For the second weekend in a row, Yukon skiers stood on the NorAM podium with medals draped around their necks.

Dahria Beatty and Knute Johnsgaard each captured gold in this past weekend's races, while Janelle Greer won two bronze medals.

Alain Masson, coach of the Whitehorse cross-country ski team, is impressed with the early season results.

"It was another great race weekend,” he said. "The team has done really well the past few weekends so they are looking good for the rest of the season.”

Masson says he's not surprised with the results.

"Through the testing and training we did this summer we knew many of the skiers had made improvements,” he said. "But you never really know until you start racing.

"It's one thing to improve test results but another to transfer that into a ski result.”

Johnsgaard, who won two silver medals in the last NorAM event, was satisfied that he was able to use that momentum to win gold this time around in the 1.6 km skating technique sprint race.

"I prepared well and I was confident,” he said.

"I knew I could do well and I was really happy I was able to win. My skies felt fast and I felt good.”

Masson says that building confidence early in the season is critical.

The early success works as a motivator and keeps your confidence and patience up late into the season, says Masson.

Beatty has also had a strong start to the season and attributes that success to her off-season training.

"My training went really well and it's kept me prepared. I'm feeling healthy and strong and hoping it continues.

"I'm really happy so far.”

Beatty won gold in Sunday's classic technique mass start distance race, with a 20 second margin over the second place skier, Maya MacIssak-Jones from Alberta.

"I was able to keep a good pace all the way through Sunday's race,” she said.

"In the end I was able to keep ahead of the juniors and stay with the senior women which really helped me.”

Greer came away with two bronze medals and also highlights the teams off-season training as the reason for the early success.

"We were roller skiing, running, doing strength exercises, biking, and hiking. All summer and fall,” she said.

"It's a great team and we all get along great.”

The racers are now shifting their focus to January's NorAM event, which will be held in Whistler.

The results from these races will help determine who qualifies for the Junior World Championships and U23 Championships to be held in Turkey this February.

Johnsgaard views last season as disappointing and is determined to make amends on the trails this winter.

He described his success this past weekend as a long time coming and is releaved to see that his training is beginning to pay dividends.

"I knew all along that I had the potential to race fast but nothing really worked out for me last season,” he said.

"This year I'm really happy that I'm off to a good start and looking forward to the rest of the season.

"It's really exciting to perform when it counts and now I'm just waiting for anther opportunity to race.”

Johnsgaard's goal is to qualify in Whistler and then place in the top 20 in Turkey.

Beatty, who is finishing her last year of high school in Whitehorse, is also hoping to secure a spot for the trip to Turkey.

She says she is motivated and prepared for the Whistler event and has grown more comfortable as the season has progressed.

She says a lot of the racers she competed against this past weekend will be at the trials and is looking forward to facing them again, this time with added knowledge of how they ski.

"You have to race your own race,” she says. "But it's nice early in the season to see how you compare to the other racers and see how your training has effected your skiing.”

Greer says Turkey would be ideal but she's trying to keep her focus evenly spread.

"If it doesn't happen then there are Eastern's and other races I would go to if I stayed in Canada.

"I'm trying not to think about it, if I make it that will be awesome but if not, I don't

want to be too disappointed.”

David Greer will also be in Whistler and vying for a spot on the U23 team.

He's confident that if his early season form continues he will be able to make his way onto the team.

He has paced his training in hopes of peaking in February, when the U23

Championships are taking place.

If he makes it to Turkey, Greer is aiming to place in the top 12, which would qualify him for the Canadian national team next season.

He's been dedictated to improving his speed and will continue to focus on his volume training in the coming weeks.

Short speed and bursts are critical in the sprint and mass start races.

"There's lots of tactics and you have to be able to react,” he says.

"It's a lot like a cycling race, you need speed so that's what I've been working on.

"I want to be able to stay on my training plan and stay healthy,

"I'm looking forward to seeing the results.”