Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Finish Line Snack - Cookies are always part of the Lorne Mountain Classic. Here Nellie-Mae Quiggly makes a selection as Kohana Boughen, 170 holds the tray and Tommy Stipdonk, 103 heads for the finish.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Ruby Scarnulis takes part in the Lorne Mountain Classic ski race February 16.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Dorothy Dallaire blasts out of hte start of the Lorne Mountain Classic ski race February 16.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Oliver Gillis takes part in the Lorne Mountain Classic ski race February 16.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Caelan McLean

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Colin Abbott

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Knute Johnsgaard

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Annie Cable

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Sophie Molgat

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Maude Molgat

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Dahlia Lapointe

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Curtis Cash, left 38 and Noah Connell 39

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Isidore Champagne, 40 and Sasha Masson, back, take part in the Lorne Mountain Classic ski race February 16. Peter Steele, Masson’s grandfather watches the race.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Nellie-Mae Quiggly starts the Pre-Atom Girls 0.3 Classic at the Lorne Mountain Classic ski race February 16.

Skiers hit trail for Lorne Mountain Classic

It was a beautiful Yukon winter day on Saturday.

By John Tonin on February 20, 2019

It was a beautiful Yukon winter day on Saturday. A perfect day for skiers and ski fans as the Lorne Mountain Classic got underway at the Lorne Mountain Community Centre.

The winds were nice and calm as the sun shined, making the snow twinkle. The temperature sat at minus -15 C and the snow conditions, as eloquently put on the official results list were “nice!”

The race drew 147 skiers to the trails on Saturday, 10 more than last year. The Classic was for skiers of all ages, from pre-atom to masters. The youngest skiers were three-years-old.

The oldest competitor was 69. The classic had races ranging from 0.3-kilometres to 10-kilometres.

“For the kids it’s kind of nice to be split up because a lot of our skiers are younger so we have a lot of bunnies who are aged three to six and then a lot of jackrabbit skiers, six to nine, and it’s nice to have a length of trail that works well for the skiers,” said chief of race Karen McKenna last year

The Lorne Mountain Classic was first organized for many of the younger skiers to give them a chance to learn about race rules.

The junior boys were the first onto the trails at 1 p.m. in a 5-kilometre classic. The top two racers Derek Deuling, 14:56.7 and Sasha Masson, 16:22.6, will be representing the Yukon at the Canada Winter Games. Cross-country skiing is in the second week of the Games.

In the junior girls’ race, also 5-kilometres, there were only two competitors. However, Sonjaa Schmidt, 19:53.2 and Dahlia Lapointe, 20:22.1, were able to get one more competition in before they to represent the Yukon at the CWG.

The juvenile boys’ race was won by Noah Connell, 18:19.7, while Maude Molgat, 20:37.2, took the girls race of the same category.

The open men 10-kilometre classic was won by Whitehorse Olympian Knute Johnsgaard, who competed in PyeongChang. Johnsgaard crossed the finish in a time of 29:19.2. Trailing Johnsgaard by 46-seconds was Caelan McLean who claimed second. Colin Abbott grabbed third in 30:17.8.

The open women race was taken by Jane Hollenberg. Julie McVicar crossed the line in second and Geneueve Favreau took third.

The masters men A 10-kilometre classic was won by Dominic Bradford. Coming in ninth, all the way from Australia, was Bjorn Lie.

The atom boys and girls 1.2-kilometre races had the most competitors in the classes. Mavik MacKinnon edged out Peter Embacher for first. Emily Kralisch-Seguin got first in the girls’ race, finishing two-minutes ahead of Madeleine Jones.

All the athletes in the pre-atom boys and girls races put up quick times and are sure to have bright futures in the sport.

Finegand Bradford won the peewee boys race and Aramintha Bradford took the girls race.

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