Ottawa, ON - Nipissing Lakers Nordic Ski wrapped up a successful race weekend in Ottawa at 2026 Ontario University Athletics Championships.
 
The Nipissing Lakers Nordic team skiers raced their hearts out this last weekend. We witnessed heroic efforts, especially in the team relay. The women's team relay was especially tight, with Brooke Ailey hammering off the start to put the team in a good position, Seanie Craig putting in the race of her life to keep the team in the game, and Mia Smith going all gas, no brakes to bridge the gap, pass Lakehead, and sprint to the line with Carleton, coming up just short in 4th.
 
Mia also finished 1 spot shy of the medals in the mass start classic and individual skate races, proving herself to be one of the fittest female varsity skiers in the province, with tonnes of promise left to develop as a young skier. She and her teammate Brooke earned OUA All-Star status and are hungry for more.
 
On the men's side, Nathan Golisky, Ewan Pengra and Eily Woodman put in consistent top 20 performances, with untapped potential left in this young team. The team spirit was strong, the student-athletes were there for each other, and they skied beyond their limits, knowing that they depended on each other for success. 
 
The Lakers competed in three different races from Feb. 20-22 and had fantastic showings in all events. Here is a look at how Nipissing finished.
 
Friday, Feb. 20 - 15KM Mass Start Classic
Women
4 - Mia Smith - 52:08.6
7 - Brooke Ailey - 53:01.5
16 - Charlotte Ailey - 56:10.4
27 - Seanie Craig - 1:00:28.5
31 - Alieya Pires - 1:02:40.5
Men
14 - Nathan Golisky - 44:55.4
18 - Ewan Pengra - 45:51.0
22 - Eily Woodman - 46:53.4
26 - Morgan Young - 48:18.4
31 - Cooper Legler - 49:56.3
34 - Oliver Czerny-Holownia - 51:19.5
51 - Micah Peake - 1:04:51.1
 
Saturday, Feb. 21 - 9KM Interval Start Free Technique (3x3KM)
Women
4 - Mia Smith - 27:25.8
12 - Brooke Ailey - 29:37.4
20 - Seanie Craig - 30:46.6
42 - Alieya Pires - 34:06.5
Men
13 - Nathan Golisky - 25:22.3
17 - Ewan Pengra - 25:34.7
22 - Eily Woodman - 26:09.4
28 - Morgan Young - 26:37.4
34 - Oliver Czerny-Holownia - 27:32.5
38 - Cooper Legler - 28:18.5
58 - Micah Peake - 35:03.0
 
Sunday, Feb. 22 - 9KM Free Relay (3x3KM)
Women
4 - Brooke Ailey/Seanie Craig/Mia Smith - 25:42.3
Men
6 - Nathan Golisky/Eily Woodman/Ewan Pengra - 22:45.6
9 - Oliver Czerny-Holownia/Cooper Legler/Morgan Young - 24:29.1
Exhibition
11 - Charlotte Ailey/Alieya Pires/Micah Peake - 29:08.0
 
Both Lakers Women and Men's teams finished 4th in the OUA team standings for this event.
 
The team now recovers and will have some fun with local races this weekend, preparing for the Canadian National Ski Championships happening March 9-14 in Quebec.
 
#GoLakers