RIVER HEIGHTS SPEED SKATING CLUB: News: River Heights results for the 2008 Canadian Long Track Speedskating Championships in Quebec
Sunday, February 10River Heights results for the 2008 Canadian Long Track Speedskating Championships in Quebec
Juvenile Female : 12. Myriah Tollenaar; 13. Kelsey Reilly; 17. Hannah Martin
Juvenile Male : 8. Jess Neufeld
Junior Female: 1..Karlee Gendron; 11.Ashleigh Bunting
Junior Male : 18. Milo DelBigio; 19.Devon Borus
Kyle Gendron, (Winnipeg, Man., RHSSC) qualifed for the ISU World Junior Championships in China in Feb. at today’s Canada Cup #1 competition.
“I am pretty happy with this weekend and I am really excited,” said Gendron, 19, about qualifying to attend the World Juniors for the first time. “This will be my first international competition and it feels great. I will be so proud to represent Canada.”
For Canada’s junior skaters this competition was an opportunity to earn a spot on Canada’s eight-person World Junior team (four men and four women, 19 years and younger). After today’s competition, L’Heureux and Gendron will join National Development Team skaters Philippe Riopel and Nicole Garrido, who qualified for a spot at last week’s Canadian Single Distances Championships, in representing Canada at the ISU World Junior Championships in Changchun, China, Feb. 22-24, 2008.
This weekend Gendron was the top male junior skater in the 500 and 1,500 metre races, was the fourth best junior in today’s 5,000 race and won the junior men’s 3,000 metre race on Friday, giving him the most points overall and personal best times in each race.
In men’s 1,000 metre competition, National Development Team skaters Jamie Gregg and Matt McLean topped the scoreboard in first and second place. Gregg, from Edmonton, skated a personal best time of 1:08.93 for the win. Mykola Makowsky, from Regina, Sask., was third in his personal best time of 1:09.45.
In the ladies 1,000, Olympian Kerry Simpson won the race in 1:17.36, L’Heureux was second in 1:17.65 and Kirsti Lay, on Canada’s Talent 2014 Squad, was third in 1:19.26.
Shannon Sibold, from Calgary, won today’s 3,000 metre race in 4:12.59. L’Heureux’s second place time was 4:14.36 and Sarah Gregg, younger sister to Jamie, was third in 4:29.88.
Today is the last day of competition in the Canada Cup #1 long track speed skating competition, which is used to select athletes for Canada’s National, Development and Talent 2014 Squad. Speed skaters earn points based on their rank after each race at Canada Cup competitions, the Olympic Oval Can Am and the North American Championships.
The next Canada Cup competition is in Winnipeg, at the Susan Auch outdoor oval, Jan. 25-27, and Canada Cup #3 is at the Gaetan Boucher oval in St. Foy, Que., March 6 – 8, 2008. The next competition at the Olympic Oval is the Continental Championships next weekend when six National Team athletes will compete against six American speed skaters to win up to four places at the ISU World Allround Championships. Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes, Kristina Groves, Steven Elm and other Canadian Olympians will be racing.