Thomas Hong and Kristen Santos each won two events and will lead the U.S. Short Track team for the remaining ISU World Cups and the World Short Track Championships later this year.
Hong won the 500 m and 1,000 m races at the U.S. Short Track National Championships at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah (USA) and compiled a total of 2,210 points, finishing second in the overall standings.
Said Hong, “I came out on top in the 1000m which I knew I needed coming into this race to solidify my world spot. Yesterday, I had some fumbles so it put a little pressure on me. Today, I was able to make some moves and come out on top.”
Aaron Tran was the most consistent men’s skater, finishing second in the 500 m, third in the 1,000 m and won the 1,500 m, piling up 2,640 points for the American Cup title.
Santos was even better, winning the 1,000 m and 1,500 m races and also placed third in the 500 m sprint. She totaled 2,640 points, ahead of Corinne Stoddard (2,240) and Maame Biney (2,062).
“I definitely felt better today,” said Santos after Sunday’s 1,000 m win. “Usually I mess up in the winter trials, I get really high anxiety, have really high expectations and freak myself out. But I’m happy that I didn’t self-destruct. I’m obviously very happy with today.”
The meet decided the U.S. teams for the forthcoming World Cup and World Championships:
World Cups 5-6:
• Men: Aaron Tran, Thomas Hong, Jonathan So, Adam Callister, Aaron Heo, Andrew Heo.
• Women: Kristen Santos, Corinne Stoddard, Maame Biney, Julie Letai, Danielle Amos, Jamie Jurak.
World Championships:
• Men: Aaron Tran, Thomas Hong
• Women: Kristen Santos, Maame Biney
Even though Stoddard earned her place on the World Championships team with a second-place overall finish, she declined the position, placing Biney on the team! Summaries:
U.S. Speedskating Short Track National Championships
Kearns, Utah (USA) ~ 4-6 January 2019
(Full results here)
Men
500 m: 1. Thomas Insuk Hong, 41.378; 2. Aaron Tran, 41.522; 3. Jonathan So, 41.662; 4. Aaron Heo, 41.727.
1,000 m: 1. Hong, 1:25.507; 2. Andrew Heo, 1:25.554; 3. Tran, 1:25.562; 4. So, 1:25.721; 5. Callister, 1:25.838.
1,500 m: 1. Tran, 2:21.567; 2. Adam Callister, 2:21.703; 3. Aaron Heo, 2:22.564; 4. So, 2:22.592; 5. Gunnar Olsen, 2:23.883; 6. Ryan Pivirotto, 2:24.740; 7. Andrew Heo, 2:34.510; 8. Hong, 2:40.013.
American Cup Final Standings: Aaron Tran, 2,440; 2. Thomas Insuk Hong, 2,210; 3. Jonathan So, 1,664; 4. Adam Callister, 1,620; 5. Aaron Heo, 1,480.
Women
500 m: 1. Maame Biney, 43.718; 2. Corinne Stoddard, 43.813; 3. Kristen Santos, 43.821; 4. Hailey Choi, 45.258.
1,000 m: 1. Santos, 1:38.404; 2. Biney, 1:38.584; 3. Stoddard, 1:38.698; 4. Choi, 1:39.898; 5. Letai, 1:40.030.
1,500 m: 1. Santos, 2:51.168; 2. Stoddard, 2:52.491; 3. Choi, 2:52.624; 4. Julie Letai, 2:55.031; 5. Jamie Jurak, 2:57.103; 6. Danielle Amos, 3:04.895; Biney was disqualified.
American Cup Final Standings: 1. Kristen Santos, 2,640; 2. Corinne Stoddard, 2,240; 3. Maame Biney, 2,062; 4. Hailey Choi, 1,664; 5. Julie Letai, 1,332.
