Carleton and Lakehead capture OUA Nordic Skiing Championship banners

(GATINEAU, QC) -- An unprecedented eleven-year conference reign by the Lakehead Thunderwolves women's Nordic ski team is over following three days of competition at the 2016 OUA Nordic Skiing Championship, as the Carleton Ravens captured their first women's Nordic title since 2004 and the ninth OUA Nordic banner in school history. Lakehead came up just shy of repeating as champions, finishing the weekend in second, while Guelph enjoyed a third-place result overall in the women's team standings.

In the men's competition, the Lakehead Thunderwolves were triumphant in reclaiming the Paul Allen Trophy as the 2016 OUA champions, fending off Carleton and Nipissing to win the school's fourth overall title in the last five years.

Day 3 of the competition saw the men's and women's contenders battle through mixed precipitation as well as the lingering effects of Saturday's rain showers to make a strong push for the OUA titles.

In the women's 10km Mass Start event, Alysson Marshall (33:58.9) of Lakehead won her third gold medal of the weekend by cruising to the title. Carleton's Megan Evans (34:47.3), who won silver in the 7.5km Interval Free on Friday, finished in second place once again to cap off a very successful OUA championship. Rounding out the top three spots to take bronze was Carleton's Emilie Stewart-Jones (35:38.0), whose individual performances improved throughout the competition.

The men's 15km Mass Start followed, and for the third time this weekend, Lakehead's Gavin Shields (45:46.1) stole the show with a sensational race to capture gold. Chris Hamilton (46:50.8) continued to make a name for himself as the Lakehead skier placed second to silver - his second of the competition. Nipissing's Jordan Cascagnette (47:00.6) came in third position to help him notch a second bronze medal at the OUAs.

Following the completion of the Mass Start events, the Carleton women's team and the Lakehead men's team celebrated their final team results to secure the 2016 team championship banners.

DAY 3 RESULTS:

Women's 10km Mass Start
Men's 15km Mass Start

2016 OUA NORDIC SKIING ALL-STARS

WOMEN'S ALL-STARS:

Alysson Marshall - Lakehead
Megan Evans - Carleton
Jessica Demers - Nipissing
Emilie Stewart-Jones - Carleton
Bryana van Leeuwen - Lakehead
Emily Jones - Carleton
Alexandra Slobodian - Carleton
Camille Hamm - Lakehead
Ashley Huot - Guelph
Alyssa Stowe - Carleton

MEN'S ALL-STARS:

Gavin Shields - Lakehead
Chris Hamilton - Lakehead
Jordan Cascagnette - Nipissing
Carrington Pomeroy - Carleton
Patrick van Walraven - Carleton
Colin Foley - Queen's
Geoffrey Way-Nee - Lakehead
Colin Pendziwol - Lakehead
Chris Weller - Carleton
Avery Vreugdenhil-Beauclerc - Carleton

2016 OUA NORDIC SKIING COACH OF THE YEAR:

Nicholas Clifford - Carleton

2016 OUA NORDIC SKIING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TEAM RESULTS

WOMEN'S:

Carleton (Gold)
Lakehead (Silver)
Guelph (Bronze)
Nipissing
Laurentian
Queen's
Waterloo
Toronto
Algoma

MEN'S:

Lakehead (Gold)
Carleton (Silver)
Nipissing (Bronze)
Queen's
Laurentian
Toronto
Guelph
Waterloo
Algoma