The U.S. Olympic Education Center short track speed skaters enjoyed success on the ice during the weekend of Feb. 18 and 19, as they traveled to Champaign, Ill. to compete in the American Cup III.
Senior Barry Winslow said that he was impressed with the team’s effort at the event. The team was able to capture eight medals between the men’s and women’s teams.
“We had a really good showing,” Winslow said. “Coach Tony Goskowicz did a really fantastic job. We had four guys who skated especially well. It was a really good showing.
Three skaters finished in the top 10 of their divisions, including Winslow who finished his 1000-meter race with a time of 1:36.550. Winslow was fourth overall in point standings, racking up 1,998 points.
“It was actually my first gold I’ve gotten in the American Cup Series in my skating career,” Winslow said. “So that was a pretty big achievement for me.”
Junior Chelsea Creveling was the point leader for group two of the women’s division. She took first place in the 1000-meter, 1500-meter and 1500-meter superfinal.
Creveling, who is in her first year with the team, said she didn’t expect the successful outcome.
“It was actually a really surprising performance for me, I didn’t expect to skate that well,” Creveling said. “I hadn’t been skating that well in practice. I just kind of went out there and tried not to think too much in terms of competition and just tried to have fun with it, and it actually turned out really well.”
Creveling also took home a fourth place in the 500-meter and finished with a total of 3,512 points. Creveling said the shorter races don’t come as natural to her.
“I use to be an Inline speedskater and it’s a lot easier for me to go for the long distances because it’s slower, so I can focus more on my technique,” Creveling said. “In the sprint it’s just all out and I make a lot more mistakes than I do in a distance race.”
Creveling said she was happy with her first season at NMU and hopes her time trail in the next few weeks of practice will push her into group one for next year.
“With the first year it’s just a matter of learning the technique and learning what to do,” Creveling said. “I think I’m right where I want to be in terms of the end of my first season and how I did and where I’m going next season.”
Sophomore Sarah Burg finished third overall after picking up third place victories in the 500-meter, 1500-meter and 1500-meter superfinal. She finished the event with 2,330 points.
Winslow credits Goskowicz and the team’s hard work for their success at the American Cup Final III and for his own recent improvements.
“The second half of this season my skating has really improved,” Winslow said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the hard work my team and I are doing and a lot to do with our coach Tony Goskowicz; he’s set up a really good program for us and we’re seeing the results.”
The team doesn’t compete again until after spring break; starting on Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18. The American Cup Final is held in Green Bay.
Winslow said the team will have high-intensity workouts this week and will rest following the weeks leading up to the American Cup Final.
“Next week we’re going to be working more on slowly tapering,” Winslow said. “So we’ll decrease the volume and we’ll work more on foot speed and try to get the snappiness back in our leg, so the following weekend we’ll be ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”
