McMaster Nordic ski team competes at Ontario Cup
Top-ten finishes in the women’s freestyle and pursuit headline the Marauders’ performance on the Walden Trails
The McMaster University Nordic ski team competed at the Ontario Cup in Naughton, Ontario on Jan. 21 and 22. Within the university category for the seven point two kilometre freestyle, Anna Harris finished in sixth, claiming the top position in the race for the Marauder women. In the 10 kilometre pursuit, Anna placed fifth while Emma Waddington took home the eighth spot for the maroon and grey team.
Prior to the event, McMaster athletes gathered to compete at the Candy Cane Cup in Gatineau, Quebec last year on Dec. 10 to Dec. 11. Anna and Laura Harris finished 50th and 56th in the open female 10 kilometre free technique interval start. Anna also placed 46th overall racing in the one point three kilometre classic sprint heats.
On the first day of the Ontario Cup, both the Marauder men and women took part in the seven point two kilometre freestyle.
With a time of 22:12.8, Anna finished sixth in the university women’s category for McMaster. Waddington followed closely behind in eighth to give the Marauders two athletes in the top 10. Other competitors for the school include Ingrid Pederson, Olivia Rowan and Laura, who finished 13th, 28th and 29th respectively.
“It’s interesting because [Nordic ski’s] an individual sport but the team is definitely really important, especially if you’re a social person. A lot of us are really motivated by training together and having that sense of community is really motivating,” said Anna.
“It’s interesting because [Nordic ski’s] an individual sport but the team is definitely really important, especially if you’re a social person. A lot of us are really motivated by training together and having that sense of community is really motivating.”
Anna Harris, Nordic Skiing Team
For the men, Errol Bowman completed the race in 19:09.5 to finish in 10th place for McMaster. The time was one minute and forty seven seconds off of the race leader Alec Maclean, who placed first in the race for the University of Guelph.
Nick Sammon (20th), Graham Buchan (23rd), William Pihlainen-Bleecker (26th) and Christian Dizon (27th) rounded out the rest of the skiers for McMaster.
The Marauders returned to the trails on the second day of the competition for the 10 kilometre classic pursuit, which features a two race series with a classic interval start and a delayed start determined by the time behind the leading skier in the initial race. For the Ontario Cup, athletes were ranked according to their total combined time in both the races.
Although placing in eighth during the first race of the pursuit, A. Harris rebounded to complete the second race in sixth with a time of 33:52.4 to finish fifth in the event. Waddington was finished in tenth and ninth in the respective halves of the pursuit to land in eighth overall for the Marauders.
Bowman completed both the pursuit’s races in 13th and skied a total time of 50:46.9 to finish 11th as the top performer for the McMaster men.
“The team’s plan from here to OUAs is just really get that specific ski training as much as we can in Hamilton and getting on the snow as much as we can. We’re all pretty excited for [the championships],” said Waddington.
The Marauders will take on one more Ontario Cup from Feb. 17 to 19 in Lakefield, Ontario. Then, to round out their season, the team will travel to Huntsville, Ontario and compete at the Ontario University Championships from Feb. 21 to 24 at the Arrowhead Provincial Park.
