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Local Skiers Medal at X-C Provincials
A total of thirteen Provincial medals were brought home by local skiers from the recent championships in Corner Brook. Conditions were not great at the championship races with temperatures above zero and rain falling late on the first day. Problems with the ski club's trail grooming equipment made ski conditions difficult. On the first day of racing the classical races were held. In Junior girls Stephanie Corbett crossed the line in second place for the silver medal in a time of32:39 for the 7.5km distance. Pamela O'Keefe came in fifth in a time of 40:51. For Midget Boys in a 2.5km race Alexander Mitchell took the silver medal in a time of 13:11 , followed in third place by Gregory Wheaton in a time of 16:28 for the bronze. In Midget Girls it was Calandra Lawlor coming in seventh and Kelsie Harte crossing in ninth place. Jessica Corbett took gold for Juvenile Girls for the 5km distance in a time of 22:23. Kyle Power raced in Mini Midget Boys division and took the silver medal for the 2.5km race in a time of 12:14, with Jonathan Pike crossing in fifth place with a time of 16:40. For Master 1 Men Alf Parsons took top honours with his first place finish over the 10km course with a time of33:35. Masters 2 Men saw Charlie Mitchell cross the line in fourth place in 42:04 with Phil Power crossing in 49:30 for seventh place. Rhonda Lawrence captured gold in Master 2 Women in the 7.5km race with a time of 31:41. Gerry Rideout took fifth place in the Master 3 Men over a 10km course with a time of 54:01.
Freestyle races were held on the second day of the championships with six medals going to Menihek skiers on that day. In Midget Boys Alexander Mitchell captured silver once again in a time of 22:47 for the 5km distance. Gregory Wheaton crossed the line in 29:23 for fourth place. In Midget Girls Calandra Lawlor took eighth place in 27:46 with Kelsie Harte in ninth place in 30:32. Kyle Power captured another silver in Mini Midget Boys over 2.5km with a time of 11:29, with Jonathan Pike coming in seventh place in 24:54. For Junior girls it was Jessica Corbett with a gold in a time of 32:15 for a 5km distance. Alf Parsons took silver in his 15km Freestyle event after missing his start by almost two minutes and missing the gold by only 24 seconds. His finish time was 32:27. Charlie Mitchell will bring home a bronze medal for his third place finish in Masters 2 Men over 10km with a time of 37:36, with Phil Power coming in seventh with a time of 40:55. Rhonda Lawrence captured her second gold of the races in Master 2 Women with a time of 29:52 for the 7.5km distance. In Masters 3 Men Gerry Rideout crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 51:26.
Joey Mackey travelled out for the races but did not get to compete due to illness. On the second day of racing neither Pamela O'Keefe or Stephanie Corbett were able to finish due to illness . The course took it's toll on the racers also with many falls and lots of scrapes and bruises. Rhonda Lawrence fell six times in one race and managed to give herself a nasty scrape on the chin but still crossed the line in first place. Alf Parsons wasn't without his problems either . He was tripped up by another skier but managed to continue to win a silver medal. It was a rough two days of racing but our local skiers still managed to come home with a fist full of medals.
Winter Games are just around the corner and a group of skiers from this area will be attending. Stephanie Corbett will soon be heading to Canmore, Alberta, as a member of the Provincial Ski Team to take part in the Junior National Championships. Once any results are available from these events they will be published in the Nordic News.
Alf Parsons will be heading to Val Cartier , Quebec, at the end of the month to ski in the World Masters Championships. While there he will ski in three races and hopes to qualify for the relay team. He is the only skier from Menihek Nordic going to this event and we will be watching very closely for his results.
Construction of the Arctic Mirage ice palace continues daily in the chalet parking lot. If you haven't been up to see it yet then you are really missing out. The official opening of the Arctic Mirage has been moved to Saturday, March 2nd at 3pm. This will allow Greg Daigle and his crew time to be sure everything is complete. This cold snap of the past few weeks slowed the construction a bit but things are getting back on track now.
With the running of the Great Labrador Loppet on Saturday, March 9th, the Jackrabbit program will be cancelled for that day. The chalet will also be closed on Loppet day. If you are planning on renting skis for the Loppet or reserving one of our baby sleds, please call the chalet soon and make the necessary arrangements.
Watch for our ski specials during Winter Odyssey 2002.
Ski safely and we'll see you on the trails.
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