Gryphons clash with Canada's best in Ottawa

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Gryphons clash with Canada’s best in Ottawa

This past weekend (January 30-31st) the Gryphon Nordic ski team competed at the 2010 NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships at Nakkertok Nordic ski club located in Cantley, Quebec. This event is one of the top cross-country ski events in the country, with Universities and clubs from all over Canada, totaling over 600 racers competing in an atmosphere more exciting than the National championships. The course at this location combines everything a good race course should have, including steep climbs, testy downhills, and rolling terrain that provides a true test of a racer’s ability. The events this weekend for university racers marked the second set of qualifications for the Ontario championships, which are to be held on February 20-21st in Orangeville, ON.

On Saturday, the event was an individual start skate technique race, at a distance of 5km for the women, and 10km for the men. The male Gryphons demonstrated strong races all around. Ian Ritchie (Penetanguishene, ON) had his best showing of the season thus far, finishing 6th out of the Ontario university racers in the event (30th overall). Erin Purdon (Owen Sound, ON) also had an outstanding race, finishing 12th (55th overall) but notably beating former World Cup gold medalist Pierre Harvey (Mont St. Anne, QC) by 1.3 seconds.

The Gryphon women continue to impress, finishing within seconds of each other, and showing that pain is primarily a French term for bread. Vesta Mather (Wahnapitae, ON) lead the way for the Gryphons, finishing 14th in the OUA circuit (52nd overall). Close on her heels were Analee Winter (Penetanguishene, ON) and Lindsey Chapman (Aurora, ON) finishing 15th and 16th respectively.

Sunday proved to be a true test of endurance and mental strength. The events on this day were a mass start classic technique, at various distances depending on the age category. All Gryphon racers performed excellently in the fast ski conditions and tight competition in a mass start race with the top skiers in Canada. Notable performances go out to Analee Winter, who was the top female Gryphon, finishing the 15km race in 10th out of OUA racers (19th overall). For the men, Matti Little (Sudbury, ON) was able to have a solid race despite a lingering sickness he battled throughout the weekend, finishing as the 3rd OUA racer in the 30km race.

Gryphon skiers will take the next few weeks to continue preparation for the OUA championships, hoping to carry on with these strong results and improve on last years showing. The OUA championships are hosted by Guelph at Mono Nordic ski club in Orangeville from February 19-21st.

Gryphon results in Ottawa:

Saturday
Open Men 10km Skate race (all results are based on OUA racers):

6. Ian Ritchie 26:43
8. Matti Little 27:03
12. Erin Purdon 27:47
18. Scott Weersink 28:14
20. Mike Weersink 28:23
22. Jordan Forsyth 28:52
23. Patrick Twohig 29:00

Open Women 5km Skate race

14. Vesta Mather 16:27
15. Analee Winter 16:32
16. Lindsey Chapman 16:34
18. Kyla Vanderzwet 16:40
21. Laura Hewitt 16:55
26. Jennie Hissa 17:44
33. Laura Campbell 18:54
39. Jessica Blenkarn 19:42
40. Gillian Rockwell 20:01

Sunday
Junior Women 10km Classic race

12. Jennie Hissa 38:38

Open Women 15km Classic race

10. Analee Winter 50:21
11. Kyla Vanderzwet 50:35
12. Vesta Mather 51:02
13. Lindsey Chapman 51:04
14. Laura Hewitt 51:42
16. Laura Campbell 59:09
19. Jessica Blenkarn 1:03:22

Junior Men 15km Classic race

12. Scott Weersink 44:06

Open Men 30km Classic race

3. Matti Little 1:24:54
5. Ian Ritchie 1:26:19
7. Erin Purdon 1:28:53
8. Mike Weersink 1:30:16
11. Patrick Twohig 1:30:59
15. Jordan Forsyth 1:33:40

Full results can be found at www.zone4.ca