On Tuesday, over 120 high school students schussed their way down the slopes of Adanac Ski Hill to compete for the NOSSA team and individual titles. The event has been hosted by the Sudbury District Secondary Schools Athletic Association (SDSSA) for years, and it has been a long time since North Bay schools have participated.
This year, local ski racers of various abilities were given a chance to compete at the event thanks to collaborative efforts made by the school and board administrators, teachers, coaches, parent volunteers, and athletes.
A small but mighty local contingent of 11 racers was a force to be reckoned with, with 10 out of 11 of the athletes scoring top-20 results. Student-athletes from Chippewa, St. Joseph-Scollard Hall and Widdifield Secondary Schools represented their city with success at the event, which is a springboard to the OFSAA provincial championship.
Scollard's Mikayla Cornthwaite reigned supreme, clinching the overall Open Women's title. Cornthwaite, a grade 9 student and North Bay Antoine Racer, won both the slalom (SL) and giant slalom (GS) races. Teammate Cheyenne Boissoneault held her own, securing 5th overall in the Open category. Lyric Arcand, brand new to racing, achieved her personal best skiing in the High school women's category.
Chippewa's Maxwell Hong was just short of the Open Men's title, scoring a silver medal in the slalom, GS and overall category. The grade 10 student was narrowly defeated by Mathieu Beauchamp, a senior student-athlete and FIS racer from College Notre-Dame. In the High School categories, students from Chippewa and Widdifield were competitive, with multiple top 10 results.
A trio of Wildcat women from Widdifield was the fastest team in the women's GS event. A speedy Sydney Doidge earned a silver medal in the GS, with teammate Lauren Paleczny closely following in 4th. Widdifield's Leah Dufresne, was 4th in the SL, and 5th overall. Chippewa's Breanna Brisson, new to racing, scored top ten results in the high school women's category; she was 6th in the GS and posted top 10 times in the SL. Teammate Adeolu Agboola who is also new to racing was 19th in the SL.
On the High School men's side, Chippewa's Alastair Bridges placed 4th overall. Teammate Mason Norman was in the top 15 for GS. Both are new to racing.
Scollard's Mikayla Cornthwaite will be the sole North Bay athlete attending OFSAA at Osler Bluff Ski Club next week and will be competing against young women from grades 9-12 from across the province.
Students who are interested in competing in Alpine Ski Racing next year should talk to their schools for more information.
