The Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club is making a name for itself as a club to be reckoned with, after continuing a stellar season with a number of podium performances at the 2011 B.C. Championships, held February 19 and 20 in Kamloops.
Coach Chris Werrell said the team is doing incredibly well - racers not yet winning medals are still coming fairly close.
“We’re not having to look all the way down the results page to find our club,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before they have their breakthrough and step up onto the podium.”
In team relay racing, BV’s midget boys team of David Walker, Hamish Woods and Gabriel Price finished third in their race. A second BV team of Bryson Pawluk, Michael Wilford and Cody Askew took sixth place in the same event. The junior women’s team of Cara McCulloch, Kaileen McCulloch and Kate Woods took the gold in their relay. In senior men’s racing, Werrell was joined by Alex Woods and Craig Osborn for a third place finish.
In individual racing, the team also fared well. Hamish Woods took second place in the PW Boys race. In the Midget Boys race, Gabriel Price finished second, with David Walker in third. In the Juvenile Girls race, Kathleen Woods took the gold. In the Junior Girls race, Kaileen McCulloch finished in fourth. In the Junior Women race, Cara McCulloch took second place.
The 2011 B.C. Cup Series Aggregate Awards were also recently announced, and Werrell said the results prove the Bulkley Valley team is “really strong, and only getting stronger.”
Hamish Woods took second place in the Pee Wee Boys 1998 category. In Midget Boys, David Walker took top spot in the 1997 group, while Gabriel Price was first in the 1996 category. Robyn Price finished in third for the Midget Girls 1998 group. In Juvenile Girls 1996, Kate Woods finished in first. In Junior Girls 1993, Kaileen McCulloch finished first, while Kayleigh Cuell took third. Cara McCulloch finished first in Junior Women 1991.
Next up for Bulkley Valley is the Haywood 2011 Ski Nationals, in Canmore from March 12 to 19. A total of 10 skiers will be competing.
“I have a lot of confidence in all the kids going down to Canmore. Their focus is definitely on the medals,” said Werrell.