A pair of Nishikawas picked up a pair of gold medals at the Eastern Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships today in Cantley, Que.

In the first day of the three day competition, Graham Nishikawa was first across the line in the three-kilometre prologue event, stopping the clock in just over seven minutes. Kevin Sandau from Foothills Nordic took secondplace, almost 10 seconds back.

Then, in the open women's competition, Emily Nishikawa took top honours, with a 12-second margin over Heidi Widmer, also of Foothills.

The three-day meet is particularly significant for Graham as he fights for the lead in the Haywood Noram series with Drew Goldsack. The two were tied for the lead going into the Easterns, but with the win today he sneaks ahead of Goldsack, who finished 5th.

The leader of the series at the end of February gets a spot on the Canadian team heading off to World Cup races being held in Scandinavia.