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Greer goes National

Cross-Country Canada has named Yukon Ski Team member David Greer to the National Junior Team. Greer, who won the Yukon’s sole gold medal…

Cross-Country Canada has named Yukon Ski Team member David Greer to the National Junior Team. 

Greer, who won the Yukon’s sole gold medal in the Canada Winter Games and then went on to collect a string of podium honours at the 2007 National Championships, will be moving to the Quebec City training centre in July, where he’ll have the opportunity to train full time under the direction of national team coaches.

The athlete is thrilled by the opportunity.

“I hadn’t really been expecting this and when I got the call from Cross-Country Canada I was really excited,” said Greer. “I guess my strong performance at the nationals clinched it for me.”

Greer won four medals plus the overall aggregate title for his age group at the nationals.

“It’s quite an honour for a Yukoner to be selected to a junior national team,” said Cross-Country Yukon head coach Alain Masson.

“This is one more bit of recognition for a dedicated and hard working athlete. David has shown continual improvement over the past few years and he’ll do well with the national squad.”

But it wasn’t just good news for the Yukon team.

Graham Nishikawa, who had a tough year on the continental racing circuit as he battled illness, was dropped from the senior National Team.

The team has been handed major budget cuts and a number of athletes, including Nishikawa, were dropped from the roster.

Nishikawa, who was extremely disappointed by the decision, showed his tenacity by announcing that he had accepted a lesser spot with the Quebec City development centre and will focus on getting himself back on the team next season.

Squash

Yukon’s Jane Bell and Robert McMynn attended the Squash Junior National Championships in Montreal last week. Over 230 juniors from across Canada competed.

Bell battled back after losing her first two matches – winning her next three and clinching a bronze in the under-17 division.  

Robert McMynn, competing in the tough under-19 division finished with one win and two losses.

Orienteering

Sixty four participants came out to get “Orienteering Week in Canada” off to a great start.

The crowd was a mix of Junior Squad members, newcomers to the sport, parents with toddlers and former and current national team members.

Using the urban Downtown Map, there were two sprint courses to choose from, both starting and finishing at the park on Main Street. 

Junior squad member Dahria Beatty led the 2.2-kilometre short course in 14:20 followed shortly by Kendra Murray in 17:25. Third place went to Joe Bradley in 19:25.

On the longer course, national team member Brent Langbakk ran the three-kilometre in a speedy 13:37.

Refusing to let the young guard move up, Ross Burnett was second in 18:25. He was followed closely by juniors Colin Abbott in 18:30 and Logan Roots in 18:44.

National team member Pam James was the first woman to finish in 18:50.

James and Langbakk leave next week to compete in the Kamloops area and the following week will be vying for their place on the national team at the world championships.

There are still two more events being held this weekend as the national week long celebration of orienteering continues. Saturday’s meet is at the Biathlon Trails on Grey Mountain Road, on Sunday the start location is 500 metres past the Long Lake Day Use Area on the Long Lake Road. Start time is 10 a.m. on both days.

For more info call Barbara @ 668-2306. All are welcome and assistance will be given to newcomers.

Soccer

Under-11 (Tuesday)

Aurora Geosciences 2

Great Northern Oil 2

Liam Webster and Jordan King scored for Aurora, and Melissa Boone was named MVP.

Both Great Northern’s goals were scored by Trent Pumphrey, and the MVP went to Kaitlan Clarke for solid defence.

Boston Pizza 6

Canacord Capital 1

Aidan Allen led the Pizza Crew with three goals, and Ryan Chippett, Jonathon Runions and Brayden (no last name) scored as well. Camille Galloway was named MVP.

Teagyn Vallevand scored the lone goal for Canacord, while Wynn White took MVP honours.

Clearview Auto Glass 7

EVF Fuel 1

Wyatt Gale scored four times for Clearview, and Michael Bennett, Kirsten Smith and Brittany Au scored as well.

EVF Fuel’s David Grove netted one for his team.

Zip Transport 5

The Deli 1

Zip scorers were MVP Andrew Scoffin and Ryley Johnson with two goals each, and Daria Jordan with a single.

Jake Njootli scored for the Deli, and Stephen Wohlfarth was named top player.

Under-nine (Tuesday)

Dirkbuilt Contracting 3

Taylor Construction 2

Graydon McDonnell netted two for Dirkbuilt, and Logan Harris added. Scorers for Taylor Construction were Parker Olsen and Katie Londero.

Mic Mac Toyota 5

Peak Fitness 2

Ryan Edwards scored for Peak Fitness.

Mic Mac scorers not available.

Daves Cleaning 3

Surgical Incisions 1

No scorers available

Under-eight MVP’s (Tuesday)

Whitehorse Naturepathic Centre – Matthew Cooper for all his great hustle

Underhill Geomatics – Alizée Salesse because of her great passes

Midnight Sun Alpaca – Marika Kitchen for her excellent persistence in her very first game

DHL Dragons — Sophie Rees for her strong effort on the field.

Under-seven MVP’s (Tuesday)

Vector Research — Odessa O’Brien and Ivory Randell

The Electrical Shop — Dylan Cozens and Lucas Jirousek

MacKay LLP — Joseph Stokes and Cody Amaral

Locksmith Services — Cameron Elliott and Amanda Thomson

All Terrane Mineral Exploration — Dekker Fordham and Andrew Johnson

Plantation Flowers and Gifts — Cruz Goodman and Sam Royal

Bean North — Lara Therry St. Onge and Harrison Ulrich

Physio Plus — Hanna Korn and Mathias Hoenisch

Shaske & Zeiner Appraisal — Jordyn Cowan and Taylor Harvey.

VeloNorth

This weekend promises to be a busy one for Yukon cyclists. On Saturday the 5th of May will be the first road race of the season.

The race will start at the Visitor Rest Area on the Alaska Highway at the top of the South Access. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and riders will get underway at 10 a.m.

There will be three divisions — Novice, Sport and Expert.

Novice and Sport riders will ride south on the Alaska Highway to the Yukon River Bridge at which point they will turn around and come back to where they started. Distance will be approximately 50 kilometres.

The Expert Class will continue another 10 kilometres down the road before they turn to come back — making for a 70-kilometre test.

The cost is $2 for VeloNorth Members and each rider must have insurance from the Cycling Association of Yukon

On Sunday, May 6th the first in a series of five group-training rides for members gets underway at 10 a.m.

These rides are designed to help people get ready for the upcoming Kluane to Chilkat International Bike Relay, which takes place on June 16th this year.

Riders will be divided up into groups based upon ability and experience and each week one of the goals will be to ride a bit longer than the week before.

There will also be a focus on riding safely in a bunch, how to draft and the etiquette of group riding.

This ride is free to VeloNorth members and $2 for non-members (per session). Each person is required to have insurance from the Cycling Association of Yukon.

Riders can meet at the Visitor Rest Area at the top of the South Access on the Alaska Highway.