Feb 13: Tough loss for Bombers
The Batawa K2 Bombers, coached by Mark Kellar, finished their final scheduled race of the season at Skyloft last weekend with a tough 273-261 loss to Glacier B from Mount St. Louis Moonstone, but Batawa skiers did manage a silver and two bronze medals.
Kurtis Wright had his best ski of the season, coming a close second to earn the silver. Christopher Duncan captured the bronze, which is his first medal this season. Angelique Belanger grabbed a bronze medal on the girls side.
K1 DRAGONS
Bitter cold and an icy course could not freeze the K1 Batawa Dragons’ spirit as the team made a strong performance at Brimacombe (Oshawa Kirby), facing the Devil’s Elbow Renegades and the host Brimacombe Thunder.
Coaches Pat Burchat’s and Tom Villemaire’s focus on skills paid off as the Dragons posted a strong second-place finish behind the Renegades, but ahead of the Thunder. Patrick Burchat, Zoe Gram, Henryk Luczynski, Hope Saunders, Jordon Cohen, and Margaret Pedersen posted strong times for the Dragons.
This weekend, the Dragons will have another opportunity to showcase their improving skills in the Southern Ontario semi-finals.
K2 BANDITS
The Batawa K2 Bandits finished up their regular season race schedule at Georgian Peaks in Collingwood.
Due to an early morning snowstorm, the race was delayed by approximately one hour while all of the teams helped to clear the excessive snow from the course.
Andrew Brown led the Bandits in the male division with a combined time of 86.39, earning him 36 points and fourth place. Jared Taylor gained 30 points for the team and a fifth-place position with a time of 92.29.
Caroline Burchat brought home a fourth-place overall finish in the female division, taking home 36 points with a combined time of 85.88; Natalie Wannamaker garnered 32 points with a combined time of 93.23, putting her in fifth place.
Teammate Elizabeth Hurley skied to a sixth-place finish for 30 points with a total of 106.41. Olivia Podscianski also secured 28 points for the team netting her a seventh-place finish with a combined time of 111.36.
The final tally of the race was Mansfield Leopards 302, Batawa Bandits 192.
Semi-finals begin this weekend, but the location has yet to be determined.
K1 TIGERS
The Batawa K1 Tigers travelled to Hidden Valley Ski Club in Huntsville for their fourth race of the season.
Tigers were teamed-up with the host team, Muskoka Blurr. The home hill advantage proved too much and the Blurr went on to defeat the Tigers, 306-216, handing Batawa its first loss this season.
Scoring points for the Tigers were Mirisha Russett, fourth; Hannah Merajavec, fifth; Megan McLean, sixth; and Julia Press, seventh, for the girls.
Eric Cholasta scored fifth, Taylor Russett, sixth, and Liam Conroy, seventh, for the boys.
Batawa coaches called the course a technical and demanding Kombi layout.
J WHITE LIGHTNING
The Batawa J White Lightning celebrated their first victory of the season at Heights of Horseshoe Ski Club.
The J White racers ran a slalom on a very technical course and defeated Snow Valley with a score of 251-213.
For the boys, in second place with the silver was Michael Rae, in third place was Nathan Jianopoulos with the bronze, and in fourth place was Andrew Tolmie.
For the girls, Vanessa Watts placed fourth and Emily Fryer placed fifth. Since this race was the last of the regular season, the J White racers will be training this week in preparation for the semi-finals this weekend.
Feb 7: Batawa skiers batle best in Ontario
Four athletes represented the Batawa Ski Racing Team at the annual Alpine Ontario South Division (AOSD) All-Star Classic held recently at Blue Mountain in Collingwood and Horseshoe Valley, near Barrie.
Amy Park, Angelique Belanger, Kurtis Wright and David Coates — all members of the Batawa K2 Bombers — were selected to compete with other top skiers from 24 other clubs from across the province.
Blue Mountain played host to the giant slalom event while skiers tested their mettle at Horseshoe Valley for the slalom.
At the same time, the AOSD J-Division All-Star Classic was being held at Glen Eden in Milton where Batawa was represented by two skiers — Emily Fryer and Nathan Jianopoulos.
BATAWA K1 TIGERS
At the Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood, the Batawa K1 Tigers earned three medals in regular-season provincial league competition.
Mirisha Russett was fastest female on the hill, capturing the gold medal in her category, while Batawa teammates Megan McLean (silver) and Eric Cholasta (bronze) also turned in outstanding runs.
Going up against the Heights of Horseshoe in the overall team competition, Batawa finished on top, 269-251.
Also earning points for the Tigers were fourth-place finishers Julia Press and Liam Conroy; Nathan Lamain, fifth; Taylor Russett, sixth; Hanna Merjavec, seventh; and William Rae and Ava Guse, both with clean runs.
Batawa coaches reported that Tigers’ parents were singled out for “most supportive cheering squad” honours.
Next competition is Sunday at Hidden Valley in Huntsville.
