FasterSkier

Tag: Harry Seaton

  • Cockney Nabs Third NorAm Sprint Victory (updated)

    Cockney Nabs Third NorAm Sprint Victory (updated)

    Canmore, 2012 Western Canadian Championships
    Jesse Cockney (AWCA) races to a sixth-place finish in the 15 k freestyle pursuit at the Western Canadian Championships in Canmore, Alberta, on Jan. 22. Photo courtesy of Angus Cockney.

    Note: This recap has been updated to include quotes from third-place finisher Harry Seaton.

    Heat after heat, Jesse Cockney may have been racing around the same 1.4-kilometer sprint course in Cantley, Quebec, but in his mind, he was at the U23 World Championships on Friday.

    Cockney, 22, had been trying to visualize what it would be like in Erzurum, Turkey, ever since he officially qualified for the U23 trip in mid January. It helped that the NorAm circuit provided a variety of terrain for the Alberta World Cup Academy member to practice tactics on.

    Two weeks ago at the Western Canadian Championships in Canmore, Alberta, Cockney faced a new course on his home turf, just as hilly as ever. Transitioning to the Eastern Championships on Friday, he discovered the Cantley course was similar to last year’s: flat and fast. That was good for Cockney; he won the freestyle sprint there last year.

    Aiming to hang back and ski relaxed, just like he did in the final a year ago, Cockney found ways to win his quarterfinal and semifinal. The second-fastest qualifier after Brent McMurtry (Pierre-Harvey NTC), Cockney primed himself for the A-final.

    Starting out in third or fourth, Cockney said in a phone interview that he made his way to second behind Drew Goldsack (Rocky Mountain Racers). At the final climb, Cockney saw his opportunity to overtake the leader and pushed the pace until the finish.

    Cockney went on to win the final – his third in five NorAm sprints this year – despite McMurtry’s push to stay with him. He nipped McMurtry at the line, and Harry Seaton (NDC Thunder Bay) crossed the line just behind them in third. It was Seaton’s best NorAm result of his career.

    “Brent and I were definitely right with each other on the last corner coming in with about 100 meters left,” Cockney said. “I had a couple solid free skates and I think I put a small gap on Brent and … I think [Harry was] pretty close.”

    “I just worked hard to put myself in a good position near the front,” Seaton wrote in an email. “[I] skied really smart and made the best of the opportunities that came my way. … Being a bigger guy I like the power courses.”

    Russell Kennedy (Canmore) was fourth and Graeme Killick (AWCA) finished fifth ahead of Goldsack, who had severe shoulder pain when someone stepped on his pole before the last climb. The two-time Olympian and World Cup skier has been coping with a rotator-cuff injury since crashing in the A-final at the NorAm sprint in Whistler, British Columbia.

    “I couldn’t put much power through my arm or move it very quickly for a few strides due to the pain,” Goldsack wrote in an email. “By that time it was too late, a gap had opened up. I was also hurting quite a bit at that point so I wasn’t able to close the group.”

    Cockney said the pace in the A-final was especially slow from the start and probably ended up being the slowest heat of the day. That made timing more important. Cockney was still learning how to push the pace early without blowing up.

    “I have led in a lot of [heats] and kind of got burned at the end,” Cockney said. “[I was] just trying to relax and let someone else lead and make moves in smart places and put myself in a spot to kind of come down to that last 100 meters and trust my legs.”

    Perhaps just as importantly, Cockney trusted his skis and said they helped determine when to make his moves on the hard-packed course.

    Best known for his distance results, McMurtry exploded out of the gate for his first-career NorAm qualifying win. He went on to nab second place for the sixth time in a NorAm race this season.

    After winning the quarterfinal and placing second to Killick in the semifinal, McMurtry wrote in an email the final went as he’d hoped.

    “I wanted to come down the last hill and into the stadium in second position and slingshot around to take the win,” he wrote. “This all went [according] to plan other than I was not able to get around Jess. He was pretty fast coming into the finish so I had to settle for second.”

    For McMurtry, the result was a good start to the three-day mini tour, in which he is trying to secure his top spot in the NorAm standings. Kevin Sandau (AWCA) as the runner-up was eighth in Friday’s sprint behind B-final winner Matt Wylie (AWCA). Dudley Coulter (NDC Thunder Bay) was ninth and Pate Neumann (AWCA) finished 10th.

    ***

    Competition resumes Saturday with the women’s 10 k and men’s 15 k freestyle interval starts.

    Men’s overall sprint results

  • Cockney Keeps Momentum Going, Wins NorAm Sprint in Rossland

    Cockney Keeps Momentum Going, Wins NorAm Sprint in Rossland

    Jesse Cockney (AWCA) celebrates winning the 1.6 k NorAm freestyle sprint 'A' final at Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, British Columbia. Brent McMurtry in the green leader's bib (behind) was second, Kevin Sandau (right) was third, and Michael Somppi (left) was fourth. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

    ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Anyone who caught a glimpse of Jesse Cockney on Saturday probably saw him smiling — except for when he was racing, in which case he was concentrating.

    The first day of NorAm freestyle competition at Black Jack Ski Club started out well enough for the 22-year-old Alberta World Cup Academy skier, as Cockney won a sprint qualifier for the first time in his life.

    The fifth to start on a 1.6 k men’s course that several racers acknowledged as technical –with sharp corners and winding descents — Cockney clocked the fastest qualifying time in the NorAm Teck Sprint in 3:15.35. His teammate Phil Widmer ranked second, more than three seconds behind in the qualifier in 3:18.36.

    The top-dog status pushed Cockney farther, as he won two more rounds to reach the ‘A’ final. There, he kept his energy going all the way to the finish, where he extended his arms in front and behind him for a “first-down” victory gesture.

