The Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic Training Facility, is proud to announce that a total of 48 age-group records were broken on its Olympic Oval throughout the U.S. National Long Track Championships this past weekend of January 31-February 1.
Four skaters set records in all five distances in their age category, which include Stephen Gunther (Chesapeake Speed Skating Club) in the Masters Men (Ages 60-69), Carole Moore (Middle Atlantic Speed Skating) in the Master Ladies (50 and over), Boris Leikin (Wasatch) in the Masters Men (Ages 50-59) and Eric Cepuran (Illinois) in the Intermediate Men (Ages 16-17).
A total of 175 skaters attended the two-day event with the age of participants ranging from five (5) to 80 years old and spanning from Alaska to Florida. Along with the 48 age-group records that were broken, 19 champions were also crowned. Of the 19 champion skaters, nine of them hail from the states of Wisconsin and Illinois, all of whom train at the Pettit National Ice Center on a regular or daily basis.
Local skaters were not the only victors at the National Long Track Championships. The weekend-long event brought skaters from all over the country to the Pettit, with the other 10 champion skaters representing Utah, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, as well as New York and the state of Washington.
"Winners came from numerous states around the country as well as locally and were able to put on an impressive display of fast skating, reinforcing the Pettit Center's reputation as a leading national ice competition facility and training center," said Carl Cepuran, Development Coordinator for U.S. Speedskating. "We are very pleased with the efforts of the Pettit staff and volunteers. Their ability to draw this type of field and put on a first class competition is not only great for the competitors and the local speed skating community but brings in much prestige to the local area as well."
Included with the electronic version of this press release is a photo of the 19 national champions crowned at the Pettit Center.
For more information on this past weekend’s event, or a rundown of all the winners, please contact Rob Multerer at the Pettit National Ice Center at 414.266.0100, ext. 132 or email at rmulterer@thepettit.com.
Contact: Rob Multerer
Director of Marketing
Pettit National Ice Center
414.266.0100, ext. 132
rmulterer@thepettit.com
