It was a medal haul for Yukon orienteers, as 14 of them competed at the Canadian Orienteering Championships in Saskatchewan.

The championships started off with the sprint distance race Friday at the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, followed by the middle distance Saturday and the classic distance on Sunday, which were held southwest of Prince Albert, in an area known as Eb's Trails.

The area provided challenging subtle detailed contours in a forest that was particularly lush from a wet spring. Adding an extra challenge to orienteers and organizers alike, was damage that the forest had recently suffered after a severe windstorm.

Large areas of blown down trees actually required the volunteers to revise several courses only days before the event, and spend many hours with chain saws and handsaws clearing trails for the younger competitors.

Yukon orienteers were up for the challenge.

In the women's elite category, Pam James showed she's in good form for the World Orienteering Championships, which will be held in the Ukraine in a few weeks. James dominated all three of the her races by a large margin.

Her performances spoke to her fitness and ability to concentrate when running more than eight kilometres in 30 C.

Katherine Scheck, also running in the elite women's group, finished eighth in the middle distance race and fourth in the classic.

Brent Langbakk, who is also representing Canada in the Ukraine, was a mere four seconds away from winning a gold medal of his own Friday amongst the elite men. Jon Torrance from Ottawa was the winner, with a time of 13 minutes 33 seconds. The top spots were very closely contested, as 2006 North American Sprint champion Patrick Goeres from Manitoba was just 11 seconds back.

Langbakk finished up the weekend with a bronze medal in Sunday's gruelling 12-km classic race.

The Yukon masters competitors had their own success, as Ross Burnett won a bronze medal in the male 35-44 sprint race. Burnett, a perennial medal threat at the Canadian championships, was actually running in the elite men's field to give himself more of a challenge.

In Saturday's middle distance race, Ross Burnett had an excellent result of ninth. On Sunday, he chose to run in the male 35-44 group and brought home a silver medal.

Juri Peepre added to the territory's medal haul with his silver in the male 45-54 sprint race. Peepre was sixth in the male 45-54 middle distance.

Philippa McNeil led the female 35-44 division, collecting gold medals in the middle and classic distance races. Barbara Scheck posted fifth and sixth place finishes respectively, in the female 45-54 category.

Jim Hawkings was 10th in the male 45-54 middle distance.

The junior orienteers represented the Yukon particularly well. Logan Roots was several minutes ahead of his competitors in the male 13-14 middle distance race. He also took gold in the sprint event.

Showing that she's no slouch either, Roots' sister Galena earned a silver medal in the female 12-and-under category during the middle distance race, and also picked up a silver medal on Friday in the sprint event.

Jennifer MacKeigan, running in the female 13-14 division, brought home a silver medal in the classic distance race as well as bronze medals in the middle and sprint distances.

One of the largest and strongest male 17-20 fields in recent years saw many competitors vying for a spot on the 2008 World Junior Orienteering Championship Team. Three Yukoners raced in that category.

In the middle distance, Colin Abbott earned a bronze medal, followed closely by Lee Hawkings in fourth place. Nansen Murray was 10th.

In the classic race Hawkings moved up to claim the silver medal, followed by Abbott with bronze. Murray also improved his standing and earned a ninth-place finish.

Abbott, Hawkings and Murray were fourth, fifth and seventh respectively in Friday's sprint race.

The Yukon team is now home and will continue training for the next orineteering events on their calendar. Langbakk, James and Scheck will be leaving next week to represent Canada at the world championships while the juniors will set their sights on the Western Canadian Championships in October.

Local orienteers can come out again on August 8, meeting at the dirt bike tracks opposite the Cowley Creek Subdivision, at the usual time of 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Barbara at 668-2306.