By Dan Plouffe
The Nepean Knights senior boys’ nordic skiing team has just one thing on their mind for the OFSAA nordic skiing championships Feb. 22-24 in Huntsville – redemption.
It was a heartbreaking defeat by the slimmest of margins last year when Huntsville edged Nepean at the finish line by the tip of a ski to claim a relay gold medal on the Knights’ home course at Nakkertok Cross Country Ski Club in Cantley.
“Definitely it sucked,” recalls Knights anchor Ben Taylor. “It bothered me for a little bit, but we’re at their home course now, so maybe we’ll turn the tables this year.”
Nepean led the way for most of the relay, including up the final hill before a downhill drop to the finish area, but the team “didn’t play it very smart” by not re-waxing their skis after a race the previous weekend, Taylor notes.
“We figured we could kind of win it on pure strength and talent, and they ended up having some pretty fast skiers,” adds the 2011 OFSAA individual bronze medalist.
The Knights don’t want to make a similar underestimation this year, but they realistically view skiers from Thunder Bay as their top challenger for gold based on results from the Ontario Cup club circuit so far this season.
“If Thunder Bay flies down, they’ll be a tough team,” explains Patrick van Walraven. “We were all in Grade 11 last year and (Huntsville’s skiers) were in Grade 12, so they’ve moved on and we’re still here.”
Having another year’s training and experience under their belt is another asset for the team that also includes Chris Mueller, Chris Weller, Grade 11 Jordan McTaggart, and potentially his older brother Duncan, depending on how his recovery from a deep thigh bruise progresses.
“I think we’re obviously all faster now,” says Taylor, whose team is favoured for west conference and city titles at their Feb. 8 and Feb. 15 championship meets.
Huntsville will add a special touch to this year’s OFSAA as part of the winter sports festival it is hosting that week, which also includes the Ontario Parasport Winter Games. The town’s main street will be shut down to create the finish area for the relays – the first time any of the Knights athletes will have raced in that type of setting.
“That’s awesome,” says Weller, who is targeting a top-5 or podium placement individually at OFSAA. “That should make it fun. That’ll be really exciting.”
Other strong candidates for top provincial performances from national capital schools include Glebe’s Colin Foley, Lisgar’s Ben Wilkinson-Zan, and Brookfield’s Alexandra Joy.