Most of the Yukon’s top cross-country skiers are in Whistler, B.C., for the Haywood Ski Nationals, but there was enough leftover talent for the territory to claim nine divisions at the 2013 Buckwheat Ski Classic.
Despite the absence of the Yukon Ski Team, numbers were up for a second year in a row at the 27th annual loppet at Log Cabin near the B.C./Alaska border on Saturday.
The mass start race saw a record turnout with 393 skiers, 12 more than last year’s record setter. It was also the second year in a row Whitehorse skiers topped nine of the race’s 10 divisions.
Whitehorse’s Ray Sabo scorched the competition in the open men’s 50-kilometre race.
Sabo is a former NCAA skier for the University of Alaska Fairbanks and represented the Yukon at the 2007 and 2011 Canada Winter Games. He finished almost 20 minutes ahead of second place’s Marcus Wattereus of Whitehorse, who placed third last year.
Whitehorse skiers were edged out of the women’s 50-kilometre race for a second straight year. Whitehorse’s top finisher in the event was Deb Higgins in third.
Four-month-old Isabella Plant of Whitehorse was named Miss Buckwheat and Katherine Nelson of Skagway was given the Des Duncan Award for her volunteerism.
Top-three results
Open men (50 km)
1st Ray Sabo (Whitehorse) - 2:52:41
2nd Marcus Wattereus (Whitehorse) - 3:11:06
3rd Chris Schmidt (Whitehorse) - 3:14:10
Open women (50 km)
1st Marit Rjabov (Fairbanks) - 3:30:29
2nd Merry Ellefson (Douglas) - 3:45:51
3rd Deb Higgins (Whitehorse) - 3:57:44
Open men (25 km)
1st Dave Brook (Whitehorse) - 1:30:03
2nd Jonah Clark (Whitehorse) - 1:37:40
3rd Bill Parry (Whitehorse) - 1:40:04
Open women (25 km)
1st Julie McVicar (Whitehorse) - 1:41:11
2nd Sara Nielsen (Whitehorse) - 1:44:13
3rd Eliza Paul (Whitehorse) - 1:45:10
Open men (10 km)
1st Simon Cash (Whitehorse) - 0:34:14
2nd Mac Prawdzik (Whitehorse) - 0:37:04
3rd Andrew Seal (Whitehorse) - 0:39:23
Open women (10 km)
1st Regan Fuerstner (Whitehorse) - 0:43:43
2nd Megan Buzby (Auke Bay) - 0:44:37
3rd Nathalie Dugas (Whitehorse) - 0:45:54
10 and under boys (5 km)
1st Sasha Masson (Whitehorse) - 0:26:48
1st Derek Deuling (Whitehorse) - 0:26:48
3rd Caius Taggart-Cox (Marsh Lake) - 0:31:57
10 and under girls (5 km)
1st Sonjaa Schmidt (Whitehorse) - 0:29:43
2nd Kate Mason (Whitehorse) - 0:36:16
3rd Alliya Thomson (Whitehorse) - 0:38:35
11-12 boys (5 km)
1st Liam Mather (Whitehorse) - 0:22:43
2nd Nichollis Schmidt (Whitehorse) - 0:31:50
3rd Ben Shier (Whitehorse) - 2:00:00
11-12 girls (5 km)
1st Dahlia LaPointe (Whitehorse) - 0:30:24
2nd Amelia LaTour (Whitehorse) - 0:43:01
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com