National recognition for Lakers Nordic

From impressive finishes to Ontario University Athletics (OUA) medals and all-stars, the Nipissing Lakers Nordic ski team now has national hardware to brag about.

The Lakers sent a handful of skiers to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, last week for the Canadian and CCUNC National Ski Championships.  They were rewarded with three varsity medals, some top five finishes and a great effort.

For the men, Jordan Cascagnette came home with two bronze medals and ended up fourth varsity overall, while Kajsa Heyes took home a silver medal and was a top five finisher on the varsity women’s side.

Kevin Durkee, Shelby Dickey and Lynsey Bialkowski also took part in the event.

“Seeing Nipissing Nordic athletes on multiple podiums at the Canadian National Championships was a huge step forward for the team and the University. Heyes and Cascagnette stood out with results that set them apart not only among Canadian varsity skiers, but as contenders at the National level against National Team and National Development Center athletes,” said Lakers head coach Toivo Koivukoski.

After a very successful OUA championship hosted by Nipissing and the Lakers, the skiers clearly used that momentum to come away with great results from their trip out east.

Cascagnette, who finished fifth overall in the OUA said he was excited about how he performed at nationals and said it was a great way to cap off the season.

“I’m really happy with my performance at Nationals 2014 in Corner Brook. After what has felt like a sub-par season for me, it feels really good to have had such a strong end to my season, and to be able get some recognition for Nipissing at the National level,” he said.  “My week got off to a great start, having a lot of fun in the Team Sprint with Kevin Durkee on the Saturday, followed by my first CCUNC medal performance in the 10 kilometer Classic on Sunday. I had a disappointing third day of racing in the 15km skate after my body kind of fell apart halfway through, but I bounced back for a great sprint qualifier on Thursday, missing the CCUNC silver medal by 0.03 seconds.”

Heyes said she battled some health issues throughout the season, so for her to peak during nationals and finish where she did felt great and was a nice way to close out a challenging year.

“I was very happy with my performance at Nationals 2014, bringing home both a silver medal and a top 5 all-Canadian award for Nipissing. After a difficult year battling illness through most of the fall and winter, it was reassuring to see that I could perform well at the very end of the racing season,” she said. “I proved that I can be competitive with not only the top university skiers in the country, but the top training centre athletes as well.” 

Cascagnette said he would have loved to finish in the top three overall, which would have capped the week off, but he’s holding his head up high finishing where he did.

Heyes felt that the event was great for not only her personally, but also the entire Lakers team, who performed very well.

“Nipissing made a huge splash on the national racing scene this year with three national medals and with Jordan and me making all-Canadian spots. These results show a lot of promise for the future of the Nipissing Nordic Ski Team, in terms of the performance of our current athletes and the recruitment of new athletes from across the country,” she said.

“The silver medal that Heyes brought home from the CCUNC sprint was nice to see for her progress in the freestyle technique. Seeing her beat out National Team athletes in that race turned heads on the Canadian ski scene, and bodes well for the program developing athletes for elite level competition. Her long distance classic race result confirmed that she can deliver as an all around athlete in both techniques and across all distances. Her CCUNC All-Canadian award was well deserved and a proud accomplishment for her and the team,” the head coach said. “Cascagnette's podiums in the middle distance classic and freestyle sprint races put him solidly among the country's top varsity skiers. The fact that his two Varsity medals from Nationals were earned with results that  put him in the top 20 men in Canada was especially impressive for this CCUNC All-Canadian athlete. He put in a very respectable result in the 50km classic on the last of five races with a 15th place finish overall against racers just back from the Sochi Olympics, with a staying power that will serve his future development as a skier well, with opportunities for results in all disciplines of the sport. The whole team displayed resilience through the Championships; if we can keep our student-athletes healthy and injury-free we will be able to put more front-runners in the races."

Race Results
Men's Team Sprint: Nipissing, 10th
Women's 5 km classic: Heyes, 6th; Bialkowski, 22nd
Men's 10km classic: Cascagnette 3rd, Durkee, 23rd
Women's 10km skate: Heyes, 4th; Dickey, 17th; Bialkowski, 24th
Men's 15km skate: Cascagnette, 14th; Durkee, 22nd
Women's skate sprint: Heyes, 2nd; Dickey, 10th; Bialkowski, 24th
Men's skate sprint: Cascagnette, 3rd; Durkee, 25th
Women's 30km classic (overall): Heyes, 12th; Bialkowski 31st
Junior Women's 20km classic (overall): Dickey, 15th
Men's 50km classic (overall): Cascagnette, 15th