Amanda Thomson overcame a 14.7-second deficit last weekend to win her first Don Sumanik trophy.

The junior skier finished Saturday’s 7.5-kilometre classic race in 29:20.3, beating the race leader Marit Rjabov by almost three minutes.

Warm race conditions were a far cry from the first weekend of racing in December, which saw the classic race rescheduled to this past weekend. A cold snap and a busy race season delayed the race almost two months.

Local races are called off when it’s colder than -20 C for events 15K or longer.

“Really hilly. Steep hills. It was just straight up, straight down and pretty long for Don Sumaniks,” said Thomson of the 7.5K free race held in December. “It was pretty cold, pretty windy, but it was good once you got into the trees.”

Defending his Don Sumanik title, Colin Abbott put down a decisive victory over the rest of the open men’s field, winning the classic race in 25:29.9. He was also the winner of the free technique race with a time of 22:54.4.

The Don Sumanik trophies are awarded to the top female and top male skier with the fastest combined times from a skate and a classic race.

The Don Sumanik trophies feature names of Olympians like Becky Scott and Emily Nishikawa and have been awarded since 1982.

Elsie Sumanik and Whitehorse Grey Mountain Lions Club member Garry Doering were on hand to present the trophies to this year’s winners.

More than 70 skiers took advantage of Saturday’s warm weather to race.