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Whitehorse cross-country skier Knute Johnsgaard didn鈥檛 qualify this morning for a spot on the national Under-23 team, but he came close.

Coach Alain Masson of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club said Johnsgaard would have preferred of course to be the top junior this morning in the 30-kilometre skiathlon event at the Haywood NorAM races in Duntroon, Ont.

He was a hair off but his performance was strong and Masson is confident the 22-year-old will qualify this weekend to represent Canada at the world U-23 championships in Kazakhstan.

鈥淚t was a good race for him,鈥� Masson said in an interview from the wax room in Duntroon. 鈥淣ow he just has to do well on Saturday and Sunday and he should be good.鈥�

Johnsgaard finished fourth overall, just over a minute behind the winner who was skiing in the senior men鈥檚 category but just 15 seconds off the winning U-23 time of one hour, 32 minutes and 11 seconds.

Colin Abott of Whitehorse finished the 30-kilometre event 17th in a field of 42, with a time of 1:36:43, just over four minutes behind Johnsgaard.

In the senior women鈥檚 15-kilometre classic race this morning, national team member Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse won with a time of 50:7.

Whitehorse鈥檚 Dahria Beatty, who was named to the national U-23 team just before Christmas along with Whitehorse鈥檚 Annah Hanthorn, finished fifth overall but third in the U-23 category, with a time of 52:33.

Whitehorse skier Kendra Murray finished the event fifth in the U-23 category in a time of 54:25, 12 seconds ahead of Hanthorn.

In the U-20 women鈥檚 10-kilometre skiathlon event, Adrienne Hynes finished 20th in a field of 36, with a time of 47:21, or six minutes behind the race winner.

In the U-20 men鈥檚 20-kilometre skiathlon, Whitehorse skiers Marcus Dueling and Caelan McLean finished 10th and 15th respectively in a field of 37, with times of 1:15:07 and 1:16:36. The winning time was 1:11:16.

Races at Duntroon continue through the weekend.