Posted By RON SMITH , R & T SPORTS EDITOR
A young figure skater has come home with a provincial championship.
Ten-year-old Matthew Markell of Prescott placed first in the Ontario STARSkate championships in Kingston recently.
Markell, a Grade 4 student at Boundary Street Public School in Prescott, won the pre-preliminary men's division at the competition.
Markell finished first out of nine skaters in his division after his 90-second program.
Mary-Jayne Rashotte, Markell's coach, figured her student had a good chance of placing in the top three at the provincials.
"I was really pleased he got the gold medal," said Rashotte. "People shoiuld be aware of his name as I think he's going to continue to do well."
Markell earned the right to compete in the provincials after placing first at the Eastern Ontario STARSkate Invitational championships in Gloucester in February.
"He's fearless. He'll try anything. He has no fear at all," said Rashotte of Markell. "He watches something that somebody else does and he will try it. He has a natural ability."
This ends the skating season for Markell who will be moving up to the preliminary men's division next year.
"We are very proud of him. This is a huge success for him, our club and all of Eastern Ontario," said Leanne Crain, the president of the Prescott Figure Skating Club.
Markell, the son of Stephanie and Vernon, has been skating with the Prescott club since the age of three.
Now that skating season is over, he's deciding on soccer or baseball for his summer sport.