The Carleton Ravens Nordic ski team came home with a silver medal Feb. 24.
They were unable to prevent the Lakehead Thunderwolves from claiming both the men’s and women’s team banners at the OUA Nordic ski championships, held at the Lappe Nordic Ski Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont.
A convincing victory for Lakehead skier Scott Hill in the 15-kilometre classic race capped a memorable weekend, which also saw the Thunderwolves claim its ninth consecutive women’s title.
Overcoming Lakehead’s superior depth was always going to be a tough proposition for a Ravens team hoping to upset the hosts on their home course.
Nevertheless, the team managed to overcome fatigue and illness to veterans Peter Beisel and Lee Hawkings to perform well in several races, much to the delight of Ravens head coach Chris Mamen.
“I’m very happy with how the team performed this weekend,” Mamen said.
“They performed beyond expectations on both the men’s and the women’s side. It was a very difficult weekend for everybody in that the competition was very intense. The teams from Lakehead were very difficult to beat.”
That certainly proved to be the case during the women’s 5-kilometre freestyle, which saw Ravens skiers Kendra Murray, Adele Lay and Anna Crawford race well, yet still lose out to current national junior team member and Lakehead skier Andrea Lee for first place. Murray finished the highest of the Ravens’ skiers in third.
A second and third place result by the Carleton A and B teams in the women’s 3-by-3.75-kilometre relay gave the Ravens hope of clinching a team banner heading into Sunday’s 10-kilometre classic.
Unfortunately, those hopes were ended by Lee and teammate Alannah MacLean, as the pair were able to secure a first and second-place finish to give Lakehead a deserved 14-point victory.
The second place finish was of little consolation to Mamen, given the level of determination shown by Carleton’s female skiers in Thunder Bay.
“[Seeing] the depth of our women’s team was incredible,” Mamen said. “We just have a strong group this year, senior and junior athletes, that are all skiing incredibly well. They all pulled out some amazing races over the weekend.”
Unfortunately, the men’s team were unable to stay in similar contention as the Thunderwolves claimed the men’s title.
One of the highlights for the Ravens was the performance of Ben Wilkinson-Zan, who overcame tough competition in the 10-kilometre freestyle to place first with a time of 29:48.2, one second ahead of Hill.
“[Ben] had a really good race,” Hawkings said. “He’s one of the best juniors in all of Canada and we’re just really lucky to be able to bring him along this year. He so deserved that win. We’re really [happy] for him”
The win was a testament to the level of progression that Wilkinson-Zan has made during his first season with the Ravens. The rookie also managed to impress in both the 15-kilometre classic and the 3-by-3.75-kilometre relay, the latter of which saw the Ottawa-based skier record a lap time of 09:42.9—faster than any other skier in the race.
Sadly, impressive individual performances by Wilkinson-Zan and his teammates were not enough to clinch victory over a Thunderwolves roster that demonstrated its technical superiority throughout the men’s and women’s events.
“I think everyone showed up and raced as hard as they could, but we were definitely a little outmatched by Lakehead this year,” Hawkings said. “We’ve got to hand it to them because they did a really good job. Everyone’s a little upset, but at the same time, we know we’ve been bested.”
The Carleton Ravens Nordic ski team will have another chance of defeating their Lakehead counterparts in late March, when they compete in the men’s and women’s national championships in Whistler, B.C.
