March 7, 2006 – He might have not felt 100 per cent going into the
15-km free mass start, but the results for Dan Roycroft on Wednesday
at the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Nationals told a different story.

A product of Port Sydney, Ont., who now calls Canmore, Alta. home,
Roycroft was the top finisher in the men’s open after posting a time
of 40:31.10 – despite the fact he felt less than fully healthy from
the twin rigours of travel and a fast-paced competitive schedule.

“It was the kind of sickness a person gets from feeling really run
down,” said Roycroft, 28. “Things have been hectic lately but today
everything worked out really well. I was really surprised with the
result.”

Roycroft’s recent schedule, incidentally, included last month’s
pressure cooker of the Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, which
he cited as an unforgettable experience.

“It was great to be there, especially after thinking about it for so
many years and dreaming about it as a kid,” he said. “To see the
great results the women achieved was really quite inspiring.”

A few other athletes fresh off the Torino experience joined Roycroft
in the top-10 on Wednesday in the 15-km. Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea,
Que., posted a second-best time just 0.4 seconds off the standard his
teammate set on the day, while fellow Olympians Drew Goldsack and
Sean Crooks finished fourth and sixth, respectively.

Rounding out the top finishers was Adam Kates, a product of the Soo
Finnish Nordic Ski Club of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who finished
third, while Erik Carleton, from Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Racers,
skied into fifth spot.

In a repeat of Tuesday’s five-km women’s open, Montreal’s Dasha
Gaiazova and 2006 Olympian Milaine Theriault finished one and two,
respectively, in the 10-km women’s free mass start on Wednesday.

Tara Whitten of the Edmonton Nordic Club skied into third place,
while the remainder of the top-five was monopolized by a pair of
Canmore, Alta. residents. Perianne Jones, a 2010 Olympic hopeful,
posted a time of 31:26.20 en route to fourth place. Meanwhile, Tasha
Betcherman built on a stellar performance from Tuesday that saw her
ski to the bronze medal in the five-km by achieving fifth place on
Wednesday after clocking in at 31:29.70.

The junior women’s 10-km free mass start bore witness to a thoroughly
dominating performance. Brittany Webster, a member of Ontario’s
Highland Trailblazers Ski Club, steamrolled the competition by
posting a time of 31:48.60 that put her more than 2.5 minutes ahead
of her peers. Mallory Deyne, who recorded 34:24.80, and Kate Brennan,
at 34:39.0, finished second and third, respectively.

Alex Harvey continued his dominance in the junior men’s category by
taking the top honour by a 55-second margin in the 15-km. Hometown
favourite Christopher Butler earned second place after posting a time
of 42:37.30, while Calgary’s Brent McMurtry skied into third.

In other results from Wednesday, Haakon Lenes, Michael Somppi and
Julien Nury were the top three finishers in the junior boys division;
Natasha Kullas, Sarah Hewitt and Bryn Knight in junior girls; Etienne
Richard, Jerome McEniry and Benjamin Hebert in juvenile boys; Heidi
Widmer, Lauriane Ouellet and Marlis Kromm in juvenile girls; and
Jerry King in the standing disabled category.

The cross-country action continues Friday at the National Ski
Championships in Thunder Bay with the sprint events. Complete results
from today’s competition can be found online at www.zone4.ca/results