Renner And Grey Win Pursuit At Sovereign Lakes

Source: Cross Country Canada

Vernon, B.C.—Sara Renner and George Grey kicked off the 2005 Haywood NorAm cross-country ski series with gold medal performances on the World Cup course at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre near Vernon, B.C. on Saturday.

Renner, of Canmore, Alta., blasted the field by nearly two minutes in the women’s 10 kilometre pursuit race which combines five kilometres of classic skiing followed by five kilometres of skate skiing. Athletes enter a transition area to change equipment in between the two disciplines.

“It was really important to get some competition on the World Cup course and I treated the race like it was a World Cup,” said the 29-year-old Renner. “I was really impressed with the course — it is quite tough and the climbs are challenging. I’m looking forward to getting a distance event here as well and it should be fun to compete in front of our country next month.”

Renner was joined on the women’s podium by Amanda Ammar, of Onoway, Alta., who finished second, while Dasha Gaiazova, of Montreal, rounded out the top-three just over two minutes off the pace. Ammar’s second-place finish was also the top junior performance on the day.

In the men’s 15-kilometre pursuit race, George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., took top honours after blasting around the World Cup track in a time of 43 minutes 20.9 seconds. Grey finished ahead of Canadian teammates, Dan Roycroft, of Port Sydney, Ont. (43:49.7); while Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., was third at 44:10.1.

Alex Harvey, of Mont Sainte-Anne, Que., won the junior division with a time of 45:01.2.

The Haywood NorAm series continues at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre on Sunday with the sprint races.

Top-5 Women Results:

1.Sara Renner, Canmore, Alta., 33:22.1; 2. Amanda Ammar, Onoway, Alta., 35:13.1; 3. Dasha Gaiazova, Montreal, 35:21.7; 4. Madeleine Williams, Edmonton, 35:27.9; 5. Sara Peters, Edmonton, 36:13.7.

Top-5 Men Results:

1. George Grey, Rossland, B.C., 43:2.9; 2. Dan Roycroft, Port Sydney, Ont., 4:49.7; 3. Chris Jeffries, Chelsea, Que., 44:10.1; 4. Drew Goldsack, Red Deer, Alta., 44:11.6; 5. Graham Nishikawa, Whitehorse, YK, 44:19.9.

Full Results at: www.zone4.ca or http://www.sovereignlake.com/race_results/index.html