Members of the Omineca Owls Biathlon team are making names for themselves at provincial and national competitions.

Youngsters Nisa Hofer, Cole Bender, and Ava Nealis brought home several medals from the B.C. Championships / Biathlon BC Cup #3 event held earlier this month at the Bulkley Valley Nordic Centre in Smithers.

On March 1 in Smithers, Hofer and Bender overcame minus 18 Celsius temperatures and placed second and third, respectively, in the Juveniles (Mixed) 2.7 km Sprint. Teammate Ava Nealis struck gold the same day, finishing first in the Junior Girls 4.5 km Sprint.

The 亚洲天堂 Lake skiers were equally strong on March 2, when Bender took top spot in the Juveniles (Mixed) 3.6 km Individual event, and Hofer placed third. Nealis was in fine form again, too, earning a silver medal in the Junior Girls 6 km Individual event.

None of the three Owls are strangers to the podium. In early December, when Biathlon Canada announced the results of the 2013 BUFF Precision Shooting Competition (a six-month event), they were among the top shooters in the country.

Bender was Canada鈥檚 top shooter in the Novice .22 Calibre Using Rests category with a score of 352 points, while Hofer placed second with 336 points. Nealis, meanwhile, finished fourth in the Senior Girls & Younger category.

Other members of the Omineca Owls also posted excellent scores in the national precision shooting competition.

Kyle Nealis finished fourth in the Novice .22 Calibre Using Rests category, while Rory Creighton held down the 10th best spot in the country with 133 points.

In the Open Men鈥檚 category, meanwhile, Dirk Hofer placed third with 272 points, Bryan Dickson came in sixth, and Marvin Creighton, tenth.

In the Open Women鈥檚 category, Agathe Bernard, Waneta Nealis, and the late Akiko Hofer took the top three spots in the country. Other top 10 finishers in the category were Alexandra Dickson, Pam Higginson, and Leone McHugh.

Biathlon is an Olympic winter sport that combines competitive, skate-style cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. Competitors must extremely physically fit and capable of hitting a small (45 mm or 115 mm) while under considerable physical stress.