Miguel Jose and Joey Mantia launched ProNSC back in 2009 "Because we love skating," according to Jose. They started the league "with the purpose of repackaging the sport of inline speed skating into an entertainment sport." Sponsors include CadoMotus, Bont Skates, Vie 13 Kustom Apparel and Sika.
The women compete in a 100-meter time trial, 300 and 500-meter sprints, and 1300 and 1600 meter endurance races, as well as the Grand Champion 800 meter race. The men are split between sprint and endurance distances, skating the 100-meter time trial, 300 and 500 meters for the sprinters, and 1000 and 1600 meters for the endurance racers. Only the top three women from the 300 and 1300 distances and the top three male overall sprint and endurance skaters qualify for the 100-meter time trial.
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Last weekend’s event featured eight women: McKenzie Browne, Alexsis Sebastian, Vali Thompson, Jazzmyn Foster, Kelsey (Helman) Rodgers, Lexi May, Paige Dawson, Thalia Staehle, and 13 men: Alex Holmes, Mo Hall, Nicholas Muxlow, Colton Miller, Stephen Carter, Caleb Wakefield, Adrion Workman, Michael Pasquarella, Wesley Gandy, Gabriel Lyons, James Sadler, Julian Rimbey, and Joey Harmon.
Kelsey Rodgers dominated the women's division, taking gold in every distance against stiff competition from Jazzmyn Foster, as well as Paige Dawson in the distance races, Vali Thompson, the 2019 Indoor National Senior Ladies Champion, and Thalia Staehle, Lexi May and McKenzie Browne, who recently added (long track) speed skating to their athletic endeavors. Rodgers won the 300 meters in 28.07, the 1300 in 2:13.29, broke the 9-second/100 meter mark skating a winning 8.93 in the time trial, and earned the Black Suit in the Grand Champion 800 meter race, finishing in 1:18.21.
"I've never won every event before," Rodgers stated. Recently married, she said she is training hard, adding in competition cycling, and in skating, "I'm still going for that world championship."
On the men's side, Adrion Workman and teammate and newcomer Gabriel Lyons took the lion's share of the points, with Workman taking gold in the 1600 meter and Grand Champion 800 meter races. Workman also won the time trial in 8.5 seconds, just edging out Lyons, who skated an 8.53. "I just went out there, didn't have any strategies, just went out there and just kind of did my thing, and that's usually what works," Workman explained.
As for what's next for him, Workman, now a high school senior, said, "I'm really going to start focusing on school, I'm going to put school in front of everything else for right now but still I'll train all I can."
Gabriel Lyons secured his first NSC gold in the 1000-meter final, taking three silvers on the night in the time trial, 1600 and 800-meter finals.
"I feel like I've gotten a step closer to what I'm trying to accomplish. I've got a long way to go, but it's going to be a lot easier, " Lyons said. "The Battle in Seattle is next, and I'm going to be training really, really hard for that, then Germany (Geisingen) and then hopefully Worlds."
Colton Miller, another newcomer to NSC, won the 300 meter sprint, placed second in the 500 meter and third in the time trial. Alex Holmes took the 500-meter win, and Michael Pasquarella finished with the bronze in all but the time trial, where he placed fourth.
The next NSC event will take place at US Indoor Speed Skating Nationals in July 2020, in Cedar Rapids, IA.
For more information on Pro NSC, go to http://www.pronsc.com/.
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