The University of Toronto Varsity Blues Nordic ski team travelled to North Bay, Ont. over the weekend (Jan17-18) to compete in the first OUA qualifying race of the 2009-10 season. 

The Blues were in for a tough time as the course was extremely steep and had many hills for the skiers to contend with. Despite the challenging course, the Blues performed very well in the women’s 10km freestyle. 

Erin Mallinger (Sault St. Marie, Ont.) led U of T, finishing in 14th place with a time of 17:37, 5:29 after winner Mary Thompson from Carleton University. Kate Sauks (Owen Sound, Ont.) and Mary Qiu (Bolton, Ont.) followed up to finish within the top 25. 

First-year skier Patrick Monette (Oakville, Ont.) led Toronto’s men in the 15km freestyle that afternoon, finishing in 20th place. Team Captain Aaron Barter (Almonte, Ont.) was not far behind in 26th place, followed by Ian Weir (Stratford, Ont.) in 32nd. 

The Blues went on to compete in the technique course on Sunday. Granular snow near freezing meant difficult waxing conditions, thus the racers had to adjust their techniques to adapt to less than ideal situations. 

In the 9km race, Barter took 19th place and was just 3:56 behind winner Colin Abbot of Carleton University. Monette again placed within the top 25. 

In the 6km women’s technique course, Sauks came through in 16th place, 3:34 behind repeat-winner Thompson, while Erin Mallinger swept in just 14 seconds later to nab the 17th position. Notably, Hilary Mallinger and Qui placed within the top 30. 

Full Results 

The Varsity Blues return to action on Saturday, January 30th as the travel to Nakkertok to compete in the second round of qualifiers. 

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.