Skip to content

T-Wolves recapture OUA men's Nordic skiing crown

Four top 10 finishes on Sunday earn Lakehead its 16th title since 1988, while on the women's side, Carleton grabbed a third straight championship .
OUA Nordic Finish
Big Thunder's Malcolm Thompson (304) took top spot in the OUA mass start free race on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre. Nipissing's Jordan Cascagnette (311) won the OUA crown, while teammate Alexander Maycock (306) finished second in the OUA race. Lakehead's Noah Thompson (303) was third in the OUA race and led the Thunderwolves to the overall title. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Four top 10 finishes on Sunday were enough to secure the Lakehead Thunderwolves an 11th OUA men’s Nordic skiing championship since 2002.

Noah Thompson, Noah Taylor, Geoffrey Way-Nee and Gavin Shields all crossed the finish line among the first 10 skiers in the 15-kilometre free skate race at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre, earning the host team a 17-point win over Nipissing and defending champion Carleton, who finished tied for second with 73 points after Nipissing’s Jordan Cascagnette and Alexander Maycock took the top two spots, each crossing in 46:23.1.

Thompson took third place, 1.2 seconds back, while Taylor clocked in sixth, Way-Nee in seventh and Shields in ninth.

“It feels good. Last year we were second, so just to be able to come out and throw down a pretty solid team performance on our home course is pretty special,” Thompson said, after delivering LU’s 16th triumph in the men’s category, dating back to their first in 1988.

Wresting the title away from Carleton, the only other school other than Lakehead to capture an OUA men’s Nordic skiing championship over the past 17 years, made the win even more special, said Thompson, who anchored the Wolves to a second place finish in Saturday’s classic relay and took fourth in Friday’s 10-kiloemtre classic interval start race.

Also having to hold off Nipissing, a school in search of its first OUA Nordic skiing crown, made the race that much tougher, he said.

“It definitely was a three-team race. Nipissing especially today was super strong. They pulled out all stops,” Thompson said.

“Being at home, we have so much support from the school and the Thunder Bay ski community that it’s extra special.”

Taylor said the team’s strategy was to ski strong and not fall too far behind as a group, knowing they had a nine-point cushion heading into Sunday’s final race.

“I think the plan for today was just to ski it smart, not waste too much energy early on in the race,” Taylor said.

“The wax techs did a great job today, so we had some really fast skis, so it was good for us to kind of sit in the lead pack and just wait for the moment to make it happen and it worked out well for everyone. It feels good. Last year was my first year and we couldn’t quite make it happen with a second place, so it feels good to have thrown down some good races,” said Taylor, eighth in Friday’s classic interval competition.

On the women’s side, things weren’t as bright for the LU contingent.

Thunderwolves Erika Mihell and Beth Fowler sidelined by illness, Lakehead’s fate rested on just two skiers, Camille Hamm and Holly Fleming.

Hamm did her part, finishing in eighth spot, but Fleming could only manage a 32nd place result and the Wolves, who entered the day in third behind the Carleton Ravens and Guelph Gryphons, dropped two spots to fifth, passed by both Nipissing and Laurentian.

No one was catching the Ravens, whose Zoe Williams and Alyssa Stowe finished first and second in both individual races and top spot in Saturday’s relay.

Guelph took the runner-up spot, a distant 96 points behind Carleton.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks