Day two of the Arctic Winter Games in Mat-Su, Alaska is over and the ulus have begun to flow for Team NT.
It was a four-ulu day for the biathletes with one gold, two silver and one bronze around the necks. Carys Lyall of Yellowknife was the winner of the U15 girls 3-km snowshoe biathlon event in a time of 26:18.5. Sophia Touesnard of Hay River was right behind her to finish second and earn the silver in a time of 27:08.2.
Maisey Murray of Yellowknife was second in the U18 girls 5-km snowshoe biathlon event in a time of 43:54.8 to snag silver.
The bronze ulu winner was Hay River’s Jaxin Coombs as he claimed third place in the U15 boys 5-km ski biathlon race in a time of 20:51.5.
Coach Chuck Lirette said trusting the training was the reason they did as well as they did.
“We’re always telling the kids to remember what they’ve done to prepare,” she said. “You know the route and the range you’re shooting at is the same as in Hay River or Yellowknife or wherever you’re doing it. You’ve shot hundreds or thousands of bullets to prepare and the paddles are going to go up just like they do back home if you hit them.”
Some athletes like Lyall are competing in their very first AWG and the weight of the moment can sometimes get to a young athlete.
But Lirette said his athletes have done a good job keeping their heads in the game.
“Around 70 per cent of biathlon is mental, I would say,” he said. “It’s all about having a good focus and having the heads in the game.”
The biathletes are staying in Palmer, Alaska, which is part of what makes up the Mat-Su Borough, but the competition cenue is in Anchorage, around one hour away.
It makes for an early rise to prepare for the day, but Lirette said the drive in makes it all worth it.
“It’s a very scenic drive with two mountain ranges, so it makes it easy to look at,” he said.
Shawna McLeod was another gold uluit for the NWT as she took top spot in the open women’s stick pull in Dene games, while Canan Olvera of Fort Smith and Robin Catholique each won a silver ulu in the same discipline. James Williams of Yellowknife scored himself a silver medal in Arctic sports. He was second in the open men’s triple jump with a best jump of 9.925 metres.
Over in snowshoeing, Elliott Fast was a bronze medalist in the boys U15 2.5-km short course race in a time of 14:01.50.
Speedskating is always an event where the NWT performs well and that was no exception on Monday as Lochlan Dunn of Yellowknife won gold in the U19 boys 1,000-metre event. Seiys McEachern of Yellowknife was also a winner, scoring gold in the U15 boys 1,000-metre race.
Their teammates, Byran Clinton and Kali Skauge, each claimed a silver in their respective 1,000-metre events.
In snowboarding, Grayson Marchiori of Yellowknife and Carolyn Fergusson of Fort Smith each won bronze in the rail jam discipline.