Connaught skaters star in Regina
Members of Richmond's Connaught Skating Club continue to inch closer to national success.
At the just-concluded Skate Canada Challenge in Regina, four Connaught skaters qualified for next month's national championships Jan. 13 to 20 in Toronto with what the club's director of skating, Keegan Murphy, describes as "outstanding personal performances."
Larkyn Austman made a particularly massive statement by winning—by 10 points—the junior ladies' title. The result certainly suggests she'll be a strong contender for national honours as well.
Shawn Cuevas earned a personal best score of 141 points in placing eighth in the junior men's event. Murphy expects Cuevas, too, will contend for at least a top-10 finish at nationals.
Also qualifying for nationals were Kurtis Schreiber, who placed 14th in novice men's, and defending Canadian junior men's champion Mitchell Gordon who came in second place in the senior men's event in Regina.
"He was first in the long program and edged out a huge list of big competitors," said Murphy.
Gordon's sister, Danielle, was seventh out of a group of 56 skaters in the pre-novice ladies' event which decided the Canadian champion.
"It's a fantastic result for Danielle who has never reached this level of competition before," said Murphy, adding the results further validate the club's training.
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