Fresh off the plane from racing the World Cups in Dusseldorf, and after 23 hours of travel, Alysson Marshall won the Open Women’s 1.2- km Sprint Qualifier in the Haywood NorAms at Vernon’s Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre this weekend.
She then moved easily through the back-to-back heats, taking the silver medal, with Jessie Diggins from the U.S. taking the gold.
In the 10-km Classic event Sunday, Marshall was top Canadian, finishing seventh.
Adrienne Underhill, who trains in Whistler at the national training centre, also skied a strong performance, placing 18th in the Junior Women’s 1.2-km Classic.
Larch Hills
Junior Racers
Racing at a different level and on a different race circuit, the Larch Hills Junior Race Team had a great start to the season, with nine junior racers attending the Norams.
John Connor skied his way to a first-place finish in the sprint race with a substantial lead over the pack. Thomas Hardy, Kyle Flatman, Alexander Corbett and Judah Bucher also had impressive results on the difficult sprint course. Eliza Jane Kitchen, Emmy Sim and Silken Kleer raced well, managing the course’s sharp corners and stiff competition.
Hardy continued to ski well for the distance race with a fourth-place finish and Connor maintained his strong performance with third. The distance race involved a killer hill that the athletes had to tackle twice on the circuit in which Flatman, Corbett, Micah Bucher, Sim, Kleer and Judah Bucher tackled with good technique and speed. Kitchen skied a great race with a fourth-place finish in the Juvenile division.