In some ways, it's hard to believe Yukon athletes achieved so much success on both the national and international levels in 2006, considering the small places they come from, with sometimes limited resources.

But with top-level coaches and improved training programs now dotting the Yukon sports landscape, you could say the sky is the limit for local athletes. And something tells me in 2007, their limits will certainly be pushed farther than ever before.

So without further ado, here, as specified in Wednesday's Star, is part two of the year in review special. In this humble sports editor's opinion, these were the top local sport moments of 2006, not related to the 2007 Canada Winter Games:

Mackey repeats as

Quest champion

For the second straight year, it was Alaska's Lance Mackey who crossed the finish line first during the 23rd Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

Mackey finished the race in a record time of 10 days, seven hours and 47 minutes, and also received the Dawson Award four ounces of gold given to the first person to arrive into the halfway checkpoint and then go on to complete the race.

Mackey's lead dogs, Larry and Hobo Jim, received the Golden Harness Award and a steak dinner for their loyalty, endurance and perseverance throughout the race.

The Red Lantern in 2006 went to Regina Wycoff, who also took the Challenge of the North Award, given to the musher who race officials feel most exemplifies the spirit of the Yukon Quest.

It took the Alaskan 13 days, 17 hours and 57 minutes to complete the race.

Richie Beattie won the Rookie of the Year Award for being the first rookie to cross the finish line. It took Beattie 12 days, two hours and six minutes to complete the approximately 1,600-kilometre trail, in what was a race shortened by 88 kilometres, because of trail conditions.

Five Quest mushers and their dog teams were stranded on Eagle Summit earlier in the race and had to be airlifted off the mountain by an American military helicopter. They were also forced to withdraw from the race.

Yukon athletes claim

81 medals at AWG

The 2006 Arctic Winter Games were held in Kenai, Alaska last March, and while Team Yukon fell short of it's ulu total from 2004, the young athletes still managed to grab 17 gold, 20 silver and 44 bronze ulus.

Among all the impressive performances was that of young cross-country skiing siblings Janelle and David Greer. Janelle picked up four gold medals while David brought home two silvers and a bronze.

In team sports, both the junior male basketball and midget male hockey teams came out on top of the competition. The basketball crew only lost once at the Games, to Alaska, and outscored their opponents by a total of 573-486. The hockey team downed rival N.W.T. in the final to take gold.

Lassen breaks Commonwealth record as she captures gold

Yukon weightlifter Jeane Lassen captured a gold medal in the 69-kilogram class at the Commonwealth Games in March, with a total of 229 kilograms. Lassen had a lift of 97 kilograms in the snatch and a Games-record 132 kilograms in the clean and jerk.

Fellow Yukoner Emily Quarton continued her rise on the international scene, winning silver in the 53-kg class. Quarton snatches 77 kg and lifted 101 in the clean and jerk for a total of 178 kg, competing at her first Commonwealth Games.

Bell gets first taste of

international success

Yukon cyclist Zach Bell picked up the first international medal of his young but impressive career, a bronze in the individual pursuit at the Pan American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil last June.

After competing in a World Cup race in Sydney, Australia, followed by the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March, and the world track championships in France in April, as well as training with his professional team Rite-Aid Racing in North America, Bell didn't have much time at all to prepare for Brazil.

'I'm pretty happy,' he said, in an interview from Kingston, Ont., where he now lives and trains. 'But I think, given more time to prepare, I could have done better.'

Record number of teams enters Yukon River Quest

The 2006 Yukon River Quest started out with a bang, as a record 74 teams took off from the banks of the Yukon River, and featured a little bit of everything dramatic rescues, surprise scratches and some amazing course records.

A total of 19 teams scratched before Dawson City, with 55 crossing the finish line. At least one tandem canoe took a spill at Five Finger Rapids, outside of Carmacks, and needed some assistance from the Canadian Rangers before they could carry on.

It was the second straight high-water year and six category records were broken, including the new course record of 40:37:05, set by the tandem kayak team of David Kelly and Brandon Nelson. That breaks the previous record, set in 2005, by more than two hours (42:51).

Also destroying a record was voyageur team Kisseynew, finishing second overall with a time of 42 hours, 56 minutes and 13 seconds. That broke the old voyageur record by more than 12 hours (55:50).

U-18 boys make Yukon

soccer history

The Yukon U-18 boy's soccer team made history at the Tivoli Cup international tournament in Denmark last July.

The local squad faced off against Danish team FIF 1 in the Wiibroe Cup final and brought back the first European trophy in Yukon soccer history.

They finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, they beating Beijing 3-0, tying FIF 2 2-0 and losing to Hillerod GI 3-0 in the group stage. The loss knocked them down to the relegation Wiibroe Cup playoffs.

