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Dahria Beatty wins Canadian Ski Championships pursuit race

After finishing second in the classic race, Beatty overtook Emily Nishikawa to win the pursuit
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Bob Nishikawa/Yukon News file Pictured here at the 2018 Olympics, Dahria Beatty, right, won the Canadian Ski Championships pursuit race on March 14 after overtaking Emily Nishikawa, left, in the free race.

The 2019 Canadian Ski Championships started on March 13 at the Nakktertok Nordic Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, as the country’s best cross-country skiers arrived to compete against each other.

The first two days of racing included a number of wins and strong finishes from Yukon skiers.

Day one was interval-start classic races for both men and women.

Yukoners dominated the senior women five-km race as Emily Nishikawa and Dahria Beatty finished first and second. Nishikawa had a time of 13 minutes and 58 seconds while Beatty was just 7.7 seconds behind with a time of 14 minutes and 5.7 seconds.

Natalie Hynes also cracked the top 10, finished seventh in a time of 15 minutes and 17.5 seconds.

In the junior boys 10-kilometre race, Whitehorse’s Derek Deuling won with a total time of 26 minutes and 41.4 seconds. Teammate Sasha Masson finished 10th with a time of 28 minutes and 3.6 seconds.

Curtis Cash finished 18th in the juvenile boys 10-km race with a time of 30 minutes and 46.8 seconds.

Team Yukon picked up another podium in the junior women five-km race as Amanda Thomson finished second. Her time of 15 minutes and 45.8 seconds was just 56.2 seconds behind the race winner and also good for fourth in the women’s category of the Canadian Colleges and University Nordic Championships (CCUNC).

Hannah Jirousek was 17th in the junior women race with a time of 16 minutes and 55.1 seconds.

In the junior girls five-km race, Sonjaa Schmidt finished 12th and Dahlia Lapointe finished 25th. Schmidt had a time of 16 minutes and 43.7 seconds, and Lapointe finished in 17 minutes and 4.1 seconds.

Rounding out Yukon results on day one were Maude Molgat and Bella Mouchet in the juvenile girls five-km race. Molgat finished in 16th with a time of 17 minutes and 17.1 seconds and Mouchet had a time of 18 minutes and 4.9 seconds – good for 45th.

Day two on March 14 saw the skiers back on the trails for free races that also doubled to complete the pursuit race.

Beatty and Nishikawa were again at the top of the podium in the senior women 10-km free and surge pursuit.

Beatty won the free race with a time of 26 minute and 45.8 seconds, while Nishikawa was third in 27 minutes and 0.1 seconds.

Those times mean Beatty edged out Nishikawa in the pursuit for first by just 7.3 seconds. Beatty’s combined time was 40 minutes and 50.8 seconds, and Nishikawa’s second-place time was 40 minutes and 58.1 seconds.

Hynes skied to 15th in the free race with a time of 29 minute and 21.8 seconds. In the pursuit, Hynes’ combined time was 44 minutes and 38.8 seconds – putting her in 11th place.

In the juvenile boys 7.5-km free race, Cash finished 19th with a time of 20 minutes and 29.8 seconds, which put him 20th in the surge pursuit with a total time of 51 minutes and 15.8 seconds.

Deuling was third in the junior boys 7.5-km free, with a time of 18 minutes and 35.1 seconds. That was fast enough to secure the pursuit win for Deuling with a combined time of 45 minute and 16.1 seconds.

Masson finished the free race in 19 minutes and 18.2 seconds – good for 18th spot – and was ninth in the pursuit with a time of 47 minutes and 21. 2 seconds.

In the juvenile girls 7.5-km race, Mouchet was 45th and Molgat was 53rd with times of 24 minutes and 10.7 seconds and 24 minutes and 32.3 seconds respectively. Molgat finished 35th in the pursuit with a time of 41 minutes and 49.3 seconds, while Mouchet was 45th with a time of 42 minutes and 14.7 seconds.

Schmidt was in the top 10 of the junior girls 7.5-km free, finishing eighth in a time of 22 minutes and 19.9 seconds. Schmidt was ninth in the pursuit with a combined time of 39 minutes and 2.9 seconds.

Lapointe was 31st with a time of 23 minute and 29.8 seconds in the free race and 27th in the pursuit. Her combined time was 40 minutes and 33.8 seconds.

In the junior women 10-km free race, Thomson was fifth with a time 29 minutes and 38.6 seconds while Jirousek was 13th in 30 minute and 59.8 seconds.

Overall, Thomson was fourth in the pursuit with a combined time of 45 minutes and 23.6 seconds, and Jirousek was 14th with a time of 47 minute and 54.8 seconds.

Thomson’s times were also good for fifth and fourth in the CCUNC free and pursuit categories.

Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com