Lakehead skiers take men's and women's national Nordic crowns

It was a double-golden day for Lakehead University’s Nordic ski teams.

The LU women cruised to their 12th Canadian College and University Nordic Championship win on Wednesday at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre, while the men’s team easily coasted to their second win in three years.

Alannah MacLean, whose second-place finish in the 1.5-kilometre classic long sprint competition helped secure the Thunderwolves win, said it was a great week for the school.

“It’s just proof that we have a working program, that we have one of the strongest programs in Canada and that we can be competitive at a national level,” MacLean said.

Lakehead placed three skiers in the top six, Camille Hamm taking third spot and Erin Tribe crossing the line in sixth.

That gave Lakehead 648 points over the four days of competition, easily outdistancing second-place Nipissing, who finished with 439 for a surprising runner-up placing.

Carleton came in third, at 394 points, while Laval was fourth with 321.

It was a dominant performance said LU coach Leif Lennie.

“Our women’s program has been the dominant program in Canada, and especially in the OUA, for the last 10 or 11 years now,” Lennie said.

“We’re blessed that we’ve had talent coming down the pipe for the last 10 or 11 years and we’ve reaped the rewards.”

The men, who lost to Laval a year ago, earned a measure of revenge on Wednesday, grabbing back the title in nearly as convincing a fashion as the LU women.

Scott Hill, Harry Seaton and Benjamin Wilkinson-Zan grabbed third, fourth and fifth respectively in the 1.6-kilometre classic giving them a final point total of 648.

Laval was well back in second with 499, with Carleton grabbing the bronze-medal slot at 373.

“It was sweet because the men lost to Laval last year and we’ve taken it handily this year,” Lennie said.

“It’s huge at home, in front of the home crowd. It’s also nice because we’ve got this legacy of excellence within our cross-country program and it really means a lot to me, especially as a new coach, to keep that going.”

The competition was held in conjunction with the 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals.

In the senior men’s category, Canmore Alta.’s Jesse Cockney pulled away to score an easy victory, just the second national title of his career.

He used the course to his advantage.

“I know I can stride up the hills really well, and I made sure to use it the whole way from the bottom to the top. I’m super psyched.”

Thunder Bay’s Michael Somppi won the B final.

Perianne Jones took the senior final, despite posting the sixth-best time in qualifying.

It wasn’t gold for National Development Centre-Thunder Bay’s Jen Jackson in the junior final, but second place to Alberta’s Maya MacIsaac-Jones isn’t too shabby for a skier still recovering from a broken leg last December.

“I pulled back some time on the last hill, but (Maya) was just too strong on the straight,” Jackson said.

“To be able to come back and have such a strong nationals is just pretty incredible and even more special.”

In the junior men’s race, Midland, Ont.’s Joey Foster took top spot, just ahead of NDC-Thunder Bay’s Julian Smith. Lakehead’s Angus Foster was fourth, while NDC’s David Askwith took fifth.

The 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals continue on Thursday and wrap up on Saturday.