Nipissing Nordic skiers step up at NorAms

Last weekend’s NorAm cross-country ski races gathered together Ontario’s varsity ski teams at Highland Nordic in Duntroon, with racers from across the country seeking to qualify for the World Championships. Nipissing Nordic skiers made progress at the races and came close to cracking the top ten on the OUA men’s and women’s sides.

The team qualified three racers through to the heats in Saturday’s classic sprint races. The 1.6km course put a sturdy series of climbs in front of the athletes on their way out of the stadium. In the quarter-final heat of the OUA women’s race, the course proved too long for the pace initially set by Lynsey Bialkowski, who faded from the front pack at the top of the course. Pacing proved an issue for the men also, with Matt Chalmers running out of course in his quarterfinal as he charged to the line against Laurentian skier Jake Porter, narrowly missing third in the heat and ending his day early.

Sunday’s middle distance skate race brought better returns for the team. A total effort by Bialkowski left her prone at the line, finishing 11th among the varsity women and 42nd overall. Chalmers skied with determination over the 15km course, with negative splits on his last lap and a 13th place finish among varsity skiers and 65th overall. He was pursued by teammate Kevin Durkee, who suffered a bruised rib in a fall early on in the race, suffering through to finish 25th place in the OUA category, 85th overall, followed by teammate Andrew Kerr as the 32nd OUA racer, and 95th among the men.