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Six local cadets advance to national biathlon championship

The group recently competed at the zone competition at Mount Washington
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Two-time silver medalist William Schratz of the 861 Silverfox air cadet squadron takes a hill during the Cadet Regional Biathlon Championships at Mount Washington over the weekend of Feb. 6-7.

Six cadets from the 861 Silverfox air cadet squadron in Abbotsford are headed to Valcartier, Que. next month to participate in the National Cadet Biathlon Championship.

The six qualified for the nationals after earning 11 medals in the provincial championships on the weekend of Feb. 6 and 7.

They will be part of a 10-person team of cadets from across B.C.

Nine cadets from Silverfox and 66 other cadets from across B.C. tested their fitness, skiing and marksmanship skills over a range of courses from 4.5 to 10 kilometres at Mount Washington for the zone competition.

Cadets chosen to compete at the nationals include two sets of siblings – Ariel Bussani, who took silver in the female junior sprint category, and her brother Emmanuel Bussani, who also took silver in the male junior sprint category as well as gold in the 6 km individual race.

Thomas Schratz took gold in both the individual and sprint category while his older brother William Schratz took home a duo of silver medals for the male youth individual and sprint categories.

Ethan Algra took a silver and a gold in each of the male junior categories, and the final member to join the team from the Silverfox squadron is Caelan Pennington.

The cadet biathlon program is a recreational activity that has produced Olympians like Jean-Philippe Le Guellec and World Cup competitors such as B.C.’s Emma Lunder.