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Local skiers fare well at Ontario Cup races

The snowfall in Thunder Bay this winter has been unusually scarce, but there was enough of the white stuff on the ground to host the first Ontario Cup nordic ski races of the weekend in northwestern Ontario.
The snowfall in Thunder Bay this winter has been unusually scarce, but there was enough of the white stuff on the ground to host the first Ontario Cup nordic ski races of the weekend in northwestern Ontario.

Several hundred athletes, including representatives from both the Walden Cross Country Fitness Club (WCCFC) and the Laurentian Nordic Ski Club (LNSC) gathered for four days of racing that also combined events from the NorAm circuit as well as the World Junior U23 Trials.

Locals did well across the board, paced by a handful of podium finishes from the Sudbury and area contingent. Currently attending Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Alannah MacLean (WCCFC) finished third in the Junior Women's 1.2-km sprint classic while Danny Tindall (LNSC) captured top spot in the Midget Boys one-km sprint classic, following it up with a bronze medal in the 5.3-km free race.

Isabelle MacLean (WCCFC) finished fifth in both the Junior Girls one-km sprint classic and the Junior Girls 10-km free distance, with local rivals jockeying back and forth for positioning in a couple of different categories.

Junior Boys Thomas Gore and Tim Tindall, clubmates with the Laurentian crew, went back and forth over the weekend series of events, with Kyle Reinhardt (WCCFC), Olivier Palkovits (LNSC) and Nicholas Taillefer (LNSC) doing likewise in the Juvenile Boys division.

Following is a complete rundown of the results (based on my understanding of the presentation of the results online) for all local competitors:

Victor Hopper (Big Thunder)
Jr Men – 15 km Free – 42:30 (30th)
Jr Men – 1.4 km Sprint Classic – 4:00 (43rd)
Jr Men – 20 km Classic – 58:25 (27th)

Thomas Gore (Laurentian)
Jr Boys – 15 km Free – 44:31 (9th)
Jr Boys – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 3:19.09 (15th)
Jr Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 23:11 (13th)

Tim Tindall (Laurentian)
Jr Boys – 15 km Free – 45:08 (15th)
Jr Boys – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 3:15.76 (9th)
Jr Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 23:06 (10th)

Nathan Johnston (Walden)
Jr Boys – 15 km Free – 46:56 (20th)
Jr Boys – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 3:29.66 (24th)
Jr Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 24:24 (19th)

David Hanson (Walden)
Jr Boys – 15 km Free – 54:57 (31st)
Jr Boys – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 3:56.70 (32nd)
Jr Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 27:17 (30th)

Alannah MacLean (WCCFC)
Jr Women – 10 km Free – 31:12 (7th)
Jr Women – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 3:20.30 (3rd)
Jr Women – 10 km Classic – 32:31 (7th)

Jennifer Hull (WCCFC)
Jr Women – 10 km Free – 39:11 (27th)
Jr Women – 1.2 km Sprint Classic – 4:08 (26th)
Jr Women – 10 km Classic – 43:59 (28th)

Isabelle MacLean (WCCFC)
Jr Girls – 10 km Free – 34:03 (5th)
Jr Girls – 1 km Sprint Classic – 3:00.18 (5th)
Jr Girls – 7.7 km Classic – 26:54 (8th)

Emily Marcolini (WCCFC)
Jr Girls – 10 km Free – 35:05 (9th)
Jr Girls – 1 km Sprint Classic – 3:20.57 (20th)
Jr Girls – 7.7 km Classic – 27:30 (12th)

Kyle Reinhardt (WCCFC)
Juvenile Boys – 5.1 km Free – 15:08 (6th)
Juvenile Boys – 1 km Sprint Classic – 2:50.58 (8th)
Juvenile Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 24.49 (5th)

Olivier Palkovits (Laurentian)
Juvenile Boys – 5.1 km Free – 15:18 (8th)
Juvenile Boys – 1 km Sprint Classic – 2:49.04 (6th)
Juvenile Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 25:20 (9th)

Nicholas Taillefer (Laurentian)
Juvenile Boys – 5.1 km Free – 15:56 (13th)
Juvenile Boys – 1 km Sprint Classic – 2:55.97 (12th)
Juvenile Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 25:18 (8th)

Jacob Hanson (WCCFC)
Juvenile Boys – 5.1 km Free – 16:30 (15th)
Juvenile Boys – 1 km Sprint Classic – 3:05.87 (15th)
Juvenile Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 27:03 (17th)

Danny Tindall (Laurentian)
Midget Boys – 5.3 km Free – 15:38 (3rd)
Midget Boys – 1 km Sprint Classic – 2:55.78 (1st)
Juvenile Boys – 7.7 km Classic – 25:51 (13th)

Like Alannah MacLean, Lively native Victor Hopper is also attending Lakehead, skiing out of the Big Thunder Nordic Ski Club.

Many of these racers will be back in action on local soil in two weeks' time as the Walden crew host the second Ontario Cup races of the year on the weekend of Jan. 18-20 at the Naughton Trails.

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