The Waterloo Warriors Nordic skiing team, comprised of Isaac Alexander-Cook, Orion Austrup, Gillian Cross, Sarah Cowan, Laura Deare, Hannah Goodings, and Claire Parrot, competed in the annual Ontario University Association Skiing Championship.
This year’s event, which took place from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26, was hosted by our very own University of Waterloo at the Midland Ski Club in Midland, Ontario.
Nordic skiing teams from universities across Ontario took part in a variety of events such as the men’s 10 km interval start free, the women’s 5 km interval start free, the men’s and women’s 3×3 free technique relay, the exhibition relay, the women’s 10 km mass start classic, and the men’s 15 km mass start classic.
Athletes were awarded gold, silver, and bronze for a top three finish. Although most events were dominated by top three finishes from the Lakehead and Carleton ski teams, the Warriors fought hard and finished seventh in the men’s team event, one spot above the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, and eighth in the women’s team event.
The women’s 3×3 free technique relay event saw the Warriors team of Sarah Cowan, Gillian Cross, and Hannah Goodings finish in a respectable ninth place. Cowan also had a top 20 finish in the women’s 5 km free event in which she finished eighteenth.
In addition, Colin Rhodes, the head coach of the Warriors Nordic Ski team was awarded and recognized as “Coach of the Year” in the OUA annual award distributions. This was the first time a Waterloo Warriors ski team head coach won the award in the history of the OUA Nordic ski records.
