March 10, 2006 – The Harvey bloodlines continue to reap benefits almost 20 years later for the Canadian cross-country ski program, with 17-year-old Alex Harvey emerging the top junior male competitor for the third straight event at the Canadian National Cross-Country Ski Championships.

The product of St. Fereol des Nieges, Que., the son of former national team member and Olympic hero Pierre Harvey, raced to the junior men’s sprint title on Friday after posting a 1.2-second edge over the second-place finisher, Calgary’s Brent McMurtry. Rounding out the top competitors was Nicolas Poirier, of Joliette, Que.

Harvey’s stellar run at the Nationals ironically coincided with national team member Devon Kershaw’s bronze medal triumph on March 7 in Borlaenge, Sweden, the first time a Canadian male cross-country skier had stepped onto a World Cup podium since the elder Harvey racked up three medals in the late 1980s.

However, the younger Harvey wasn’t the only athlete to enjoy the threepeat during Friday’s sprint action. Montreal’s Dasha Gaiazova took top spot in her third straight event after clocking in at 2:38.39 in the 1.1-km sprint, while 2010 Olympic hopeful Perianne Jones, a 21-year-old native of Almonte, Ont., crossed the finish line exactly one second after to take the silver. Veteran national team member Milaine Theriault claimed the bronze medal with a time of 2:40.90.

In senior men’s sprint action, Banff, Alta. native Phil Widmer built on his Olympic debut last month by sprinting to top spot on the podium. Fellow 2006 Olympic team member and hometown favourite Sean Crooks claimed the silver medal 3.4 seconds off the standard Widmer set for the day. Claiming the bronze medal was North Bay, Ont. native David Nighbor.

Amanda Ammar, of Onoway, Alta., emerged atop the pack in junior women’s competition, with a strong effort that saw her cross the finish line almost 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Skiing into the silver medal position was Kate Brennan, a member of Ontario’s Kanata Racers Club, while Cathy Jaques of Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Racers posted the third-best time on the day.

In other results from Friday, Evan Bruce, Phillipe Duchesneau and Jerome McEniry were the top-three respective finishers in the junior boys 0.8-km sprint; Heidi Widmer, Katrina Van Wijk and Kara Jaspers in the juvenile girls 0.8-km; Haakon Lenes, Frederic Touchette and Julien Nury in the junior boys 1.1-km; and Sarah Hewitt, Hannah Perry and Natasha Kullas in the junior girls 1.1-km free.

The cross-country action continues Sunday at the National Ski Championships in Thunder Bay with the long-distance events at the Lappe Nordic Centre. Complete results from today’s competition can be found online at www.zone4.ca.