TIMMINS - An out-of-town race was a chance for younger athletes to hit the trails.
Porcupine Ski Runners' race team was in North Bay for the third Ontario Cup from Jan. 17-18. This race featured the complete team, including the mini racers.
Due to the cold weather in the forecast for the second day of the competition, the younger athletes, up to age 14, raced twice on Saturday.
The race series began with a freestyle technique race. In the U10 1.3 km division, John-Leonard Schwehr raced his way to a fantastic eighth-place finish.
The U12 and U14 distance was set at 3 km. Anna Wray had a stellar performance and found herself on the U12 podium with a third-place finish. Théo Collins placed 13th, Joseph Girard 14th and Wyatt Palik 16th. Muriel Wray was Porcupine Ski Runners first finisher for the U14 division, coming in 24th, followed by Avery Legault 28th and Elisabeth Girard 30th.
The U10-U14 divisions later competed in a classic technique race in the same set distances. John-Leonard crossed the line in eighth place for the U10 division. In the U12 division, Anna finished sixth. Théo, Joseph and Wyatt were in a battle to the finish line coming in 16th, 17th and 18th, respectively. The U14 girls finished the race with equally close results, seeing Avery in 23rd, Elisabeth 24th and Muriel 26th.
The U18 girls had a different setup for the race weekend.
Their event was a Pursuit event. They were set to race in a 10-km freestyle race on Saturday followed by a 7-km classic pursuit. At the end of the second race, both times are tabulated for a combined score. The trio had phenomenal results in the 10-km freestyle technique race Saturday.
Chantal Kukulka raced to second place, securing her place on the podium. Jillian Daguerre crossed the line in 10th and Nicole Kukulka 14th.
On the following day, the team battled the cold temperatures and competed in the second half of the pursuit, the 7-km classic technique. Once again, the teams produced terrific results with Chantal finishing in ninth, Jillian 13th and Nicole 15th. The trio concluded the race series with a great pursuit outcome. The combined results were: Chantal fourth, Jillian 12th and Nicole 14th.
The Porcupine Ski Runners Race team represented Timmins extremely well in North Bay and are very much excited to be racing in Timmins for their next Ontario Cup on Feb. 15-16.
