The Carleton Ravens are the 2010 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Nordic ski men’s champions, beating out five-time defending champions, the Lakehead University Thunderwolves, Feb. 20-21 in Orangeville, Ont.
While the Carleton women placed a close second to the six-time Lakehead champions, the Carleton men’s team brought the other Thunderwolves’ winning streak to an end.
“[It was] fun – the coaches really enjoyed it,” said John Langstone, head coach of the Carleton Nordic ski team. “And I’m really proud of the team.”
The weekend yielded what Langstone called “excellent” conditions: sunny skies, peak lows of -10 C and no sign of the slushy snow plaguing cross-country skiers competing at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The Raven men’s 43-point total more than halved the score of the University of Guelph Gryphons, who were the first runners-up with 95 points.
Carleton won gold despite being down two skiers. According to Langstone, Raven Steffan Lloyd could not qualify because he is competing for Canada in the World Juniors while his teammate, Kyle Power, is a forerunner for the Olympics.
But second-year Colin Abbott rose to dominate the competition, winning both the 10-kilometre classic and 15-kilometre freestyle events.
“It feels so good especially because I missed out by just a few seconds last year,” said Abbott of his gold-medal races.
Along with teammates Matthias Purdon and André Marchand, Abbott also won silver in the 15-kilometre freestyle relay. All three skiers also joined teammates Lee Hawkings and Logan Potter in becoming OUA Men’s All-Stars.
“We’d heard Lakehead had lost a few of their best skiers so we knew we had a good shot to win. . . . We have more depth than any other OUA team,” said Abbott, noting that the additions of rookies Potter, Hawkings and Michael Abbott have helped to strengthen the team.
The Carleton women won silver with a total team score of 67 – just nine points shy of the defending Lakehead champions.
But Raven Alana Thomas was named the women’s overall champion. She won gold and silver medals in her events and earned the fastest individual combined time. She and teammate Adele Lay also earned OUA All-Star status.
Now back in Ottawa, Langstone said the team will continue practicing hard, getting in as many training races as possible before the national championships, which begin Mar. 14 in Whitehorse, Yukon.