From left, Paul Smith's Morgan Cheney, Reece Perry and Brock Boissey race at the Canadian Snowshoe Nationals in Fenelon Falls, Ontario, on Sunday. (Provided photo)

PAUL SMITHS — The Paul Smith’s College snowshoe team traveled to the Kawartha Lakes Region, about an hour east of Toronto, for the 2026 Canadian National Snowshoe Championships for the 5 and 10K, held at the Eganridge Resort in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.

Forty-five athletes took part in the 5 and 10K races, while many more took part in the citizen races later in the afternoon over the same course. The races were held on the Eganridge Resort Golf Course on a loosely groomed hilly course, on about 4 inches of packed powder snow in slightly above zero temperatures and bluebird skies.

PSC’s Eliot Soderholm continued his string of major victories, winning the Canadian National 10K Championship in 41 minutes, 32 seconds. He was followed by Julian Pinsonneault of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec in 43:58. Soderholm and Pinsonneault finished in the same order at the World Championships in Brillion, Wisconsin, back in December.

The Bobcats’ Bryce Shannon of Sparrowbush won the junior men’s (U20) 10K in 54:33, while teammate, Mat Matis of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, placed second in 59:54. Both Shannon and Matis earned similar junior national and World Junior Men’s honors at U.S. Nationals as well as the World Championships in Brillion.

The three women from Paul Smith’s College swept the podium in the 5K distance, led by the event winner, Morgan Cheney of Prattsburg, with a time of 35:49, followed by Chloe Freund of Clinton in 41:09 and Joanna Kerchner of Bath, Pennsylvania, in 44:33.

The Bobcats’ Brock Boissey of Cadyville placed second in the men’s 5K with a time of 32:29, followed by Reece Perry of Malone in fourth with a time of 38:33 and Timothy James of Lancaster, Massachusetts in fifth in 41:28.

The 10 runners from Paul Smith’s College won the overall team performance award at the Canadian Snowshoe Nationals for their outstanding performance in the 5 and 10K events.

Next on the schedule is the Summerstown 5 and 10K Races in Cornwall, Ontario, on Saturday. Then on Monday, the team will compete in the annual 2K Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Snowshoe Races at 6:30 p.m. at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center.