Local skaters have speed to burn
Coach calls Kelowna results best in club history; local athletes win 6 overall medals
Nine Kelowna skaters returned with six medals from the B.C. Speed Skating Championships in Prince George last weekend.
The skaters raced to six overall age division medals at the short-track final.
Five novice skaters were also selected to compete at the CanWest finals later this month in Grand Prairie.
“This was one of our best results over the 20 year history of the KSSC and I could not be more proud of the skaters,” said coach Nancy Goplen.
Mackenzie Adams repeated with a silver medal in the 14-year-old female category and will advance to CanWest.
Teammate Caitlyn Collingwood also won a silver in the 13-year-old category having come sixth last year.
Calla Haaheim, 11, competed for the first time for a CanWest spot and placed third overall in her group.
Meanwhile, Erik Haaheim (14) and Noah Rubuliak (13) both wowed the crowds with some exciting passes and repeated as bronze medalists in their respective age divisions.
It was Findlay Ockelton and Talia Halperin’s second trip to the championship in the U12 Learn to Train category.
Ockelton brought home an iron medal (fourth) while Halperin placed fifth overall. Both will compete for CanWest next year.
Rounding out the team results were Cai Collingwood (9) and Joseph Couillard (10) who both competed for the first time in the U11 category.
Collingwood set personal-best times in all four events and finished ninth overall while Couillard set two personal bests and finished 14th.