Cross Country Yukon has just announced the recipients of the Podium 2007 awards.
Five local skiers will receive cash awards totaling $2,000 under the program, based on their outstanding performances at the national championships in Thunder Bay.
Topping the awards list is Graham Nishikawa, a member of both the Yukon and the Canadian ski teams.
Competing in the tough open-men’s category, Nishikawa turned in some outstanding performances at the nationals, finishing in the top 10 in all four his races.
Emily Nishikawa, Bryn Knight, Ray Sabo and Nansen Murray all received cheques for top 10 placings in their age groups.
Tina Sutherland, who chairs Cross Country Yukon’s High Performance Committee, says that the awards “are a way of helping these high-performance athletes with their training expenses and provides recognition to some of the many talented athletes we have in the territory.”
Head Coach Alain Masson noted that the awards are a strong indication of the depth of talent in the Yukon.
“The Nationals were the same week as Arctic Winter Games and we had some of our best young skiers in Alaska instead of competing in Thunder Bay.
“If everyone who qualified had been at the Nationals, we would be paying out quite a bit more.”
The Nationals attracted more than 300 top skiers from across the country.
Hockey
Rec league (Tuesday)
Kluane Drillers 7
Sports North 1
In the B-division final game, Kluane pummeled Sports North for the title.
After giving up a single goal late in the first period, Kluane goaltender Floyd McCormick shut the door and kept it closed.
With the score tied 1-1, the Drillers went to work in the second period, scoring six unanswered goals. A frustrated Sports North squad ran into penalty trouble and couldn’t get it together.
Scoring for Kluane were Doug Roberts and Rob Pitzel (both with two goals and three assists), Tyler Murray with a goal and three helpers, and Edwin Vanderkley and Andrew Zinck with singles.
Linus Fraser scored the lone Sports North goal.
Squash
Tuesday night league
Yukon Brewing 15
Kilrich 13
Brewer’s Kyle Marchuk beat Gordon Starko of Kilrich in straight sets.
Rob Schneider and Marie Desmarais won their matches for Kilrich in four sets, over Vince Boutilier and Jeff Brown, respectively.
Yukon Brewing took the overall victory on a default win by Mark Tubman.
Ketza 18
Assante 15
Two wins each for these teams, but Ketza’s Blaine Tessier and Jim Gilpin managed to earn some extra points for their squad by going five sets in their losses to Steve Fecteau and Richard Meredith.
Charlie Hoeller beat Assante’s Kenji in four sets, and Michael Hanson beat Michel Gelinas in four as well.
Underhill 18
Electrical Shop 10
Underhill’s Cameron Webber swept Marc Lemond, while Jane Bell and Chris Toleman won their matches over Robert McMynn and Patrick Gardiner in four sets.
Lori Muir recorded the only Electrical Shop win, over Janet Lee in straight sets.
Semi-finals start next week.
Standings:
1st Assante, 281
2nd Ketza, 273
3rd Underhill, 265
4th Kilrich, 254
5th Pizza Hut, 248
6th Electrical Shop, 230
7th Yukon Brewing, 209