The Yukon Orienteering Association’s penultimate O-meet of the season drew a crowd of 22 to Grey Mountain on Sept. 6 to participate.
The runners chose their own course from a scattering of 30 controls set out on Grey Mountain, strategizing which controls to pick up in their 60-minute time limit. Placing was based on points rather than finishing time, organizers said in a statement.
Every class received the same map during the meet, with controls varying between three and eight points. The per-control penalty system encouraged higher classes to prioritize high-scoring controls over quantity.
The novice category was a tight race between three teams of runners separated by only four points, with Midori Nishikawa and Madeleine Williams coming out on top with 40 points. Coralie Anderson and Gina Anderson finished in second place with 38 points, and Miya Nishikawa and Emily Nishikawa finished in third place with 36 points.
The intermediate class saw a runaway winner in Daniel Dreiseitl with 76 points. Having collected the most controls of anyone on the course at 20, organizers said he would have tied for first place had he run in the advanced class. His performance was followed up by Lara Melnik, who finished second with 37 points, and Karin Keeley-Eriksson, who finished third with 30.
In the advanced category, only 10 points separated the top five and single points separated some runners. The top three were Darren Holcombe with 56, Erik Blake with 52 and Afan Jones with 51.
Forest Pearson was the only runner for the expert course, and he put in an impressive performance that would have won any class, per the organizers. With the expert penalties, his total score came out to 47.
The organizers thanked everyone who came out for their high spirits and enthusiasm, noting they look forward to seeing familiar faces at the Night-O on Sept. 22. Location for the event is yet to be determined and will be posted on the association’s website.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com
