ALPINE:

Nolin, Woodhouse soar in slalom at K2 championships

March 25, 2011 — Alpine Canada  

COLLINGWOOD, Ont. — Quebec skier Frédérique Nolin finished off the President's Choice K2 Canadian Championships with her first win of the week in the slalom race Friday.

Nolin, of the Skibec team, crossed the finish line with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 32.83 seconds.

"It's my first time on the podium this week and slalom is my force. It feels really good to be on the podium. I've had a couple of top 10s this week but couldn't crack the top three. At least I know that all the work I have put in this year wasn't for nothing.

"I woke up this morning telling myself that I could do this. I left the start gate smiling and I was smiling the whole way down, and it went really well."

Second place went to Emma Woodhouse of the Craigleith Ski Club in Ontario, who clocked a time of 1:33.41. This is also Woodhouse's first time on the podium this week.

"My race was pretty good. I liked the courses. They were really turny and that's what I'm good at," said a beaming Woodhouse. "I feel great. Making the top three is amazing. I was really focused on what I needed to do and did it."

The podium was rounded out by Osler Bluff Ski Club's Lizzie Currie, who was in the top three for the fourth time in Friday's slalom. She won the giant slalom Wednesday, finished second in Monday's super-combined and third in Tuesday's super-G race.

"It was a pretty good race. I pushed through the slalom race and I'm really happy with the result," said Currie. "The whole Canadian Championships series went really well."

Following the President's Choice Canadian K2 Championships, the top performing Canadian skiers will be invited to participate in the IRIS Vision to the Top Camp as well as the Whistler Cup, in Whistler, B.C. Held annually in April, the Whistler Cup is an international ski race for the world's best 13- and 14-year-old athletes. Many Whistler Cup participants have gone on to successful careers on the World Cup circuit.

"I'm excited to go to the Whistler Cup," said Currie. "It will be a good time. I would like to podium in giant slalom or super-combined, but basically I just want to have a good time and ski well."

The men also competed in a slalom race Friday, with Wyatt Queirolo of the USA finishing first with a time of 1:28.96.

Top Canadian Gregory Kofman of the Craigleith Ski Club finished second with a time of 1:29.11.

"It was a great day," said Kofman. "My second run was awesome, I went for it. I had a little swipe-off in my first run and finished sixth but I pushed it really hard in the second run. I had a good race and gave everything I had."

Lambert Quezel of Saint-Sauveur, Que., finished in third with a time of 1:29.32. This is Quezel's third podium, after finishing first in Thursday's giant slalom and third in the super-combined Tuesday.

"I came here with less confidence than I had hoped for," said Quezel. "My provincial races in Quebec didn't go too well. I really wanted to have a good Canadians and I achieved that goal. I worked hard all year for this.

"I haven't been consistent in slalom this year, but today I managed to put two solid runs together."

As the races came to a close Friday, the buzz on the slopes was about who would take the Provincial cup, Quebec or Ontario. The two leading provinces were within 20 points of the coveted cup as of Friday morning. Standings will not be made official until 8:30 p.m. during the closing banquet.

Swiss Chalet will be presenting an East vs. West dual under the lights Friday night, where the provinces will go head-to-head in this friendly competition. Provincial flags, live commentary and incredibly fast dual racing will cap off what has been a perfect week of winter racing for 178 talented 13- and 14-year-old racers.