March 15, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – George Grey powered his way to his second consecutive gold medal, while Brittany Webster locked up her first title at the Haywood Ski Nationals in Canmore, Alta. on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Grey, who won the 10-kilometre skate-ski race on Sunday, put the hammer down on the nation’s top skiers, winning the 15-kilometre classic-ski race by more than 20 seconds with a time of 40 minutes, 4.71 seconds.

“It was a good hard battle between myself and Graeme Killick. He definitely proved he has skied himself into some good shape,” said Grey. “We opened a pretty big gap on the field and then I was able to pull away towards the end.”

Killick, of Fort McMurray, Alta., skied stride-for-stride with the two-time Olympian through the mild and spring-like conditions until the final lap where Grey made his move and never looked back. Killick skied to the silver medal with a time of 40:27.49. Stefan Kuhn, of Canmore, Alta., was the next best finisher in third place with a time of 40:58.47.

“It was definitely spring here today but that is when the wax technicians play such a critical role and our guys, Joel, Ben and Chris were a big part of my victory today,” said Grey. “It has been a lot of fun this week. I definitely want to keep my focus until the end of the week and finish the year on a high note.”

Meanwhile, Brittany Webster, of Caledon, Ont., captured her first national title after skiing to the top spot of the podium in the women’s 10-kilometre classic-ski race with a time of 31:36.04.

“It was a great day and nice to race fast again,” said Webster, who has struggled since representing Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. “I made a promise to myself I was going to come to Nationals and have fun, and not worry about the results. Enjoying racing seems to be the ticket to success for me.”

Webster came out of thegate trying to maintain pace with Chandra Crawford of Canmore, Alta. With the Olympic gold medallist charging hard, the 23-year-old Webster paced herselfuntil bolting into a sizeable lead over the field to finish just under 15 seconds ahead of the next best finisher.

Jennie Bender, of the United States, was second at 32:22.65, while Alysson Marshall, of Salmon Arm, B.C., hopped onto the podium for the first time this week after clocking-in at 32:25.14.

The Haywood Ski Nationals continue on Wednesday with the sprint races at the Canmore Nordic Centre.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

Men
1. George Grey, Rossland, B.C., 40:04.71
2. Graeme Killick, Fort McMurray, Alta., 40:27.49
3. Stefan Kuhn, Canmore, Alta., 40:58.47
4. Kevin Sandau, Calgary, 42:38.58
5. Brent McMurtry, Calgary, 42:28.22.

Women
1. Brittany Webster, Caledon, Ont., 31:36.04
2. Jennie Bender, USA, 32:22.65
3. Alysson Marshall, Salmon Arm, B.C., 32:25.14
4. Chandra Crawford, Canmore, Alta., 32:49.21
5. Chelsea Holmes, USA, 32:57.72.