CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Prince Edward Island speed skaters took full advantage of home ice, racking up 20 medals and eight new provincial record times at the Atlantic Cup Speed Skating Championships, held at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown during the weekend.
P.E.I. coach Sarah Taylor said the Island team’s medal haul was icing on the cake after seeing so many strong performances from the team’s 35 skaters.
“The number of personal best times, medals and provincial records was astounding,” she said. “These young athletes love working hard with their teammates and our program only seems to grow and get stronger as a result. We’re competitive with anyone now and it is a lot of fun for our team.”
Charlottetown’s Peter McQuaid led the way for the Island team, sweeping his way to the gold medal for males in division 1 with four convincing victories. Jenna Larter of Brookfield took the division 1 gold for females, while also putting her name on a new provincial record for junior women in the 1,500-metre distance. Larter shaved nearly a second from the previous mark set by Ellen Burnett during the 2011 Canada Games in Halifax. She also earned qualifying times for the Canadian Junior Open Selections 2 competition in March as well as for Quebec’s provincial short track circuit.
Other P.E.I. gold medallists included Carter Bruce (division 2), Andrew Binns (division 3), Julian Christy (division 6), Charles Burke (division 7), Brendan Reynard (division 8), Jacob Taylor (division 10 male) and Una Grant (division 10 female).
Taking silver for P.E.I. were Kyle Connell (division 3), Anderson Arseneau (division 5), Saul Grant (division 8), Rio Bevan (division 10 male) and Ava Reynolds (division 10 female).
Bronze medal winners hailing from the Island were Matthew McKenna (division 2), William Lyons (division 3), Holly Nickerson (division 7), Sophia Erdogan (division 8), Prince Wang (division 9) and Ben Kirby (division 10).
In addition to Larter’s new provincial record, Andrew Binns, Kyle Connell and William Lyons carved their names in a total of seven new provincial marks, as the trio swept the division 3 podium. Binns, of Stratford, notched new records in the 200-, 400 and 1,500-metre distances for 14-year-old boys, while Connell, of Charlottetown, duplicated that for 15-year-old boys. Lyons set a new provincial standard for 13-year-old boys in the 1,500 metre.
The meet saw a strong field of 140 skaters take to the start line, with athletes from five provinces as well as from the United States.
“It was great to see the results of our skaters match the tremendous efforts and contributions of our volunteer team and sponsors,” said Speed Skate P.E.I. president Jenn Nickerson. “We’re very thankful for the support this event receives every year.”
Island speed skaters are back on the ice for the Charles Gorman Memorial Championship at Harbour Station in Saint John, N.B., this weekend.
For full Atlantic Cup results and more information about upcoming opportunities to try speed skating, visit www.speedskatepei.com.
