A strong contingent of young Whistler and Pemberton Nordic racers made their way to the B.C. Midget Championships in Salmon Arm on the weekend, and came away with a healthy helping of top results.

Thanks to the performances of their athletes, the Whistler Nordics achieved a finish of fifth overall among the 18 clubs that sent skiers to the championships, and the Spud Valley Nordics came in a solid ninth place.

In Saturday’s (March 6) classic technique race, Michael Murdoch of the Whistler Nordics led the way with a victory in the category for boys born in 2000. The other results from this two-kilometre race:

• Male 2000: Ian Davidson fourth, Samuel Johnston fifth, Graeme Bowers seventh, Fraser Doak 10th (Whistler Nordics); Joe Davies ninth, Troy Rozsypalek 16th (Spud Valley Nordics);

• Female 2000: Benita Peiffer eighth, Lace Anderson 16th (Whistler Nordics); Cassia Jean 17th, Madeline Beaudry 18th (Spud Valley Nordics);

• Female 1999: Erica Van Loon 11th, Jesse Bull 14th, Kaede Kawano 17th, Emily Knight 18th (Spud Valley Nordics); Caitlin MacConnachie 19th, Sierra Cordingley 20th (Whistler Nordics);

• Male 1999: Owen Reith eighth (Whistler Nordics); Bendigo Steager 23rd, Jonathan Rabung-Simeon 24th (Spud Valley Nordics);

• Female 1998: Gabrielle Smith 20th, Lyla Nordin 22nd, Emily Wharin 29th, Jordynn Anderson 31st (Whistler Nordics); Amhani Jones 27th (Spud Valley Nordics);

• Male 1998: Thomas Rozsypalek 19th (Spud Valley Nordics);

• Male 1997: Austin Reith 11th, Conrad Murdoch 15th (Whistler Nordics).

In Saturday’s team relay, the Rainbow Smufs squad of Whistler Nordics girls finished 11th in their race, while the Whistler Chicks finished 17th. The Speedy Spuds finished 16th and the Spud Valley Girls 2 finished 19th.

On the boys’ side, The Bros of the Whistler Nordics powered to fifth, and the Fantastic Four from the Whistler Nordics finished 10th. The Spud Valley Boys sped across the finish line for 14th. Several Spud Valley skiers stepped up to race with Club Fusion and finished ninth in their category.

After racing through the heats of 300-metre sprints on Sunday (March 7), the powerhouse Whistler Nordics group of boys born in 2000 achieved another impressive result by once again putting three skiers in the top five – Michael Murdoch, Davidson and Johnston sped into second, third and fourth, respectively. Other sprint results:

• Female 2000: Peiffer sixth, Jean 13th, Lace Anderson 17th, Beaudry 19th;

• Male 2000: Doak seventh, Davies ninth, Bowers 11th, Troy Rozsypalek 17th;

• Female 1999: Jesse Bull 11th, Van Loon 13th, Knight 16th, Kawano 17th, Cordingley 19th, MacConnachie 20th;

• Male 1999: Owen Reith fifth, Steager 21st, Rabung-Simeon 22nd;

• Female 1998: Smith sixth, Nordin 20th, Wharin 21st, Jordynn Anderson 27th, Jones 29th;

• Male 1997: Conrad Murdoch 13th.

Top results from B.C. Cup

Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) racers shone at last week’s Miele B.C. Cup alpine ski races at Silver Star Mountain Resort, which doubled as the Western Canadian FIS-J1 Championships.

Kailee Darlington stood out by capturing a super G bronze medal and finishing among the top three J1 racers in every one of the six women’s events, beginning with the super G races last Tuesday (March 2) and wrapping up with slalom events on Sunday (March 7).

Alecia Willis and Jocelyn Ramsden of the WMSC and B.C. Ski Team delivered strong performances, as Willis won the opening women’s super G and finished second in giant slalom and slalom races on Friday (March 5) and Sunday, and Ramsden won Friday’s giant slalom and finished second in Thursday’s (March 4) giant slalom. She also won a bronze medal in the super G race last Wednesday (March 3), making her the top J1 racer in all three of those events.

After winning silver behind Ramsden in Friday’s giant slalom race, Willis said she took some time out to enjoy skiing with some club friends between the GS runs, and that helped remind her why she loves skiing, pumping her up after she finished eighth in her first run.

“I ended up with the fastest second run. I’ve been trying to figure out the formula for skiing fast, but my coach sat down and helped me realize there is no formula. I need to ski with my gut and my heart, not my mind,” Willis told B.C. Alpine.

Mackenzie Patterson of the WMSC finished third in Thursday’s GS race, making her the second-fastest J1 racer in that event behind Ramsden and ahead of Darlington.

On the men’s side, William Konantz of the B.C. Ski Team and WMSC finished among the top three J1 racers in three events, while his B.C. and WMSC teammate Ford Swette did the same in two races, where he was the fastest of all the J1 skiers.

The WMSC’s Daniel Kwong sped into position among the top three J1 racers in two events, including his top J1 finish in Sunday’s slalom.

Their teammate Ben MacLean won a bronze medal in the final men’s slalom on Sunday, and posted three top-10 finishes.

Meanwhile, the Teck K2 provincial championships are continuing at Big White. Check next week’s Question for results.