They responded by downing Gadeveng on penalty kicks in the semifinal and then clinched the Cup with their extra time victory against FIF 1.

The U-18 boys were later named Sport Yukon's Team of the Year.

Gabor on top of her

game at nationals

Whitehorse Glacier Bears Alexandra Gabor and Bronwyn Pasloski travelled to the club national age group championships last July, where the two young swimmers finished in 21st place in the combined male and female standings out of 113 teams.

Gabor was the highest female point scorer for all female swimmers in the different age groups. She finished the meet with a very impressive five gold medals and two silver medals.

Pasloski also did well, winning a bronze medal in the 100-m breast stroke and achieving a senior national qualifying time.

August one of best months

yet for Downing

The Yukon's MacKenzie Downing earned her first senior Canadian title at the national championships in Montreal last August, which also doubled as the 2006 Pan Pacific Trials.

Downing won the women's 200-metre butterfly, clocking 2:11.07. She upset the heavy favourite in the event, Audrey Lacroix, who finished second with a time of 2:11.28. Downing's first-place finish guaranteed her a spot on the Canadian team for the Pan Pacific Championships, which were held later that month.

At the Pan Pacs, Downing didn't disappoint, reaching the final in both the 100-metre and 200-m butterfly. She finished sixth in the 100-m fly and seventh in the 200-m.

Downing was also part of the Canadian women's team which set a national record in the 4x100 medley relay, clocking fourth with a time of 4:05.59.

Canada was among several of the 19 national teams that used the Pan Pacs as their qualifying meet for the 2007 world aquatics championships in Melbourne this March, and with all of her success at the meet, Downing made the Melbourne team.

Bell once again crowed

national champion

On the heels of his international success, Zach Bell returned to Canada and continued his successful season at the elite national track championships in September. He won gold in the men's points race, gold as part of the team pursuit, silver in the individual pursuit and silver in the men's scratch race.

Bell would later join the Symmetrics professional cycling team, based out of Vancouver, and was named one of the top athletes of the year by Pedal Magazine. He was also named Sport Yukon's International Male Athlete of the Year.

Lassen defies the odds at

world championships

Competing in the 69-kilogram class, Jeane Lassen picked up a silver medal in the clean and jerk portion and bronze overall for Canada at the 2006 senior world weightlifting championships, held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in October.

She was fourth in the snatch. Lifting personal bests of 102 kg and 136 kg, in the snatch and clean and jerk portions respectively, it was Lassen's highest finish ever at a senior world championship she was fifth in 2005.

While she won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia last March, the senior world championships are a much tougher event, as the strongest countries in weightlifting, such as Russia and China, are not a part of the Commonwealth.

Her performances at Commonwealths and the worlds would earn Lassen Sport Yukon's International Female Athlete of the Year award.

Yukoners help Griffins

hoist ACAC title

Yukon soccer players Ash Jordan, brothers Ammon and Boris Hoefs, and Nick Locke all suited up as members of the Grant MacEwan College Griffins this past season Jordan as an assistant coach.

And all four of them played a large role as the Griffins clinched the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) title with a thrilling overtime victory against their rival NAIT Ooks at the end of October.

The Griffins advanced to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association's (CCAA) national soccer championships in Vancouver and while Locke was unable to make the trip, the Hoefs brothers and Jordan were there.

The Griffins finished the round-robin 1-1, which gave them a spot in the bronze medal game. Up against the number-one ranked Capilano Blues, Grant MacEwan came out on top 4-2 and took home the third-place hardware.

Pasloski and Gabor

prove they belong

Four Yukon swimmers took part the Bell Grand Prix in Toronto this past November, including MacKenzie Downing, competing for the University of Victoria.

Downing had a three-for-three sweep in the butterfly events, grabbing gold in the 50-, 100- and 200-m fly. In the 50- and 100-m fly events, Downing set new B.C. provincial records and was only one half of a second off a new record in the 200-m fly.

Also competing at the Bell Grand Prix were Whitehorse Glacier Bears Bronwyn Pasloski and Alexandra Gabor, as well as Lynsey Pasloski, who is swimming for the University of Calgary.

Bronwyn posted a particularly impressive performance, in her first senior national competition. She made the A finals in two events, the 100-metre breast stroke and 200-m breast stroke, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. In the very fast 50-m breast stroke, Bronwyn came 24th.

'It was really great, probably the best meet I've done in my life,' she grinned.

Gabor swam in the tough freestyle events. She placed 22nd in the 200-m free, narrowly missing a berth in the B final, and finished in the top 50 in the 50-, 100- and 400-m free, against seasoned veterans many years her senior.