Some decent conditions resulted in a good start to the competitive cross-country ski season for eight members of the Athabasca Nordic Club just prior to Christmas.
Three medal performances along with a few more decent showings were among the accomplishments at the Alberta Cup races held Dec. 20 and 21 at Sherwood Park’s Strathcona Wilderness Park.
Brodie Gerritse carried home a pair of silver medals in the PeeWee Boys 1km Classic mass start race on the Saturday and in the 1km Freestyle race on Sunday.
The other medal, a bronze, came courtesy of his older brother Jake in Sunday’s Mini-Midget Boys 2km Freestyle race. It was also in that race that teammate Bo Maier finished a very respectable sixth.
On Saturday, in the Mini-Midget Boys 2km Classic mass start, Jake ended up placing fifth with Maier coming up in eighth place.
Athabasca’s only female skier, Abby Elgert, shone in both her races. She just missed a podium finish, placing fourth in the Midget Girls 2.5km Classic race and then taking sixth in the 3km Freestyle.
Other Alberta Cup results included Max Elgert finishing sixth in his Junior Boys Classic and Freestyle races; Sam Elgert placing 10th in the Juvenile Boys 6km Freestyle and 11th in the 5km Classic followed closely by teammate Sebastian Woudstra in 11th and 13th respectively;; and, Noah Day ending up in 18th and 19th spots in his Midget Boys 3km Freestyle and 2km Classic races.
Coach Henrik Asfeldt stated these eight are the more experienced of the 16 members of the competitive team fielded by the club and did as well as could be expected this early in the season.
“The Alberta Cup is a pretty high level competition, so the results these athletes achieved are very respectable,” Asfeldt stated.
“The conditions for training here are really good for us and that also makes it enjoyable for skiing.”
Next up for the team will be the Western Canadian Championship in Canmore from Jan. 15 to 18.
