© Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
November 7th, 2013, Charlottetown – Seven P.E.I. speed skaters earned medals at the recent Season Opener meet for the region in Halifax, N.S.. The medalists were among thirteen Island skaters in the field of over 80 short-track speed skaters from across the Maritimes.
Kristen Binns of Stratford won one of P.E.I.’s two gold medals on the weekend in Division 5, after posting personal best times in all of her distances. Rob Binns also picked up a gold medal in the Masters division. Kyle Connell earned P.E.I.’s lone silver medal with several strong performances in Division 5, while Peter McQuaid (Division 4), Miriam Burnett (Division 4), Andrew Binns (Division 5) and Alex Rogers (Division 8) took home bronze medals for the Island team.
Michael Rogers had the fastest Island times at the competition, nabbing seventh place in the very competitive Division 1. Rogers smashed the 50 second barrier in each of his 500 metre races enroute to the strong placing. Team-mates Jared Vriends of Pleasant Grove and Zach Moran of Charlottetown also raced in the top flight of the meet, finishing 10th and 16th respectively.
“It’s always exciting to get back on the ice for the first meet of the season,” said P.E.I. coach Sarah Taylor. “Our senior skaters put in some good training this summer and it was great to see many of them rewarded with excellent times and placements in the top divisions. Our younger skaters also showed a strong desire to improve and compete, with more great results. The team showed that P.E.I. will be tough to skate against at all levels this season,” continued Taylor. “I’m proud of our skaters and very happy with how the season has started.”
Also representing P.E.I. in Halifax were Andrew McQuaid, Korrina LeClair and Thomas McQuaid.
Brendan Corey of Fredericton took top overall honours at the meet with tightly contested wins in each distance, while Sarah Gilbert of Saint John captured top spot among female skaters at the competition.
The competitive circuit comes to P.E.I. next, with the Island club playing host to the Atlantic Cup Speed Skating Championships at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown next weekend. Club organizers say their home meet is an annual highlight on the club calendar, with a large number of P.E.I. skaters taking advantage of the chance to take on their peers from across Atlantic Canada on home ice.
More information about Speed Skate PEI’s programs and full meet results can be found at www.speedskatepei.ca.
