February 9, 2008
LAKEHEAD TAKES LEAD AFTER DAY ONE OF OUA NORDIC SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SUDBURY, Ont. - On day one of the OUA Nordic Ski Championships, hosted by Laurentian University it was the Lakehead Thunderwolves taking the lead in both the men's and women's team standings. Lakehead sits only four points ahead of Laurentian and seven points ahead of Carleton in the women's standings, while the Thunderwolves men's squad has a sizable 31 point lead over Carleton.
The morning session began with individual races, with the men hitting the trails for the 10-kilometre classic race. As expected a threesome of skiers were above the rest with Lakehead's Chris Hamilton earning the OUA gold medal in the time of 0:30:47.0. He was followed by Carleton's Chris Mamen and Lakehead's Scott Sullivan who took home the silver and bronze medals. After the top-three finishers there was a gap of one minute and 25 seconds.
Two skiers from the host Laurentian Voyageurs earned top-10 finishes with Matt Strickland (Oxtongue Lake, Ont.) and Victor Wiltmann (Dillon, Ont.) finishing in eighth and ninth place respectively.
In the second race of the morning the women hit the trails for the five-kilometre classic event and it was a real race to the finish with the top-six finishers split by less than a minute. In the end it was Lakehead's Christina Groulx who took home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:16:56.0, finishing just 24 seconds ahead of a tie for second place between Laurentian's Mary Thompson (Woodstock, Ont.) and Carleton's Alana Thomas. Both racers finished the course in a time of 0:17:20.0.
Rounding out the top-five were Lakehead's Anna Crawford and Laurentian's Julie Porter who were fourth and fifth respectively.
The afternoon session was reserved for the relays with the men once again taking to the course first in the three-by-five-kilometre classic relay. Lakehead continued to show their strength with the Thunderwolves A-team of Scott Sullivan, Ghislain DeLaplante and Chris Hamilton taking home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:48:57.0. Finishing in second place was the Carleton Raven's A-team of Matthias Purdon, Kent Mamen and Chris Mamen who finished the course in 0:50:04.0. The real race was for the bronze medal where the Guelph Gryphon A-team crossed the line a mere six seconds ahead of the Lakehead B-team. The Gryphon threesome of Adam Lusk, Ian Ritchie and Matti Little earned the bronze medal in 0:50:45.0.
In the women's afternoon race, the OUA's best female skiers teamed up to compete in the three-by-two-and-a-half kilometre classic event. Laurentian's A-team of Mary Thompson, Julia Winter and Julie Porter took home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:28:13.0. Finishing in second place was the Carleton Ravens A-team of Sarah Mamen, Zoe Bravl and Alana Thomas who finished the course in 0:29:00.0, while Lakehead's B-team of Katherine Hall, Lara Stoot and Ava Rudachuk took home the bronze medal in 0:29:53.0.
Complete results from day one of the OUA Nordic Ski Championships can be found at http://www.zone4.ca/results.asp?id=1644.
Lakehead holds the lead in both team standings with their men holding a substantial 31 point lead over the second place Carleton Ravens and 33 points over the third place Guelph Gryphons. In the women's standings the Laurentian Voyageurs and Carleton Ravens are charging hard to dethrone the Thunderwolves with Lakehead entering day two with only a four point lead over Laurentian and seven points on Carleton.
Team Standings
MEN
1. Lakehead, 17 pts.
2. Carleton, 48
3. Guelph, 50
4. Laurentian, 64
T5. Waterloo, 135
T5. Toronto, 135
7. Queen's, 174
WOMEN
1. Lakehead, 36 pts.
2. Laurentian, 40
3. Carleton, 43
4. Guelph, 88
5. Queen's, 98
6. Toronto, 144
7. Waterloo, 132
The final day of the OUA Nordic Ski Championships go Sunday at the Laurentian Trails in Sudbury with the women taking the course first at 10 a.m. in the 10-kilometre freestyle and the men hitting the course at 11 a.m. in the 15-kilometre freestyle. Both races will be mass starts with ranking based upon results from Saturday's individual races.
