The Yukon Orienteering Association confirmed its status as a powerhouse on the national stage at the 2009 Canadian Orienteering Championships, held this past weekend in Carberry, Manitoba.

The territory won 17 medals over the course of the three-day competition, including first place finishes by Lee Hawkings, Nesta Leduc, Jennifer Mackeigan and Kendra Murry.

Ten Yukoners participated, which was highlighted by all of its juniors medalling.

"I think it is really a result of us having great access to maps and terrain that we have around Whitehorse," said Brent Langbakk, director of training for the Yukon Orienteering Association.

"That's a bit of the legacy of people like Ross Burnett, who put in the effort to create those maps way back and then the junior program that we have established is really paying off now. We have really regular consistent training and it's just as easy for the kids to go to orienteering practice as it is to go to soccer practice.

"I think those two things have really set us apart from other parts of the country."

The three events at the Canadian Championships included a sprint, middle and long. Each race was held in the complex sand dune terrain of Spruce Woods Provincial Park.

In last Friday's sprint event, Yukoners were led by the gold medal performance of wily veteran Nesta Leduc, who competed in the women's 75+ category. Not to be outdone, Jennifer Mackeigan won the Women's 15-16 category.

Junior National Team member, Lee Hawkings placed second behind Graeme Rennie of Greater Vancouver Orienteering Club in the men's 17-20 category. In the Women's 17-20 category, Dahria Beatty and Kendra Murray earned silver and bronze medals respectively.

Saturday's technically challenging middle distance was the best day for Yukoners. It included four more first place Yukon finishes.

Mackeigan and Leduc carried on from where they left off, while Lee Hawkings and Kendra Murray each won the men's and women's 17-20 year-old categories.

The middle distance also included a silver medal in the Women's Elite category for former national team member Pam James, who showed she still has what it takes to compete with Canada's very best.

Rounding out the Yukon medals was Dahria Beatty who won a bronze in the women's 17-20 category

The athletes were met with a physical challenge for Sunday's Long Distance. Lee Hawkings once again showed his navigational prowess with a decisive four minute victory in 76 minutes five seconds.

For Hawkings, his strong performances offered sweet redemption for a disappointing World Junior Championships, which he was battling a cold that hampered his performance. These races make him a shoe-in to represent Canada at the Junior Worlds again next summer in Denmark.

"He was competing against all of those teammates from World Juniors where he was really struggling and at the bottom of the pile," said Langbakk. "It's a bit of redemption for him, so I think he is very pleased."

Nesta Leduc also placed first in the long distance, her third straight gold medal in the women's 75+. It should be noted that Leduc beat many competitors who are up to 10 years her junior.

Her time of 1:06:30 would have been good enough for a third place in the women's 65-74 category.

"She is just an inspiration to all of us, just to be active and so enthusiastic," Langbakk said about Leduc. "It really shows that orienteering is a sport for life and when you can do it well into your 70s it's pretty amazing."

Other Yukon results on the final day included silver medals to Jennifer Mackeigan and Kendra Murray. Dahria Beatty and Pam James earned bronze medals.

Langbakk said Mackeigan's showing stood out among all of the Yukon's success. This was the first time she won a medal at nationals and it was a big improvement from her performance in 2008, he said.

"She's only been orienteering for a couple years and she won two gold medals in the 15-16 year-old category," Langbakk said. "She has been coming out regularly and working really hard. At first she found it quite difficult, but she really persistent and kept working at it and to see her have really good races there was great."