Local cross-country skiers finally got a chance to try out some of the new Canada Winter Games racing trails this past weekend, as they competed in the annual Don Sumanik race series, held at Mount McIntrye.

The races combined a mass-start, free technique race on Saturday, with an individual-start, classic technique race on Sunday.

The trails included a mix of short and long climbs, undulating terrain and tricky downhills.

They were a serious test of the skiers' strength, stamina and technical abilities. Icy sections and sparse snow added to the challenge, as skiers negotiated the difficult terrain at high speed.

The Sumanik trophies, which are awarded to the skiers who post the best overall time for the two days combined, went to Emily Nishikawa and David Greer.

Nishikawa, skiing in the open women's category, finished a close second behind Bryn Knight in Saturday's free technique race, but got the overall nod by taking Sunday's classic technique race over second-place Knight by a solid minute.

Both races were run over a 7.5-kilometre course. Sarah Murray took the third spot for women on both days.

In the open men's race, David Greer won Saturday's race, after duking it out for much of the 7.5-km course with second place finisher Ray Sabo. Greer then put on the jets in Sunday's 10-km course, powering up the hills and taking the title by more than a minute. He commented after the race, 'I like the uphills.'

John Parry was third on both days.

The races were a challenge for the organizers as well as the athletes, as more than 75 volunteers struggled to make the course skiable with the challenging snow conditions that have been facing them since mid-November.

The Sumanik races had already been postponed from their original December date, but organizers were anxious to test out systems and trails, and athletes were anxious to test their mettle on the trails.

The weekend's results will be used by Cross Country Yukon as selection races for both the Arctic Winter Games, to be held in Alaska, and the Canadian Nationals, which will be held in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Both of these race series are scheduled for early March.

Here are the full results from the Don Sumanik races:

Classic Race Sunday

Atom, 1 km

1. Maggie O'Connor-Brook, 9:05.5

Pee Wee Girls, 1 km

1. Morgan Paul, 7:23.6

2. Eliza Paul, 8:18.7

Mini-Midget Girls, 2.5 km

1. Holly Bull, 8:38.1

2. Nesha Wright, 8:40.5

3. Marie-Louise Roy, 8:49.9

4. Emily Wilson, 11:09.1

Mini-Midget Boys, 2.5 km

1. Anatole Tuzlak, 8:36.5

2. Trevor Bray, 8:53.3

Midget Girls, 2.5 km

1. Janelle Greer, 6:07.3

2. Dahria Beatty, 6:35.8

3. Kendra Murray, 6:54.3

4. Heidi Brook, 6:55.6

5. Terri Publicover, 8:54.5

6. Michaela St. Pierre, 9:24.8

Midget Boys, 2.5 km

1. Jeff Wood, 6:08.5

2. Knute Johnsgaard, 6:22.5

3. Fabian Brook, 6:24.8

4. Logan Roots, 6:48.0

5. Miguel Rodden, 7:36.8

6. Mac Potter, 8:25.2

Juvenile Girls, 3.75 km

1. Ziggy Reimer, 14:38.9

2. Brittany Smith, 14:45.5

Juvenile Boys, 5 km

1. Nansen Murray, 10:32.8

2. Colin Abbott, 10:43.0

3. Logan Potter, 10:57.6

4. Lee Hawkings, 12:00.3

5. Stephen Dynes, 12:09.0

6. Michael Abbott, 12:11.5

7. Spencer Sumanik, 14:02.2

8. Scott Meikle, 14:55.3

Open Women, 7.5 km

1. Emily Nishikawa, 26:05.5

2. Bryn Knight, 27:15.3

3. Sarah Murray, 27:52.9

4. Heather Enders, 29:14.1

5. Justine Scheck, 31:29.2

6. Rochelle Egan, 31:48.2

7. Katherine Sandiford, 32:50.3

8. Lene Nielsen, 36:51.3

Open Men, 10 km

1. David Greer, 31:00.9

2. Ray Sabo, 32:04.6

3. John Parry, 32:56.6

4. Marcus Waterreus, 33:10.6

5. Sam Lindsey, 33:53.2

6. Daniel Sessford, 34:21.1

7. Matthew Sutherland, 34:29.2

8. Bill Parry, 36:49.9

9. Dan Reimer, 37:16.2

10. Liam Kiemele, 38:53.0

11. Derrick Hynes, 39:06.7

12. Dermot Flynn, 41:00.9

13. Grant MacDonald, 47:35.3

Freestyle Race Saturday

Atom, 1 km

1. Natalie Hynes, 9:21.2

2. Maggie O'Connor-Brook, 10:04.1

3. Pelly Braun, 12:35.4

Pee Wee Girls, 1 km

1. Morgan Paul, 8:13.1

2. Eliza Paul, 9:49.8

3. Kassi Wright, 9:51.0

4. Zoe Painter, 10:07.8

5. Jessica Wilson, 12:17.8

Pee Wee Boys, 1km

1. Caelan McLean, 8:14.0

Mini-Midget Girls, 2.5 km

1. Holly Bull, 9:05.7

2. Nesha Wright, 9:45.4

3. Marie-Louise Roy, 9:52.5

4. Adrienne Hynes, 11:42.3

5. Emily Wilson, 13:22.1

6. Moya Painter, 13:22.5

Mini-Midget Boys. 2.5 km

1. Anatole Tuzlak, 8:06.1

2. Trevor Bray, 9:16.3

3. Christopher Anderson, 11:17.7

Midget Girls, 2.5 km

1. Janelle Greer, 6:15.6

2. Heidi Brook, 6:25.8

3. Dahria Beatty, 6:30.1

4. Kendra Murray, 7:15.0

5. Terri Publicover, 8:39.8

6. Michaela St. Pierre, 10:05.2

Midget Boys, 2.5 km

1. Jeff Wood, 6:16.6

2. Knute Johnsgaard, 6:22.3

3. Fabian Brook, 6:23.0

4. Logan Roots, 6:28.4

5. Miguel Rodden, 7:38.8

6. Mac Potter, 8:08.7

Juvenile Girls, 5 km

1. Brittany Smith, 12:37.5

2. Ziggy Reimer, 12:49.3

Juvenile Boys, 7.5 km

1. Colin Abbott, 23:01.6

2. Logan Potter, 23:15.5

3. Nansen Murray, 23:20.7

4. Stephen Dynes, 25:34.4

5. Lee Hawkings, 25:47.0

6. Michael Abbott, 25:47.6

7. Spencer Sumanik, 30:04.1

8. Scott Meikle, 32:28.3

Open Women, 7.5 km

1. Bryn Knight, 25:25.3

2. Emily Niskikawa, 25:31.8

3. Sarah Murray, 27:14.3

4. Heather Enders, 27:58.8

5. Rochelle Egan, 31:31.8

6. Justine Scheck, 33:14.0

Open Men, 7.5 km

1. David Greer, 22:18.4

2. Raymond Sabo, 22:23.4

3. John Parry, 23:12.8

4. Marcus Waterreus, 23:13.3

5. Sam Lindsey, 24:03.4

6. Matthew Sutherland, 24:45.4

7. Dan Reimer, 25:32.0

8. Liam Kiemele, 26:41.6

9. Bill Parry, 26:55.6

10. Marc Champagne, 27:22.1

11. Dermot Flynn, 27:33.2

12. Scott Gilbert, 27:38.7

13. Jean-Francois Blouin, 28:32.8

14. Gernot Dick, 34:32.6