Keanan St. Rose wrapped up his short track season with an overall silver medal in his age class at the Canada West national speed skating championships in Selkirk, Man., on the weekend.
The 12-year-old member of the Prince George Blizzard was among three athletes and one coach who were part of the 23-member contingent of Team B.C. The event is for athletes in the Training-2-Train level, comprised of girls aged 11 to 14 and boys aged 12 to 15.
St. Rose skated to gold in the 400-metres, bronze in the 200m pursuit and 2,000m points race and fourth in the 1,500m.
The points race involves awarding points for a skater's position throughout the race.
"Keanan was poised to win the 2,000m points race but with only six laps to go, there was a big crash (which included him) - they stopped the race and restarted it," said Blizzard coach Corine Masich. "Keanan needed medical attention."
Eric Orlowsky (T2T 13) had hoped to bring home the overall title in his age class but it did not happen, despite his best efforts. Orlowsky grabbed the silver in the 200m and bronze in the 1,500m, but a crash in his 400m semifinal eliminated him from the running for the overall championship.
Despite winning his B final with the second-fastest time overall in his division, Orlowsky had to settle for fifth-place points in the 400m.
There was a chance to make the podium with a strong race in the 2,000m points race. Orlowsky raced a strong tactical race, taking points throughout, and crossed the finish line in third position only to find out he had been penalized for impeding the progress of another racer during the race, said Masich.
Instead of receiving third-place points, he received eighth-place points and finished fourth overall in his division.
Sylvia Masich (T2T 13) finished eighth in her division, with personal bests in her 1,500m and 200m races and a silver medal as part of Team B.C.'s senior girls 3,000m relay. The team missed gold by less than one tenth of a second.
B.C. hauled in 12 gold medals, nine silver and 16 bronze medals.
