Amherst Skating Club places several at Winter ESGs

Amherst Skating Club held an exhibition on Feb. 19 in preparation for the Empire State Winter Games this past weekend in Lake Placid, N.Y. Pictured, from far left, are: Emma Cercone, Clarice Hart, Alexis White, Mary Jo Russo, Lauren Penizotto, Kathryn Stephan, Alexandria Stephan, Taylor Aquino, Caitlin Riegel, Alyssa Penizotto, Kelsey Hughes, Paige Noel Piasecki, Bridget Hughes and Brooke Sinatra.

The Amherst Skating Club sponsored an exhibition on Feb. 19 for members competing in the 28th Empire State Winter Games Feb. 22-24 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Nearly 200 figure skaters from all over New York converged to compete for their region.

ASC fared well at the Games, placing in several events.

Taylor Aquino (Lancaster) and Alyssa Penizotto earned gold in similar pairs 1.

Brooke Sinatra won group A in intermediate ladies initial rounds and bronze in the final. Mary Jo Russo took fifth in intermediate ladies initial rounds group C.

Lindsay Lessard and Lauren Penizotto went 3-4 in open senior ladies.

Paige Noel Piasecki and Alexandria Stephan placed fifth in junior ladies and senior ladies, respectively.

The Empire State Winter Games is an amateur athletic event for New York residents, conducted by New York State Parks, with the support of The New York Lottery and The Olympic Regional Development Authority.

Opening ceremonies was held in the Herb Brooks Arena in the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, where all competitors were introduced by their sport and marched under their markers wearing the official complimentary ESGs jumpsuits and hat.

Besides figure skating, other events include alpine skiing, biathlon (shooting, skiing, interval jump, relay), bobsled/skeleton, cross-country skiing, ice hockey (women's), luge, ski jumping, ski orienteering, speed skating and snowshoe racing.

Placements first to third are qualified to enter the 2009 State Games of America to be held July 30 to Aug. 2 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The State Games of America have previously been held in St. Louis, Mo. (1999, 2001); Hartford, Conn. (2003); and Colorado Springs, Colo. (2005, 2007).

The State Games concept was developed in New York in 1978 with the Empire State Games. In 2006, more than 500,000 athletes competed in one of 49 State Games nationwide.

State Games feature various sports of the Olympic and Pan-American Games as well as sports with regional popularity within each state.