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Sumanik trophies lay in wait as second half of races postponed

Whitehorse’s Colin Abbott and Marit Rjabov will be ones to beat this Saturday at the second half of the Don Sumanik Memorial Races — if Mother Nature doesn’t intervene again.
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Whitehorse’s Colin Abbott and Marit Rjabov will be ones to beat this Saturday at the second half of the Don Sumanik Memorial Races — if Mother Nature doesn’t intervene again.

Abbott and Rjabov were the fastest male and female on the long course at the Sumanik skate race on Saturday at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club. But Sunday’s classic technique race was postponed due to cold temperatures and because snow conditions did not allow the laying of classic technique tracks.

“We hope the temperature will cooperate and we’ll be able to have the races,” said Yukon Ski Team head coach Alain Masson. “We can’t race below minus-20 and right now the forecast is looking fairly cold still, so we’ll see if that happens. Otherwise it may be postponed again.”

If the classic races take place, the event will wrap up with the presentation of the Don Sumanik Cup, which goes to the fastest male and female skiers on the long courses over two days of racing.

Abbott, who won the Cup for males last year and in 2007, had the fastest time on the 7.5-kilometre course on Saturday with a time of 22 minutes and 54.4 seconds. David Greer, who was also in open men, was second at 24:05.1. Both skiers are former members of the defunct Yukon Elite Squash ski team.

Open women’s Rjabov, a former University of Alaska skier, was fastest for females at 29:42.0. Junior girls Amanda Thomson was second fastest, just 14.7 seconds back.

Sumanik races are also used in the selection process of the Yukon Ski Team. With this season being one without a Canada Winter Games or Arctic Games — a situation that happens once every four years — the Sumanik races will select the team that eventually competes at eastern and western Canadian championships and the nationals.

The Sumanik classic technique installment is scheduled to take place this Saturday at noon. A total of 96 skiers took part in last Saturday’s races.

The Don Sumanik races are named for the man who was instrumental in the creation of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club’s chalet and bringing a FIS World Cup event to Whitehorse in March of 1981. He died in December of 1981, the year before the start of the Sumanik races.

Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com

Top-three results

Atom boys (1 km)

1st Finegand Bradford — 6:00.2

2nd Nicholas Connell — 7:27.3

3rd Reid Sandiford — 8:07.7

Atom girls (1 km)

1st Sarah Svoboda — 7:22.3

2nd Aramintha Bradford — 7:24.6

3rd Juliet Crowe — 7:46.3

Peewee boys (2 km)

1st Felix Masson — 5:43.5

2nd Simon Connell — 6:07.5

3rd Misa Svoboda — 6:12.4

Peewee girls (2 km)

1st Constance Lapointe — 6:13.8

2nd Abigail Jirousek — 6:26.1

3rd Sophie Molgat — 7:10.2

Midget boys (3.75 km)

1st Curtis Cash — 15:04.8

2nd Isidore Champagne — 16:54.6

3rd Noah Connell — 18:03.5

Midget girls (3.75 km)

1st Kate Mason — 17:23.6

2nd Veronica Porter — 18:23.1

3rd Isla Hupe — 19:43.9

Juvenile boys (7.5 km)

1st Derek Deuling — 25:52.2

2nd Nichollis Schmidt — 27:18.1

3rd Victor-Emile Thibeault — 28:18.3

Juvenile girls (7.5 km)

1st Sonjaa Schmidt — 30:59.5

2nd Dahlia Lapointe — 33:56.9

3rd Sophia Bond — 34:37.8

Junior boys (7.5 km)

1st Michael Kishchuk — 26:44.8

2nd Liam Adel — 29:46.8

3rd Daniel Sennett — 32:51.9

Junior girls (7.5 km)

1st Amanda Thomson — 29:56.7

2nd Mira Mason — 30:03.9

3rd Hannah Jirousek — 32:14.4

Open men (7.5 km)

1st Colin Abbott — 22:54.4

2nd David Greer — 24:05.1

3rd John Parry — 27:07.1

Open women (7.5 km)

1st Marit Rjabov — 29:42.0

Masters men (7.5 km)

1st Dominic Bradford — 26:41.0

2nd Brian Healy — 28:08.7

3rd Bill Parry — 29:24.5

Masters women (7.5 km)

1st Laura Salmon — 35:22.7