March 12, 2006 – Alex Harvey and Dasha Gaiazova continued their personal unbeaten strings during the final day of the National Cross-Country Ski Championships, with both competitors attaining the top podium spots in their fields in classic race action on Sunday.

With temperatures hovering just below zero, conditions were ideal in the morning for the final day of the Nationals at Lappe Nordic Centre, which hardly foreshadowed the challenge in store. A steady warming trend as the day wore on made for some tough slogging, yet exciting racing, out on the course.

“It made for a tough day out there, but it was a great day of racing,” said Eric de Nys, Team 2010 coach of Cross Country Canada. “It was a great championship and the organizers did a very good job.”

Seventeen-year-old Harvey, of St. Fereol des Nieges, Que., continued his dominance in the junior men’s field by winning the 30-km classic race in a time of 1:25:46.8. Calgary’s Brent McMurtry crossed the finish line in 1:26:46.8 for the silver medal, while Thunder Bay’s Christopher Butler clocked in at 1:26:46.7 for the bronze. The trio also finished in that exact order in the aggregate totals for junior men.

Gaiazova, a 22-year-old native of Montreal and 2010 Olympic hopeful, claimed top spot in the women’s 30-km classic with a time of 1:34:22.4. Crossing the finish line 1.5 minutes later was 2006 Olympian Milaine Theriault, while Tara Whitten, a member of the Edmonton Nordic Club, claimed the bronze medal. Just as in the junor men’s competition, this trio finished in that order in the aggregate standings.

Another Edmonton Nordic member enjoyed success in the epic challenge of the men’s 50-km, with Stefan Kuhn finishing between a pair of 2006 Olympians to claim the silver medal. Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., took the gold medal after crossing the finish line just 0.9 seconds ahead of Kuhn. Meanwhile, Jeffrie’s fellow Olympic team member, Dan Roycroft, posted a time of 2:25:29.7 en route to the bronze medal.

Adam Kates, a member of the Soo Finnish Club of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., finished fifth in the 50-km to further strengthen his hold atop the men’s open aggregate standings. Rounding out the top overall men’s finishers for the March 5-12 competition were 2006 Olympians Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., and Raycroft.

In junior women’s results Sunday, Amanda Ammar of Onoway, Alta. skied to top spot in the 15-km classic, while Kate Brennan and Mallory Deyne took the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Deyne and Brennan also finished two and three, respectively, in the junior women’s aggregate standings, while the top point-getter over the week was Brittany Webster.

In other results from Sunday, Joan Reid took top honour in the sit-ski women’s 5.1-km, while Lou Gibson and Paul Tingley finished one and two, respectively, in the sit-ski men’s 5.1-km classic. Evan Bruce, Etienne Richard and Benjamin Hebert were the top-three respective finishers in the juvenile boys 7.5-km and overall aggregate totals; Marlis Kromm, Danielle McVicar and Emilie Chartrand in the juvenile girls 7.5-km; Haakon Lenes, Frederic Touchette and Len Valjas in the junior boys 15-km; and Sarah Hewitt, Hannah Perry and Natasha Kullas in the junior girls 10-km. The latter trio also finished in that order for junior girls aggregate standings for the week.

In other aggregate results, Lenes, Touchette and Julien Nury were the top three finishers for junior boys over the week, while Laurianne Ouellet, Heidi Widmer and Katrina Van Wijk were tops in the juvenile girls field.

Provincial bragging rights went to Ontario, which accumulated 2,374 points over the week, while Alberta and Quebec rounded out the top provinces with 2,220 and 2,123 points, respectively.

Complete results from today’s competition can be found online at www.zone4.ca.