February 17, 2007 (Canmore, AB) – Brent McMurtry of Foothills Nordic via the Pierre Harvey Training Centre and Madeleine Williams of Edmonton Nordic and Team 2010 used the final race of the 2007 Haywood NorAm Canada Cup race series in Smithers to catch up to and overtake their rivals to ski away with the NorAm Canada Cup crown for 2006-07 season.

Williams, who saw her early season lead snatched from her by Brittany Webster during Haywood races on the January 20-21 weekend in Canmore, came storming back during the final weekend of racing at the Western Canadian Championships to post 2 wins and a third place. While neither woman was dominant in their sprint events, Williams was able to capitalize on one extra result at the Madshus Sprint race on February 8 to put her in position to win the series by a slim 7 point margin.

Webster, a junior from Highlands Nordic and the Thunder Bay Training Centre, is currently preparing for the World Junior Championships after a strong set of final races at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau. Tara Whitten from Edmonton Nordic and the INDI 2010 Team and one of the most active skiers on the Haywood Series this season finished in third spot. Whitten and Williams competed in 15 of 17 races on the circuit.

McMurtry showed resolve all season and made good use of races in Canmore and Smithers after the World U23 Championship trip had been rescheduled, to post a 14 point victory over Dave Nighbor. Again it came down to the final race of the season in Smithers, BC before McMurtry edged ahead of Nighbor with a win in the 15 km interval start event. Nighbor and McMurtry are off to Italy on March 3 for the World U23 Championships. Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse ended up in third spot in the men’s standings.

The top 10 ranked skiers are noted below. A complete final listing of 2006-07 Haywood NorAm Canada Cup Series will be posted shortly.


2006-2007 Haywood NorAm Canada Cup

Final Rank – Total Pts – best 6 Dis + 4 Sp

Women

1. Madeleine Williams, Edmonton Nordic/T2010 AB, 217 pts
2. Brittany Webster, Highlands Nordic/T2014 ON Jr, 210
3. Tara Whitten, Edmonton Nordic/INDI 2010 AB, 195
4. Tasha Betcherman, Lappe Nordic ON, 177
5. Sarah Daitch, Rocky Mtn Racers NWT, 170
6. Shayla Swanson, Foothills Nordic/X-C.com AB, 167
7. Kate Brennan, Kanata Racers/NTDC ON, Jr, 166
8. Christine Bisson, Club de ski MSA QC, 137
9. Perianne Jones, Nakkertok/T2010 ON, U23, 136
10. Jacqui Benson, Caledonia Nordic/UBC BC, 121

Men

1. Brent McMurtry, Foothills Nordic/CNEPH AB, U23, 196 pts
2. Dave Nighbor, North Bay Nordic/T2010 ON, U23, 182
3. Graham Nishikawa, Whitehorse SC/T2010 YK, 151
4. Chris Jeffries, Nakkertok SC/T2007 QC, 143
5. Jeff Ellis, Mono Nordic/INDI 2010 ON, 137
6. Stephan Kuhn, Foothills Nordic/X-C.com AB, 131
7. Chris Butler, Big Thunder Nordic/NTDC ON, U23, 129
8. Drew Goldsack, Rocky Mtn Racers/T2007 AB, 120
9. Erik Carleton, Rocky Mtn Racers AB, 117
10. Phil Widmer, Canmore Nordic/T2007 AB, 113