Nipissing Nordic season opener
The January 21 – 22 weekend saw varsity ski teams from Carleton, Queen’s, University of Toronto, Guelph, Waterloo, Laurentian, and Nipissing University gather at the North Bay Nordic Ski Club for two days of varsity racing.The Nipissing Lakers women's team put in a strong showing in both the skate and classic technique races, with second-year team member Lynsey Bialkowski and team veteran Brianna Yard trading high points for the team with 14th and 15th places respectively in a deep field of 43 women racers. On the men's side, first-year team members Kevin Durkee, recruited from the NWT Canada Games team, and Kamran Mirshahi put in promising top 25 finishes. Both men's and women's races were dominated by the Carleton squad, with Lee Hawkings winning both the men's skate and classic races in convincing fashion, and with Carleton teammates Kendra Murray and Ingrid Hagberg trading wins in the women's races.
The field of varsity racers was shocked by the standout performances of 15 year old Madi Fraser, who put in an amazing sixth place finish in the varsity women's 9km classic race, and 16-year-old Liam Patterson, who put in an 11th place finish in the men's mass start 9km classic event, battling head to head against much older racers. Both Madi and Liam represent the Ontario Ski Team and train with Nipissing Nordic's partnered Junior Racing Team, a relationship that bodes well for the development of ski racers coming out of the program, and for contributing to North Bay's legacy of graduating athletes to the National Team and international competition.
These races were the final selection for Nipissing Nordic's varsity squad, with team members Lynsey Bialkowski, Brianna Yard, Andrew Kerr, Kamran Mirshahi, and Kevin Durkee now setting their sights on the upcoming Eastern Canadian Championships, February 4 – 5, followed by the OUA Championships and then Ontario Cup races in Timmins and Duntroon. Based on results at the first Ontario Cup in Thunder Bay, team member Lynsey Bialkowski has early season qualifying results to move her on to the Canadian National Championships in Quebec City, March 17 – 24.
The weekend's race organizers extend a hearty thanks to the volunteers from the university community who came out to help with trail marshaling and as stadium crew. It was an energetic and fun gathering of people out on the trails, and an affirmation of North Bay's reputation as a supportive ski community.
Full race results are available here.