(Source: Greg Hoddinott, Laurentian University, Sports Information)
The morning session began with individual races, with the men hitting the trails for the 10-kilometre classic race. As expected a threesome of skiers were above the rest with Lakehead's Chris Hamilton earning the OUA gold medal in the time of 0:30:47.0. He was followed by Carleton's Chris Mamen and Lakehead's Scott Sullivan who took home the silver and bronze medals. After the top-three finishers there was a gap of one minute and 25 seconds.
Two skiers from the host Laurentian Voyageurs earned top-10 finishes with Matt Strickland (Oxtongue Lake, Ont.) and Victor Wiltmann (Dillon, Ont.) finishing in eighth and ninth place respectively.
In the second race of the morning the women hit the trails for the five-kilometre classic event and it was a real race to the finish with the top-six finishers split by less than a minute. In the end it was Lakehead's Christina Groulx who took home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:16:56.0, finishing just 24 seconds ahead of a tie for second place between Laurentian's Mary Thompson (Woodstock, Ont.) and Carleton's Alana Thomas. Both racers finished the course in a time of 0:17:20.0.
Rounding out the top-five were Lakehead's Anna Crawford and Laurentian's Julie Porter who were fourth and fifth respectively.
The afternoon session was reserved for the relays with the men once again taking to the course first in the three-by-five-kilometre classic relay. Lakehead continued to show their strength with the Thunderwolves A-team of Scott Sullivan, Ghislain DeLaplante and Chris Hamilton taking home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:48:57.0. Finishing in second place was the Carleton Raven's A-team of Matthias Purdon, Kent Mamen and Chris Mamen who finished the course in 0:50:04.0. The real race was for the bronze medal where the Guelph Gryphon A-team crossed the line a mere six seconds ahead of the Lakehead B-team. The Gryphon threesome of Adam Lusk, Ian Ritchie and Matti Little earned the bronze medal in 0:50:45.0.
In the women's afternoon race, the OUA's best female skiers teamed up to compete in the three-by-two-and-a-half kilometre classic event. Laurentian's A-team of Mary Thompson, Julia Winter and Julie Porter took home the OUA gold medal in a time of 0:28:13.0. Finishing in second place was the Carleton Ravens A-team of Sarah Mamen, Zoe Bravl and Alana Thomas who finished the course in 0:29:00.0, while Lakehead's B-team of Katherine Hall, Lara Stoot and Ava Rudachuk took home the bronze medal in 0:29:53.0.
Complete results from day one of the OUA Nordic Ski Championships can be found at http://www.zone4.ca/results.asp?id=1644.
Lakehead holds the lead in both team standings with their men holding a substantial 31 point lead over the second place Carleton Ravens and 33 points over the third place Guelph Gryphons. In the women's standings the Laurentian Voyageurs and Carleton Ravens are charging hard to dethrone the Thunderwolves with Lakehead entering day two with only a four point lead over Laurentian and seven points on Carleton.
Team Standings
MEN
1. Lakehead, 17 pts.
2. Carleton, 48
3. Guelph, 50
4. Laurentian, 64
T5. Waterloo, 135
T5. Toronto, 135
7. Queen's, 174
WOMEN
1. Lakehead, 36 pts.
2. Laurentian, 40
3. Carleton, 43
4. Guelph, 88
5. Queen's, 98
6. Toronto, 144
7. Waterloo, 132
The final day of the OUA Nordic Ski Championships go Sunday at the Laurentian Trails in Sudbury with the women taking the course first at 10 a.m. in the 10-kilometre freestyle and the men hitting the course at 11 a.m. in the 15-kilometre freestyle. Both races will be mass starts with ranking based upon results from Saturday's individual races.
(Source: Greg Hoddinott, Laurentian University, Sports Information)