    The celebration was directed at a FasterSkier report from last weekend, which suggested Canadians didn’t know of Tim Tebow.

    “We’re all pretty big NFL fans,” Cockney said. “So I did the first down. We do watch football in Canada.”

    He was still smiling.

    For Cockney, the race affirmed that he wasn’t a slow qualifier. After narrowly qualifying in 30th in the U-23 World Championship sprints last year, he went on to place sixth. Finishing ahead of the pack early on Saturday gave him good vibes for the rest of the day.

    “I didn’t want to waste that feeling so I took advantage of it,” Cockney said.

    In the heats, Cockney stayed ahead of one crash involving Karl Nygren (CXC) in the first round. While Nygren, the 10th fastest qualifier, discovered he was too far back to make a run for the semifinal, Cockney moved on. Three heats later in the quarterfinals, Cockney’s teammates, Matt Wylie and Widmer, piled up in another crash.

    Wylie said Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) took a more direct line into a downhill corner, which pushed Wylie out.

    “That caught me off balance and Phil and I slammed into each other,” Wylie said. “I got pushed right into (Widmer’s) line.”

    Two of the AWCA’s top sprinters, Wylie and Widmer were disappointed to be eliminated, but they understood it was part of fast-and-furious short, skate races.

    “Everyone’s skiing on the same course,” Wylie said. “You control your own destiny, so you have to just ski as fast as you can and try to stay on your feet.”

    After qualifying in 13th, Wylie focused on how strong he felt, especially heading into Sunday’s 15 k freestyle mass start. Seeded second in the heats, Widmer said he took something from Saturday’s outcome.

    “That’s the thing about wanting to be in the front,” Widmer said after trailing closely behind Wylie, the leader, and Michael Somppi, who escaped the crash. “Lesson learned.”

    Watching his two teammates fall out of contention on a notoriously tricky corner, Cockney said he made a point to get out front.

    “I didn’t want to ski with anyone around the corners (to) make sure I stay on my feet,” Cockney said.

    NorAm Teck Sprint, Rossland
    Overall runner-up Brent McMurtry (CNEPH) rounds a tight corner at the NorAm Teck Sprints in Rossland, British Columbia, on Saturday. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

    After Cockney, Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre placed second for the third straight race. Last weekend at Sovereign Lake, he was runner-up in both the NorAm classic sprint and 15 k classic individual start.

    “Jess was pretty speedy out there, (and I) didn’t have much to go with him,” McMurtry said of Saturday’s freestyle sprint. “I thought I skied pretty smart and conserved some energy early on.”

    It was the first time McMurtry qualified in a skate sprint in nearly two years. He was the fifth-fastest qualifier on Saturday.

    “It’s not necessarily a strength, but I like my chances in anything,” he said. “Yeah, second again, it would be nice to be on the top of the podium, and I think it’ll come. At the same time I’m pretty reasonably happy.”

    Kevin Sandau (AWCA) also achieved a personal best, placing third in the ‘A’ final just behind McMurtry, who edged him at the line. It was Sandau’s first appearance in that round.

    “I’ve never been in an ‘A’ final ever in a NorAm,” he said.

    Come to think of it, Sandau as last weekend’s defending NorAm distance champion, had never qualified in the top 10.

    “So it’s a pretty cool day for me,” he added. “I guess things turned out my way.”

    Kevin Sandau (AWCA) happy to finish third in his first 'A' final appearance at the NorAm Teck Sprints in Rossland, British Columbia, on Saturday. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

    Nearly three years ago in Rossland, Sandau won the NorAm freestyle sprint’s ‘B’ final to place seventh overall. He said the course played to his strengths of attacking hills and drafting.

    “I felt really strong today so I could make some moves and on the downhills, get a good draft and slingshot by people,” Sandau said. “So it seemed to work.”

    One of the racers who avoided an early pileup, Somppi of Thunder Bay’s National Development Centre ended up fourth overall for a career-best sprint result.

    As if he didn’t get enough of a workout in the four rounds, he had to run about half a kilometer from where he was staying to make the award’s ceremony. He thought they were later, and was alerted that they weren’t via a text message.

    “Coach picked me up halfway,” Somppi said. “I’m glad I made the photo though.”

    He also had some excitement out on the trails, moving ahead of Wylie, Widmer and Blackhorse-von Jess to advance to the semifinals. Blackhorse-von Jess also made it out of the round, but the six men in the heat finished particularly far apart.

    “It was wild,” Somppi said.

    Wylie and Widmer as teammates set a slow pace from the start, he said. In sixth place heading into the first climb, Somppi made a move to the front, which he said caught the others off guard.

    “Everyone got kind of anxious and wanted to get at the front,” he said. “We went four guys into that sharp corner, and it wasn’t meant to be. I managed to get around them and come through, so I was pretty happy.”

    Harry Seaton (NDC) notched a personal best in a NorAm sprint final, finishing fifth.

    “I skied the heats really well. … I didn’t really take the lead much, but passed in those tight sections and I’m glad how those finished,” Seaton said. “Because it’s such a high-speed course, people are going to be close. That’s something I feel I did well today, kind of taking a scan around before we come into a tight section and knowing where things are.”

    Blackhorse-von Jess was sixth, and the third-ranked qualifier, Frederic Touchette (CNEPH) was seventh after winning the ‘B’ final. Andy Shields (NDC) placed eighth, Kurtis Wenzel (RMR) was ninth, and Raphael Couturier (CNEPH) was 10th.

    Sam Naney (Methow) was 11th and Graeme Killick (AWCA) was 12th after making the ‘B’ final.

    Qualifier results from Zone4 Timing.