelia Wells and Emma placed sixth for juvenile girls. The juvenile boys team with Gabe and Stephen skied hard for bronze.
“Wow, what a weekend!” said head coach Andrea Stapff. “This is the first time any of us have skied the race courses in Red Deer, site of the 2019 Canada Winter Games. The host club did an amazing job of preparing this facility and the trails – and our athletes loved them. While the surrounding area is pretty flat, the River Bend courses were fun, fast and hilly, making for a roller coaster-like course with steep ups and technical downs. I was incredibly proud of how they performed, how they worked together, and how they represented our club and our province at these championships, a test event for the Games.”
Next, the racers are off to Prince George for BC Cup Race #2 in early-February.
For more information about Strathcona Nordics, visit Strathconanordics.com, or find on Facebook and Instagram.
