India Sherret Top Canadian at Ski Cross Junior World Championships in Italy

VALMALENCO, ITA (March 20, 2012) – Robert Dunn and India Sherret were the top Canadians, finishing sixth and eighth in ski cross at the FIS Freestyle Skiing Junior World Championships, in Valmalenco, Italy, on Tuesday.

Dunn, of Calgary, Alta., and Sherret, of Cranbrook, B.C., were among six Canadians who competed in ski cross at the world junior competition.

“I think my race went pretty well,” said Sherret, 15. “I think the world juniors were a bit of an eye-opener to the competition that I am going to see in future years. I am happy with my result but I made a couple mistake in my heats. I’ve figured out that there are certain techniques that I need to work on to improve.”

Sherret went out in the semifinal round.

“India mistimed a couple of the important jumps and was unable to carry the needed speed to make a pass,” said Alberta Ski Cross head coach Stanley Hayer. “She ended up in the small final but met a similar fate and was unable to make any passes.”

Dunn also took part in the small final.

“Robert worked his way through his heats with patience and passing,” Hayer said. “He did a great job getting into the draft and waiting until the last possible second to execute a pass. In his third heat Robert had to deal with some minor contact and it was enough to slow down his momentum and to send him to the small final. In the small final, Robert once again found his passing form and squeezed his way into a fantastic sixth place.”

Dunn was thrilled with his world junior experience.

“The race went great,” said Dunn, 16. “I had a terrible start every run but I managed to pull off some amazing passes, just like (national team member) Chris Del Bosco. It was a long enough course that a lot of things could go wrong, or right in my case. I have never had so much fun at an event.”

Other Canadians competing in Valmalenco were Kevin MacDonald, of Mississauga, Ont., who was 17th, Calgary’s Mate Herauf, who was 18th, Tyler Murray, of Whistler, B.C., who was 25th and Whistler’s Sarah Lepine, who was 11th.

“The course was really fun and there was a great atmosphere with so much international competition,” said Murray, 19. “I skied well but would have like to do a lot better. I am ready to train hard so I can come back next year and do well.”

All six Canadians made it through the qualification rounds held Tuesday prior to the final heats. Dunn was fifth in men’s qualifying, MacDonald was 10th, Herauf was 12th and Murray was 14th. On the women’s side, Lepine was 13th and Sherret was 14th.

Hayer was pleased with the outcome of the competition.

“All the athletes had a great experience and were able to see the competitive nature of ski cross athletes from other countries,” Hayer said. “All-in-all it was a successful event with some excellent results.”