It was a breakout weekend for junior female skier Natalie Hynes.

The 17-year-old solidified her status as Yukon’s up-and-coming cross-country skier by turning in the top two times among females in the annual Don Sumanik race series.

Hynes cranked in two fine performances to take the title, which included skiers in the open women category. It marked her second straight Don Sumanik trophy victory.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” she told the Star. “It’s exciting to see how well I’m racing. I’m really happy with how my training’s been working.

“I can’t pinpoint just one thing I’ve been doing, but I guess just staying focused and training as much as I can. And there’s just so much support here.”

Last week, she was named the second female ski alternate for Canada’s Youth Olympics roster.

Hynes was a rising star last season, noted Yukon head ski coach Alain Masson.

This year, however, she’s stepping out of the shadows of some of the territory’s bigger names.

“She had a really solid year last year and was named to the national talent squad,” said Masson. “She made another jump this summer and fall, so we knew this was happening.

“But you never know if it’s going to transfer onto snow.”

A solid work ethic, good technique, and race smarts all help make Hynes an excellent skier, he added.

Skiers with the best combined times in the two races have their names inscribed on the Don Sumanik memorial trophies.

The trophies were first awarded in 1982 and include famous names like Lucy Steele, Becky Scott and Emily Nishikawa.

Colin Abbott, 25, won the male portion of the event, after taking both open men races handily, beating out former running mates David Greer and John Parry.

Abbott is also a former winner of the trophy, first taking it in 2007. He was pleased to earn a second inscription on the trophy.

“It’s a pretty exceptional group of athletes,” he said of the names included on the historic trophy, adding his second win served as “confirmation” of his abilities.

Abbott continues to ski on the Haywood NorAm circuit this season, where he is attempting to qualify for Ski Tour Canada, to be hosted in Quebec and Alberta next March.

Elsie Sumanik awarded the trophies, alongside cash prizes to the top junior skiers – Simon Cash and Hynes.

Saturday’s classic ski races included 90 entrants in mass start format, while 50 skated Sunday in individual start free technique races.

For younger skiers who only compete locally, the races serve as a test to see “what training has done and where they stand,” said Masson, noting he saw much improvement.

The weekend series served as a trial for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games in Greenland. The team will be announced later this week.

Skiers headed to Eastern Canadians and the World Junior U23 trials team will also be named soon.

The races also served as a tune-up for the upcoming national championships, said chief of race Claude Chabot.

Snowpack levels remain an issue.

“We’re very thin on snow, as we all know,” said Chabot.

Meanwhile, on the World Cup circuit in Toblach, Italy, Yukon’s top skier turned in her finest performance of the season Sunday.

Nishikawa, 26, was back in action after sitting out Saturday’s sprint race to prepare for her specialty 10-km classic ski.

The move was a good one as the young Whitehorse product finished tied for 39th with a time of 30:32.5.

“This was a good result for Emily,” said Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth. “She is in better shape now than she has been in years past. We are hoping for Emily to get into that top-30 so we need to keep working and progressing towards that goal.”

The World Cup will now take a break until the annual Tour de Ski gets underway Jan. 1 in Switzerland.