Local racers open season with personal bests

The season has begun for the Moose Jaw Kiwanis Speed Skating Club as the first meet of the year is under their belts.
The club competed in the Sask Cup I Short Track Competition in Regina recently, with several skaters having successful days.
Juvenile skater Lindsay Fish posted several personal-best lap times on her way to a 2 minute 2.01 second showing in the 1,000 metre race. She finished eighth in her group. Graeme Fish competed in the midget class, also reaching new lap times while recording a 1:40.97 time in the 777 m. He would place first in his group and take home the gold medal.
"I was very impressed with them," said MJKSSC coach Glenn Kendall. "Excellent, excellent weekend for those two."
Moose Jaw skaters Sam Moyse and Hunter Viczko took home the gold and bronze, respectively, in their group. Emma Schaeffer placed second with a new personal-best time of 1:37.38 in the 666 m. In all, 21 Moose Javians competed in the meet.
Overall, the coach is pleased with the results.
"It went pretty good for the first outing of the year," he said. "I was pretty impressed with some of our skaters.
"I think the younger kids held their own. Skaters like Gabrielle Sanson, Olivia Moyse and Mason Viczko are well on their way to being competitive in their age groups."
Still, he notes that some skaters had off-days at the competition and may have learned a bit about the sport.
"Probably a little bit of an eye-opener for some of us. Some (other clubs) have been on the ice for a few months already, so this lets us know that we've got a little catching up to do," said Kendall.

For more see Tuesday's edition of the Times Herald