Six Strathcona Nordics athletes attended the Haywood NorAm Western Canadian Championships in Prince George this past weekend. Over the course of three days, the cross-country skiers accumulated 11 hard-earned medals.
Strathcona Nordics' head coach Andrea Stapff says, “The athletes showed tremendous consistency and gritty racing,” deeming the weekend, “better than fantastic.”
It turned out to be a family affair, with siblings Tallon and Aiden Noble, Ross and Stephen Lamon, and Alec and Emmy Stapff representing the Nordics.
In the Midget Girls category, Campbell River's Emmy Stapff brought home a bronze in the 1.2 km classic sprint race.
The Comox Valley was also well represented. In the Midget Boys category, Aiden Noble dominated all three of his races, coming away with three gold medals. In the same category, Stephen Lamon was not far behind, taking home a silver and two bronze medals.
In the Juvenile Boys category, Comox Valley's Ross Lamon came away with a bronze in the sprint race, and a silver in the long distance classic race. In the competitive field of Junior Boys, Tallon Noble also had strong races, taking home a silver and a bronze in the two distance events.
Strathcona Nordics have had a very consistent season so far. Their training base is evident, and Andrea Stapff says she is “very proud” of her athletes.
For some however, there will not be much time to recover. From Feb. 25-28 Aiden Noble, Stephen Lamon, Zander Swift, Taz Oldaker, Calder Guimond, Emmy Stapff, Amelia Wells, Emma Wong and Annelies Henckel will represent the Nordics at the BC Winter Games in Penticton.
Accompanying these athletes will be head coach Andrea Stapff, Tim McGrady and Derek Wells, who will be sharing coaching and ski waxing duties over the course of the weekend.
For updates and results, see https://www.bcgames.org/Home.aspx