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FINAL LAPS – From left, Jacob McPherson, Lucas Taggart-Cox and Caius Taggart-Cox battle it out on the corner during the Yukon Speedskating Championships Sunday at the Canada Games Centre. Photo courtesy PHIL HOFFMAN

Speedskaters wrap up season on short track

Yukon speedskaters picked up right where they left off at the Arctic Winter Games, putting together some impressive results in the Yukon Speed Skating Championships Sunday at the Canada Games Centre.

By Whitehorse Star on April 3, 2014

Yukon speedskaters picked up right where they left off at the Arctic Winter Games, putting together some impressive results in the Yukon Speed Skating Championships Sunday at the Canada Games Centre.

By the end of the two-hour meet, the 24 skaters had set 31 personal bests (PBs), with the Learn to Train division setting 16, the Train to Train division setting eight and the Masters division setting seven.

Newcomer Lisa Freeman won all four of her races in the learner's division, while fellow novice Marshall Latham set very respectable baseline times in all his races.

Celeste Findlay set a new PB in her 500-m race, knocking off almost 17 seconds from her previous best.

Emma Hamilton set three new time standards for herself, while Breda McIntyre did it in all four of her races.

Anders Petersson rounded out this age group, also setting PBs in his four races, with his largest improvement being in the 1,000-m race, removing a whopping 24 seconds from his previous best.

The two McPherson brothers from Whitehorse and the two Taggart-Cox brothers from Marsh Lake held a friendly battle throughout their four events.

Isaac McPherson skated consistently in his four races, while older brother Jacob set three PBs in the four races he entered.

Caius Taggart-Cox had his best race in the 1500-m when he won it, while Lucas set one PB in the 400-m race, improving his time by half a second.

In the Train to Train division, Michael Ritchie of Haines Junction and Micah Taggart-Cox of Marsh Lake each won two out of the four races they entered, while Caleb McPherson and Tristan Muir both set PBs in three of their four races.

The three veterans of the Train to Train division – Donald Fortune, Shea Hoffman and Hanna Wirth – battled it out in the 500-m, 777-m and 1000-m distances, and then joined the Masters skaters in their 1500-m race.

In the Masters division, Andy Muir led the pack with three PBs. Cord Hamilton added two, while husband and wife Malcolm Taggart and Jody Cox each had one.

Veterans Pauline Craig, Phil Hoffman and Barry Sugden rounded out the Masters Division and proved that speedskating can be undertaken well past twenty-something.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped with the event, the financial support of the Yukon Government and Lotteries Yukon, and the great prizes Agnes Riediger brought back from the Sochi Olympics, the Yukon Amateur Speed Skating Association ended another year on a high note.

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