BATAWA PREDATORS
Competing in their third race of the season, at Kitchener, the Batawa Predators went head-to-head with Horseshoe Valley. Leading the way for the locals with point-producing runs were Jillian Madden, Meg Bashall, Maggie Chalk, Nikolas MacPherson, Lydia Schmoll and Ellas Cooney.
BATAWA WILDCATS
The Batawa Nancy Greene Wildcats raced on the Heights of Horseshoe near Barrie, where coaches said all skiers had successful runs in the panel giant slalom. The group included Abby McLean, Taryn McDougall, Annissa Bray, Mackenzie Chapman, Hannah O’Boyle Kelly, Chloe O’Boyle Kelly, Reena Lui, Paddy Brady, Josh Lamoureux, Jake Hollinger and Isaac Hollinger.
Batawa defeated Milton, 240-194.
Jan 30: Batawa Bombers own the podium
The Batawa K-2 Bombers made it a clean sweep during provincial downhill ski competition last weekend at Mount St. Louis Moonstone.
Bombers took a broom to the podium, claiming all six medals in boys and girls competition: Amy Park, gold; Renee Lamoureux, silver; Angelique Belanger , bronze; Petru-ioan Obreja, gold; Kurtis Wright, silver; and David Coates, bronze.
Rebecca Fryer was fourth in the girls race as Batawa clobbered the host Chedoke team with a final overall score of 306-158.
In their second contest of the weekend, Bombers (13-14-year-olds) faced some challenging hill conditions and finished second to Glacier (268) with 252 points. Leading the locals were Park, with her second gold medal, and Obreja, with a bronze.
K-2 BANDITS
Competing in giant slalom at Mansfield Ski Club near Alliston, the Batawa K-2 Bandits got a gold medal performance from Caroline Burchat — her second of the season. Burchat turned in a combined time of 1:07.17 to win the girls race while her Batawa teammate, Natalie Wannamaker, captured the bronze medal with a 1:13.79 clocking.
Also scoring points for the females was Elizabeth Hurley, with 30, pushing Batawa’s total to 182.
“It was great to see the girl powerhouse at work,” said Bandits coach, Brian Wannamaker. “It really is a whole team effort involved in getting racers to the podium. Everyone is doing their part to push each other to their respective personal best times.”
On the boys side, Jared Tayler, 32, and Matthew Doxtator, 30, were top point-getters for Batawa but Milton took the team-on-team title with 284 points.
K-1 TIGERS
The Batawa K-1 Tigers competed in their second race of the season, at the Alpine Ski Club at Blue Mountain, where Mirisha Russett grabbed a gold medal. Megan McLean and Eric Cholasta were both silver medallists.
Earning points were Julia Press, fifth; Hannan Merajac, sixth; Taylor Russett, fifth; and Liam Conroy, seventh.
Overall, Batawa defeated the host Chicopee (Kitchener) club in a close contest, 262-260.
J WHITES
The Batawa J White squad travelled to Snow Valley near Barrie where Michael Rae won a bronze medal in the boys giant slalom. Picking up points were Vanessa Watts, Nathan Jianopoulos, Emily Fryer and Adam Searle. Batawa, with 175 points, finished third to Snow Valley (263) and Mansfield (239).
Next race is in two weeks at Heights of Horseshoe.
WILDCATS
The Batawa Wildcats raced at Hidden Valley in Huntsville, finishing second to the hometown Mules, 286-183. Point-producers for the Wildcats were Annissa Bray, Paddy Brady, Mackenzie Chapman, Reena Lui, Joshua Lamoureux, Hannah O’Boyle-Kelly, Chloe O’Boyle-Kelly, Jake Hollinger and Isaac Hollinger.
K-1 DRAGONS
With coaches Patrick Burchat and Tom Villemaire continuing to stress technique over speed in a move they believe will serve their young skiers well over the long haul, the Batawa K-1 Dragons faced a strong Glacier team at Devil’s Elbow where the locals came second, 316-216. Dragons got some strong runs from Henryk Luczynski, Lauren Taylor, Margaret Pedersen and Shawn McMurter.
Next race is two weeks away at Brimacombe where opposition will be provided by the host Brimacombe Thunder and the Devil’s Elbow Renegades.
Jan 23: Batawa Tigers take downhill hat trick
Batawa Ski Race Team members scored a downhill hat trick during provincial competition last weekend at Georgian Peaks near Collingwood.
Taylor Russett, gold; Eric Cholasta, silver; and Natham Lamain, bronze, all captured medals for the K-1 Tigers.
Also earning points for Batawa were Mirisha Russett, fourth, Megan McLean, fifth, and Hannah Merjavec and Liam Conroy, each with a sixth-place finish.
Tigers and the host G.P. Plutonium wound up in a 261-261 tie at day’s end, with all racers — friend and foe — surviving some tough, icy conditions.
Tigers return to action Saturday at the Alpine Club, also near Collingwood.
