Eight members of the Carleton Ravens Nordic ski team competed in North Bay for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Nordic Ski Championship Feb. 20-23, finishing second overall at the event.
Nordic skier Kendra Murray said the weather was an important factor the first two days of competition, meaning tough racing conditions for the team sprint.
“It was a crazy windy day,” she said.
Murray and her partner Alex Slobodian finished second to Lakehead University’s Jennifer Jackson and Erin Tribe in the team sprint.
Although Murray’s finish was on par with her expectations for this race, she said she performed better in her third run than in her previous two.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves were able to pull off a sweep, claiming first in the men and women’s team sprint and pursuit.
The Ravens finished strong in men’s team sprint with Peter Beisel and Stefan Lloyd earning the silver medal.
Beisel said the competition against Lakehead was as tough as ever this year, but his team fared well individually.
“We always want to beat Lakehead. Unfortunately they won it this year, though a few of us did win in individual races,” he said.
Andre Marchand and Carrington Pomeroy earned a bronze medal while fellow Ravens Nelson Allan and Nansen Murray finished fourth.
The Ravens women finished strong as well, with Murray and Slobodian earning a silver medal.
In the men’s pursuit Beisel had the fourth-fastest time and was named an all-star for the championship. He said he was proud to place so high with so many other competitors to race against.
“Every year there’s tough competition,” Beisel said. “There’s about 60 competitors in the race.”
Carleton finished in second place overall in both the men’s and women’s events. Murray and Slobodian were both named female all-stars for the championship.
The Ravens had had five skiers named all-stars for the men. This included Beisel, Steffan Lloyd, Marchand, Carrington Pomeroy, and Nansen Murray.
Next season the Ravens will have another shot to unseat the champions back in North Bay. The Nipissing Lakers will host the competition a second year in a row.
Nipissing finished fourth in the men’s division and third in the women’s. They also had three OUA All-Stars with their head coach Toivu Koivukoski named OUA Nordic Ski coach of the year.
Murray and Beisel said they plan on racing next year and hope to improve on this season, and have high hopes for the 2014-2015 Carleton Nordic Ski team.
