The Carleton Nordic ski team gave a strong showing at the Haywood NorAm Eastern Canadian tournament, which was held at the Nakkertok Nordic Ski Centre Feb. 1-3 in preparation for Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
Both the men’s and women’s teams took part in individual multi-stage events. Kendra Murray finished in first place in the 15km junior women’s classic pursuit race. She also placed second in the 1.6km open sprints and a third-place result in the 10km freestyle rounded out a successful weekend for the Whitehorse, Yukon prodigy.
In the men’s category, Peter Beisel and Lee Hawkings continued where they left off from last weekend’s OUA Classic Sprint Final at Highland Nordic with impressive finishes in the 30km open men’s classic pursuit on Sunday, in 29th and 31st respectively.
The competition, held over the course of three days, pitted the Ravens contingent against some of the best skiers in Canada. It provided Hawkings and his teammates a unique opportunity in their final race weekend before head coach Chris Mamen takes his team to Thunder Bay at the end of the month to compete in the OUA Nordic ski championships.
“We’re racing against pretty much all the best skiers in the country here.” Hawkings said. “It’s definitely a higher-level competition than the OUAs. So although, we’re not racing against university skiers, it’s fantastic competition.”
“The fastest university skiers are in 30th place here. We have our work cut out for us at races like this, so it’s definitely really good training.”
The Ravens camp, who were put through their paces over the weekend against high-level athletes, welcomed the high-intensity races. For Murray, the experience afforded an invaluable opportunity for her and her teammates to fine-tune their techniques in preparation for OUAs.
“This time in the season, it’s just working out the bugs, getting your race preparation down and knowing exactly what you’re going to do before the race . . . [this competition has been] really good preparation.”
The Ravens’ focus now turns to the Lappe Nordic ski centre—the stage of this year’s OUA championships. It is here where Carleton will compete against current OUA champions, Lakehead University, for the prestigious Paul Allen trophy. The Thunderwolves claimed both the men’s and women’s titles last year, which they had not done since the 2008-09 season.
Despite the challenge that awaits them, history would suggest that Carleton remains one of the competition’s favourites. Over the past 10 years, both the men’s and women’s banners have gone to either Carleton or Lakehead. The Laurentian Voyageurs were the last team to break the cycle. In 2002-2003 season, the Lady Vees claimed their respective title.
Although there are high expectations for the Ravens to succeed, Hawkings and Murray were both quick to keep expectations of the team in check.
“I think we’re all just trying to take it one weekend at a time and try and do our best,” Hawkings said. “But definitely, the nerves will be running pretty high at Thunder Bay in a couple of weeks.”
“We just have to keep calm and do what we’re trained to do. Hopefully…we’ll be able to [get a win]”
“I don’t even worry about it.” Murray added. “You’re skiing your own race out there…It would be really nice to win though!”