K-2 BANDITS
At Snow Valley, near Barrie, the Batawa K-2 Bandits got a bronze medal performance from Mathew Doxtator, who scored a combined 1:25.15 to finish third among males.
Natalie Wannamaker also earned a bronze medal, clocking a combined 1:11.09 in the female division.
Other K-2 Bandits on the scoresheet were Elizabeth Hurley and Jared Taylor, with 36 points apiece.
The competition featured a slew of disqualifications, said Batawa coach, Brian Wannamaker, who happily reported that his skiers were not among the majority who did.
“We were lucky,” said Wannamaker. “We lost only two racers compared to our competition, Georgian Peaks, which lost seven out of 11.”
Wannamaker said good snow made for good times.
“Snow conditioins on the course held up during 124 runs by 62 racers,” he said. “It was great to see such fast times. But, along with the quick runs, were a lot of DQs due to missed or straddled gates. Approximately 20 racers DQ’ed.”
Despite their mostly clean skiing, Batawa racers still finished 42 points behind G.P.
Other teams in the competition hailed from Heights of Horseshoe, North York/Snow Valley, Mansfield and Milton Heights.
K-1 DRAGONS
Coached by Pat Burchat, the Batawa K-1 Dragons travelled to Mount St. Louis-Moonstone where they faced a talented Glacier Aureole team. Dragons, which feature 11-year-old skiers, managed to bump up their overall points total from a week ago, to 220 (Glacier scored 302), with Jessica Caron capturing a bronze medal for Batawa.
Jaclyn Manderville, Skylor Reissnor and Jordan Cohen also posted noteworthy times.
On Sunday, Dragons are at Devil’s Elbow.
J-WHITES
The Batawa J-Whites team opened its regular season schedule at Glen Eden in Milton. Coached by Austin Watts, the team faced opponents from the host Milton team and Glacier. Final tallies were: Glacier, 267; Milton, 236; Batawa, 183.
Michael Rae earned a silver medal with 45 points while Andrew Tolmie, Adam Searle and John Birchard also scored points for Batawa.
Returning home, the J-Whites hosted Mansfield in a giant slalom contest, dropping a 306-208 final score. Vanessa Watts, Nathan Jianopoulos, Emily Fryer and Jacob Barnett-Hope piled up points for Batawa.
J-Whites are at Snow Valley Saturday.
Jan 16: Skiers hit the slopes
Count members of the Batawa Ski Club among those who were happy with last weekend’s snowfall in the Quinte region.
The mostly green winter in the area hasn’t made for ideal training conditions for the local ski racers, but that was hardly evident in some strong performances turned in by Batawa athletes on the road last weekend.
Seven travelling teams are representing Batawa this season, with six of them competing for the first time in 2012. The lone exception were the K1 Tigers (11- and 12-year-olds), who start their season this weekend.
Caroline Burchat of the K-2 Bandits led all Batawa skiers with a gold medal and high score of 50 points while competing at The Heights of Horseshoe, near Barrie.
Here’s how Batawa skiers fared:
K-2 BOMBERS
Coached by Mark Kellar, the locals skied a tricky slalom course against Skyloft at Hidden Valley where four Batawa competitors earned medals. Amy Park won silver and Renee Lamoureaux captured a bronze in girls competition while Kurtis Wright (silver) and Petru-ioan Obreja (bronze) both medalled on the boys side.
Final score: Batawa 232, Skyloft 232.
K-2 BANDITS
Along with Burchat’s gold in the girls competition, Batawa’s Natalie Wannamaker also hit the podium. She took silver with 45 points.
Other scorers were Elizabeth Hurley, 32; Olivia Podscianski, 30; Jared Taylor, 30; Andrew Brown, 28; and Mathew Doxtator, 26.
Final score: Heights of Horseshoe 279, Batawa 241.
“I was proud of the combined scores at our first race,” said Bandits coach, Brian Wannamaker. “Everyone skied two consistent runs, which were needed in the K-2 scoring category. It’s a good foundation to build the rest of the season on.”
PREDATORS
Competing at Horseshoe Vally near Barrie, and coached by Julie and David McPherson, the locals faced some stiff rivals in severely cold conditions. Batawa competed against Cobble Hills, scoring 141 points against 219. Leading the Batawa team were Jillian Madden, Maggie Chalk, Meg Bashall, Nikolas McPherson, Ella Cooney and Lydia Schmoll.
K-1 DRAGONS
At Hockley Valley near Orangeville, Batawa skiers kicked-off their season in icy conditions that made for a challenging run. It proved to be a tough day for the locals who managed 184 points, finishing behind the Devil’s Elbow Renegades (210) and Mount St. Louis-Moonstone (292). Strong runs came from Hope Saunders, Zoe Gram, Patrick Burchat and William Rae.
WILDCATS
Batawa’s Nancy Greene Team gave Snow Vally all it could handle, finishing just two points behind the host club, 216-214.
