Short Track News
April 19th, 2009 | 
Author: Lawrence and Grace win the U.S. Junior Short Track Championships
US Speedskating December 14, 2009
US Speedskating’s future is looking bright following the 2010 U.S. Junior Short Track Championships in Green Bay, WI. The event, which features the best short trackers under the age of 19 from around the United States, showcased an impressive amount of talented young skaters. Things got under way Friday, Dec. 11 with the time trials, but Saturday was when the real racing began.
Mary Grace (Northbrook, IL) and Robert Lawrence (Gaffney, SC) led the way taking the 1500m titles. Grace was joined on the podium by 2009 Junior World Long Track Team member Petra Acker (Saratoga Springs, NY) in second and Morgan Izykowski (Bay City, MI) in third. Taking second and third behind Lawrence on the men’s side were 14-year-old John-Henry Krueger (McMurray, PA) and Julian Wood (McMurray, PA), both of the Pittsburgh Speedskating Club.
In the 500m, newcomers Daniel Fiorenza (Wausau, WI) and Michael Burdekin (Rochester, NY) finished first and second respectively in what was the first ever trip to a championship final for both skaters. John-Henry Krueger took third while 1500m champion Lawrence didn’t qualify for the 500 final after a fall in the semifinals. The ladies repeated their 1500m performances with Grace, Izykowski, and Acker going 1-2-3.
Sunday’s events saw Grace and Lawrence continue their dominance as they each skated to wins in the 1000m and 1500m Superfinals en route to being named 2010 U.S. Junior Short Track Champions. Cole Krueger stepped it up in both of Sunday’s races with second-place finishes, allowing him to secure a spot on his first Junior World Team. Landon Hatfield (Richmond, VA) brought home the bronze in the 1000m, with Wood winning the bronze in the 1500m Superfinal.
Following Grace in the ladies 1000m was Acker and Izykowski in second and third. In the 1500m Superfinal it was Izykowski and Rachel Skrocki (Bay City, MI) coming in second and third behind Grace.
Representing Team USA at the 2010 Junior World Short Track Championships in Chinese Taipai on January 8-9 will be an impressive team of skaters. 2009 Junior World Team member Grace leads the ladies team with Izykowski, Acker and Chen heading to their first Junior World Short Track Championships.
For the men, 2009 Junior World Team member Lawrence will be the veteran as he’s joined by three skaters from the Pittsburgh Speedskating Club–Wood, Cole Krueger and John-Henry Krueger (Pittsburgh, PA). For complete results, visit www.usspeedskating.org and follow USS on Twitter @usspeedskating.
US Speed Skating September 03, 2009
Salt Lake City, UT. The U.S. National Short Track Speedskaters travel to Marquette, Michigan this week to participate in the U.S. Short Track Championships/Olympic Trials to be held on Sept. 8-12, 2009. The men’s national training program consists of Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, WA) and Anthony Lobello (Tallahassee, FL) along with Jordan Malone (Denton, TX), J.R. Celski (Federal Way, WA), Jeff Simon (Las Vegas, NV), Ryan Bedford (Midland, MI), Travis Jayner (Midland, MI) and Eddy Alvarez (Miami, FL).
The ladies’ national training program is composed of two-time national champion Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL), Olympians Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, TN) and Allison Baver (Sinking Springs, PA). Lana Gehring (Glenview, IL), Alyson Dudek (Hales Corners, WI), Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI) and Mary Grace (Wilmette, IL) make up the rest of the ladies’ team.
Along with members of the national training program, the following U.S. speedskaters have qualified to participate in the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials:
| Anthony Barthell (Tampa, FL) | Erin Bartlett (Lakewood, OH) |
| Sebastian Cano (Miami, FL) | Kristen Biondo (Broadview Heights, OH) |
| Kyle Carr (Peachtree City, GA) | Alaina Fiorenza (Merrill, WI) |
| Simon Cho (Laurel, MD) | Tamara Frederick (Park Ridge, IL) |
| Chris Creveling (Kintersville, PA) | Maria Garcia (Carson, CA) |
| Daniel Fiorenza (Merrill, WI) | Morgan Izykowski (Bay City, MI) |
| Nicholas Frank (Westlake, OH) | Lezleigh Jaworski (Long Beach, CA) |
| Zachary Fuller (Long Beach, CA) | Tina Koenig (N. Ridgeville, OH) |
| Jonathan Garcia (Houston, TX) | Elizabeth Looby (Pittsford, NY) |
| Kevin Geminder (Midland, MI) | Sonia Milan (North Royalton, OH) |
| Buddy Gurr (Columbus, OH) | Kelsey Schiel (Midland, MI) |
| Landon Hatfield (Richmond, VA) | Emily Scott (Springfield, MO) |
| Kyle Haun (Rockford, IL) | Rachel Skrocki (Bay City, MI) |
| J.P. Kepka (St. Louis, MO) | Rachel Stewart (Chesterfield, VA) |
| Levi Kirkpatrick (Hills, IA) | Kirsten Todd (West Jordan, UT) |
| Robert Lawrence (Gaffney, SC) | Maddie Watton (Export, PA) |
| Charles Ryan Leveille(Atlanta, GA) | Katie Welsh (Wausau, WI) |
| Joey Lindsey (Los Angeles, CA) | Cherise Wilkins (Camillus, NY) |
| Walter Rusk (Corona, CA) | |
| Jonathan Sermeno (Montebello, CA) | |
| Kyle Uyehara (Lakewood, CA) | |
| Barry Winslow (Midland, MI) |
Landon Hatfield, a Charlottesville native, is a rising star in the U.S. Speedskating program. 
By The Daily Progress Staff Published: May 13, 2008
Charlottesville isn’t exactly known as a Speedskating Mecca, but a native son is certainly making his mark in the sport. U.S. Speedskating named Landon Hatfield was crowned the 2008 U.S. Short Track Junior Men’s National Champion at the end of the U.S. National Short Track Championships in March.
Currently, Hatfield is a junior at Marquette Senior High School in Marquette, Mich., where he lives with a host family.
The 2008 North American Short Track Competition, held March 14-16 at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, was Hatfield’s final competition of the 2007-08 season. He performed well while skating up in the intermediate men’s category, finishing eighth overall with a total of 389 points. In addition, the men’s 2008 Relay team composed of skaters from primarily the Chesapeake and Western New York speedskating associations, placed second in the event and received the silver medal.
In addition, he advanced and competed in the Men’s 5000m Relay Final with three other Chesapeake Association skaters. The team finished fourth overall.
Hatfield remains the U.S. National Short Track record holder for the Junior Men’s 1500m distance with the new 2008 time of 2:27.633, surpassing his previous 2007 record of 2:31.431 set in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
In addition to receiving the title of U.S. National Short Track Junior Men’s Champion, Hatfield also received the distinction of Junior Category I. This distinction entitles him to access of U.S. Speedskating training program and a number of other benefits.
Hatfield is excited to return to Virginia in mid-June to participate in an intensive eight-week summer elite level training program with the Virginia Speedskating Club in Richmond. His first competition of the year will be the Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia, scheduled to take place at Skate Nation in Short Pump on August 10.
Great News! Woo Hoo! Landon qualified for the Olympic trials in Salt Lake City in the Last race of the Desert Classic with a time of 1:29.734