LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Xavier Babkine-Osterrat and Sofia Koons each raced to gold medal finishes in Sunday’s, Feb. 4, final day of Empire State Winter Games short track speed skating, being held in Lake Placid, N.Y. Babkine-Osterrat, of Scarsdale, N.Y. won the men’s division I Heartland title, while Koons, of Lakewood, Ohio, won the women’s division 2 Heartland crown.
Babkine-Osterrat, 14, won two races, while placing third and fourth in the other two to top the seven-skater field. Anthony Paladino, 15, of Colorado Springs, Colo., recorded three second place finishes and one fourth place result to claim the silver medal, while the bronze medal went to 17-year-old Gabriel Hasselback, from Hamburg, N.Y. He combined two second place skates with a sixth-place finish and a fifth-place result.
This weekend’s racing was part of the Heartland Racing Series (HRS). The HRS is a season long circuit of five short track open class competitions. The series is designed to help develop the passion and skills needed for racing at the elite level.
Koons, 15, placed first three times on Sunday and finished second once en route to her victory celebration. She was followed by Ganesan Sadhana, 15, of South Windsor, Conn., who finished second to Koons three times before beating her in their final race.
Sasha Mensah, 14, from Avon, Conn., finished third to each of her four For a complete list of today’s girls hockey results, click HERE.
For a complete list of today’s short track speed skating results, click HERE
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Photos from the 44th Empire State Winter Games can be found HERE.
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