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Ice Breakers get hot start to season

It may be called the Big Chill, but members of the Salmon Arm Ice Breakers heated up the ice at their first meet of the season
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Lightning quick: The Ice Breakers’ Lincoln Thurgood and Ila Isaac look to pass a Kamloops skater while competing in the 400-metre race at the Big Chill event in Kamloops on Saturday.

It may be called the Big Chill, but members of the Salmon Arm Ice Breakers heated up the ice at their first meet of the season Saturday in Kamloops.

The youngest Salmon Arm skater, Keegan Isaac, 6, earned a fourth place in his grouping and finished all four of his races.

In division two, personal best times abounded, with multiple top times in distances ranging from 100-metres to 500-m, recorded by skaters Lincoln Thurgood, Ila Isaac, Mackenzie Keating, Corbin Coubrough, Zachary Watkins, and one of the club’s newest skaters, Hudson Kearl.

In division three, the 400-m was a stellar race for both Devyn Hughes and Callie Belway, who notched personal best times in that category and competed in the challenging 1,200-m event.

Division four saw hot action by the club’s older skaters, with Jack Isaac earning a personal best time in his 500-m and narrowly missing his record in the 1,200-m.

Jack Verdurmen notched personal bests in the 400, 500 and the 1,500-m endurance challenge.

Aila Norlin, who has just advanced a level, netted personal bests in both her 1,500-and 500-m events.

Jalen Thurgood had an exceptional meet posting personal best times across the board in all five events she skated.

Masters skater Alex Seal did not notch his top times, but skated strongly to second place in his division, narrowly edged out by River City Racer, 17-year-old Calvin Forbes, who had the fastest times of the day.

The speedy action will next move to the Icebreakers home rink, with the annual Ice Jam event set for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Shaw Centre.

Admission is free, with races running between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.