It is almost over, 2018 that is. We have reached that point when it is time to look back, reflect, remember and enjoy the year that was. Today, we will be looking at the first six months of the year that was in Yukon sports.

Below is only a few of the highlights from the year. It was all new to me, but wow, what a year you had here in Whitehorse.

JANUARY

The 49th annual Alcan 2000 snow machine rally saw 35 riders compete in the 155-mile race, 26 riders finished the rally. Scott Smeeton from Whitehorse had the fastest overall time of 1:22.46 in the 551-650cc liquid class, which had the largest amount of racers.

Big Bigness won the fourth annual Lights Out Basketball Tournament 61-59 for the second year in a row.

Yukon cross-country skiers brought home five medals from the Western Canada Cross Country Ski Championships in Red Deer, Alta. Amanda Thomas took home silver and bronze medals. Derek Dueling won two gold medals. The relay team The Dirty North which featured NWT skiers as well finished third and Yukon Do It came in second.

After finishing second in the Whitehorse leg of the Canada Cup Series slopestyle competition, Whitehorse’s Etienne Geoffroy-Gagnon took home the gold medal in Calgary.

FEBRUARY

The Yukon Quest started in Fairbanks, Alaska on February 3. Veteran musher Allen Moore can now call himself a three-time winner of the 1,000-mile race as he was the first to cross the finish line in Shipyards Park. Moore finished the race with all 14 of his dogs, on Feb. 13. Matt Hall from Whitehorse came in second place with 11 dogs, and Laura Neese, also of Whitehorse came in third with eight dogs.

Three Whitehorse skiers represented Canada at the Pyeongchang Olympics. Dahria Beatty, Emily Nishikawa and Knute Johnsgaard were all named to Canada’s cross-country ski team. Graham Nishikawa represented Canada for the second time at the Paralympic Games as a ski guide for Brian McKeever.

The Vanier Crusaders swept the Superhoops finals. The girls defeated the F.H. Collins Warriors 68-66. The boys knocked off the Porter Creek Rams.

MARCH

Graham Nishikawa helped his teammate Brian McKeever add to his trophy case. McKeever won the gold medal in the visually impaired race at the Paralympic Winter Games. It increased his Paralympic medal count to 14 career medals - 11 are gold.

Team Yukon competed at the 2018 Brier curling championships. The team’s skip was Thomas Scoffin. Under a new format, it was the first time the Yukon had its own representation in the main draw of the national men’s curling tournament. The team won two games and gained plenty of experience.

The Yukon athletes returned home from the Arctic Winter Games with 122 ulus. The Yukon finished third overall in the medal standings with 35 gold, 41 silver, and 46 bronze ulus. The Games took place in South Slave, N.W.T.

The K&D Outlaws won the Yukon Native Hockey Tournament A Division gold-medal game. The Outlaws defeated the C/A Storm 5-3 in front of a packed crowd at Takhini Arena.

APRIL

Jerseys flooded Whitehorse schools, workplaces and government buildings on April 12.

The community joined groups across the country in wearing jerseys to support the Humbolt Broncos hockey team. The Broncos were involved in a bus crash in Saskatchewan, where 16 people died.

Whitehorse runner Kathleen Campbell competed in the world-renowned Boston Marathon. She was the only Yukoner to compete in the race. Battling tough weather conditions of heavy wind and rain, Campbell finished the 26.2-mile marathon distance in a time of 3:43.03.

The Yukon Quest barred two-time champion Hugh Neff from competing in next year’s race after the final necropsy report from a dog who died during the 2018 race showed many issues including a whipworm infestation, stomach ulcers and muscle wasting. Neff will not be able to run the 1,000-mile race again until 2021 at the earliest. The rules committee made the decision based on the Code of the Trail as well as the Yukon Quest rules pertaining to treatment of dogs and expired dogs.

MAY

Whitehorse curler Ally Goncalves and curling coach Wade Scoffin represented Brazil in the Mixed Doubles Curling Championships in Sweden. Her teammate was Marcio Cerquhino of Vancouver. They finished 17th out of 40 countries and moved Brazil up seven spots in the international standings from 35 to 28.

Dylan Cozens was named the rookie of the year in the Western Hockey League. It was the first time a Whitehorse player has won the award. Through 57 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Cozens racked up 22 goals and 31 assists.

Weightlifter Jeane Lassen and cyclist Zach Bell were inducted into the Yukon Sports Hall of Fame. Both have represented Canada at international competitions and at the Olympics.

JUNE

Cyclists in the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay battle strong winds during the 25th running of the relay from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska. Of the 315 solo riders and teams, 48 did not officially finish. Solo rider Mattias Purdon of Whitehorse posted the winning time of eight hours, 17 minutes and nine seconds.

Former Blue Jays came to Whitehorse to provide a baseball development camp for the youth ball players. Duane Ward, Lloyd Moseby and Roberto Alomar all helped coach the camp.

At noon on June 27, 103 boats with crews of one or more paddlers shoved off the shore at Rotary Peace Park. There were 263 paddlers from 15 different countries competing in the 20th Yukon River Quest.

Among them was 70-year-old Ingrid Wilcox. It was her 17th time competing in the River Quest. She was expected to become the paddler with the most kilometres ever paddled when she reached Dawson.