The northern territories may not be winning medals in the Canada Winter Games short track speed skating competition but it doesn't mean they aren't making their presence known on the rink.

Wednesday at the Canada Games Centre, the northern men one-by-one won their final heats in the 1,000-metre event.

Yukoner Alex deBruyn finished his final heat of the day in first, as did Philip Verreault, Peter Aqpik and Manasie Kendall of Nunavut. For the Northwest Territories, Ian MacDougall finished his last skate of the day in first place too.

The Yukon's Troy Henry and the Northwest Territories' Ryan Mahler placed second in their final heats.

Angus Smith of the Northwest Territories placed third in his last race of the day and Jesse Reams of the Yukon placed fourth in his.

It was a similar story for the women where the Yukon's own Tara MacKinnon placed first in her last race of the day, as did the Northwest Territories' Stephanie Bourgois.

Placing second in their final skates were the Northwest Territories' Rebecca Mahler and the Yukon's Melanie Tait.

It's a huge accomplishment for the North, said Jill Gilday, who is the region's strongest speed skater at the Games.

'Most of the northerners in every race they skate are getting their best time, which is a personal achievement. It's an achievement in itself,' said the resident of the Northwest Territories.

'We're not necessarily going out to win all the medals or anything but making those best times, little personal achievements like that, are just as nice.'

Northerners don't get to compete against the faster skaters from the South as regularly as other regions, said Gilday, so when the territories get to big national events like the Canada Winter Games, the push is on.

'The fast kids just push us to do our best, push us to get our best times.'

Gilday has certainly pushed and managed to place second in her final heat of the day in the C finals despite competing against skaters from the Alberta and Quebec powerhouses.

It is a placing that makes her the highest-ranking speed skater from the three territories but it also earned her a buy into today's 3,000-m finals.

Gilday sat on pins and needles while waiting for the point results to see if she would get into the final event of the week.

If Gilday had made it into Wednesday's A or B finals, she would have been guaranteed a spot.

If she had won her C final in first place, she would have also been guaranteed a spot. But she didn't do either and all came down to the point value based on her performance throughout the week.

'It's not a very good position to be in,' said Gilday. 'It was all depending on other people and how they did and it was not a good place to be if you're having to trust other people to do well or to do not well.'

Gilday knew she had a good chance to make the cut and she eventually got the news that she did by 14 points placing her in eighth position in women's short track speed skating at the Games.

'My goal was to get top eight and now I can't get below eighth so that's really where I wanted to be,' she said, all smiles after getting the news at the Games centre yesterday.

In theory, Gilday could push her overall standings even higher in today's 3,000-m event. But she said she's happy with where she is now. 'I'd rather just stick with obtainable.'

Gilday has been putting on a show all week on the speed skating rink reaching the A finals in the 1,500-m event, and the C finals in the 500-m and 1,000-m while winning many of her heats along the way.

'Whenever I say I have a favourite race, I always prove myself wrong by doing really bad in that one and really good in another one the one I thought was not my strongest race,' said Gilday. She admits she is better at the longer distances.

Speed skating since she was just four years old, now, at 18, Gilday is planning on leaving the territories in August to move to Calgary and train on that city's famous oval full-time while attending university part-time.

'I'd just like to keep going as long as I can and as long as I'm still having fun,' she said.

In today's event, Gilday said she'll be going in with the plan to stay out of the front until the last 10 laps of the race.

'Otherwise, you'll just exhaust yourself,' she said.

It's Gilday's second Canada Winter Games, but she said she can't say enough about Whitehorse the facilities and the crowd.

Gilday has basked in the loud cheers and applause from the stands each time she takes to the starting line.

'All the people from the North were behind me. It's just the most amazing feeling to know there's people that are behind me, and I am so gratified that all the northerners are cheering for me.

'I think it really says a lot about the Yukon and the North, in general.'