U.S. junior short track skaters hit the ice in Taipei

January 8, 2010—Taipei City, Chinese Taipei

The next generation of U.S. short track speedskaters took the ice in Chinese Taipei to compete at the 2010 World Junior Short Track Championships. In the first event, all three U.S. men advanced to the quarterfinal races. Robert Lawrence (Gaffney, SC), Cole Krueger (McMurray, PA) and Julian Wood (McMurray, PA) battled with brittle ice and tough opponents in their heats. Although Wood didn’t move on to the semifinals, Lawrence and Krueger both continued on to the next races.

Lawrence skated a great semifinal race to advance to the finals and Krueger also made it out of his race after the two skaters in front of him both fell, leaving Krueger to finish in second place. The 1500m final featured 8 skaters in a battle for the finish. The U.S. men fought hard, finishing with Krueger in sixth place and Lawrence in seventh.

Mary Grace (Northbrook, IL), Petra Acker (Clifton Park, NY) and Morgan Izykowski (Bay City, MI) skated the Ladies 1500m, but only Izykowski advanced out of the quarterfinals. In her semifinal event, Izykowski finished in sixth place and did not advance.  However, the Ladies Relay team, consisting of Grace, Acker, Izykowski and Sarah Chen (San Marino, CA) skated well and won their heat to move into the semifinals.

The U.S. men also advanced in the Men’s Relay with Lawrence, Wood, Krueger and John-Henry Krueger (McMurray, PA) pushing through a race that wasn’t pretty—but was good enough to move on to the semifinals.

Racing continues tomorrow at the Taipei Arena with the Ladies and Men’s 500m events as well as the relay semifinals. For complete results, visit www.usspeedskating.org.