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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 15, 2008 18:25:35 GMT -8
This thread is totally devoted to Dan Fiorenza, and is intended to be an archive of his skating career - as well as a place to chat about his accomplishments and encourage him as he pursues his goals both on and off the ice.
If you have any articles, photos, links and news about Dan (past or present), we'd love to see them!
If you are a non-member who would like to contribute news, photos, archives or comments, please feel free to contact us at:
lori@rocker-u.net or michelle@therockerfund.org
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Post by mtnme on Jan 26, 2009 20:01:41 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 26, 2009 20:38:55 GMT -8
Congrats to Dan for making Cat. 1!!!!
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Post by mtnme on Feb 1, 2009 11:57:30 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 21, 2009 9:17:25 GMT -8
Here's another article from the Green Bay Press-Gazette about the 2009 AmCup3 weekend, which includes a short interview with Dan: www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090124/GPG0101/901240611/0/ADVShort Track Speedskaters Storm Cornerstone IceAshwaubenon rink hosts American Cup 3 competition Andy Nelesen - January 24, 2009 ASHWAUBENON — The world of short track speedskating will be focused on the Cornerstone Community Center this weekend as some of the country's top skaters compete in the American Cup 3 championships. The World Cup and Olympic seedings aren't on the line this weekend. Instead, athletes are racing for points and standing that can affect national rankings and other races for the rest of the year. Top short track speedskaters cover 111.12 meters — 364½ feet — in about eight seconds, reaching speeds of 28 mph on the oval ice track. Races range between 4½ laps for a 500-meter race to 27 laps for a 3,000-meter event. Most short track events are raced in heats, with the winners of individual heats advancing to a final round. Short track racing is close-quarters and dangerous. Falls and crashes can lead to serious injury. And while victory can be decided by a fraction of a second, the time is not at issue; first one to the finish line wins the heat and advances. "It's NASCAR on ice," said Don Chilson, manager of the Cornerstone center. "When they crash, it's something." This is the first national event on the Cornerstone's Olympic-sized 100-foot wide rink. The $4.3 million facility opened in February 2008 and augmented the center's two 85-foot wide ice sheets. The new ice made the event possible, said Shannon Holmes, American Cup 3 director and coach of the Cornerstone's local short track racing team. "The racers are going so fast that without the extra room, it just wouldn't be safe when they are coming out of the corners," Holmes said. "It's a matter of safety." Chilson said he hopes this meet will be the first in a series of national events at the Conerstone's Resch Olympic Pavilion. Only a handful of Olympic-sized ice rinks are in the state, he said. The bulk of the world-class skaters on the rink this weekend hail from the Marquette, Mich., National Olympic Training Center. Many have prospects of making a World Cup or Olympic team in the future. Wausau's Dan Fiorenza, 17, has been skating since he was 5. He finished high school a year early and now trains at the Marquette rink.
"I hope to make the Junior World team for next year and then my goal is the 2014 Olympics," Fiorenza said after a workout Thursday. "It's full devotion to this sport. You're always training."
Fiorenza is one of seven Wisconsin skaters competing in the weekend event. The weekend also holds the Cheese Cup, a meet for the Midwest's club teams.
Fiorenza draws parallels between stock car racing and speed skating.
"It's the same thing, except on ice," he said. "We're constantly drafting and passing. It's all about the strategy of the sport and there's speed involved … and there's crashes. It can be intense."Skaters talk about the rush of racing. "There's definitely adrenaline involved at the starting line," said Kathleen Russell, 16, of Petoskey, Mich., another member of the Marquette team. "It can be scary," she said. "It's a kind a mystery, too. You never know what's going to happen at the next turn."
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Post by mtnme on Apr 25, 2009 13:31:15 GMT -8
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Post by mtnme on Apr 25, 2009 14:08:47 GMT -8
Link to Dan's page on USOEC webb.nmu.edu/SportsUSOEC/Sports/Speedskating/ProfileFiorenza.shtmlDan with fellow students at the USOEC EDIT: let's play 'name that skater' Back Row: Erin Bartlett, Barry Winslow, "Mystery Skater' ( I guess by process of elimination, he would be Taylor Grefsheim, Dan Fiorenza, Kyle Carr and Levi Kirkpatrick Back Row: Cherise Wilkins, Tamara Fredericks.....and 4 gals Lori and I can't place the name to the face....
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 25, 2009 14:15:05 GMT -8
Awww, that's a nice one! Anybody know who the tallest guy in the back is, or the 4 girls on the right-hand side?
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Post by mtnme on Apr 25, 2009 14:22:18 GMT -8
Here's the roster that was underneath the picture, but since they're not in order, you get to 'pin the name on the skater'. anyone want to help us out here? I know the TRF skaters, and Cherise Wilkins, but I'm at a loss for some of the others....
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2008-09 Roster Athlete Ht. Class Hometown
Erin Bartlett 5-11 Fr. Lakewood, Ohio Kristen Biondo 5-3 Fr. Broadview Heights, Ohio Sarah Burg 5-4 MSHS Alpena, Mich. Christopher (Kyle) Carr 5-11 So. Atlanta, Ga. Dan Fiorenza 5-9 Fr. Wausau, Wis. Tamara Frederick 5-7 So. Park Ridge, Ill. Taylor Grefsheim 5-3 MSHS Jackson, Wis. Levi Kirkpatrick 5-10 Jr. Hills, Iowa Kathleen Russel 5-4 MSHS Petoskey, Mich. Levi Sinak 6-1 So. St. Louis, Mo. Cherise Wilkins 5-7 Sr. Syracuse, N.Y. Barry Winslow 5-10 Fr. Midland, Mich.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 25, 2009 14:47:48 GMT -8
Here's the roster that was underneath the picture, but since they're not in order, you get to 'pin the name on the skater'. anyone want to help us out here? I know the TRF skaters, and Cherise Wilkins, but I'm at a loss for some of the others.... ________________________________________________________________ 2008-09 Roster Athlete Ht. Class Hometown Erin Bartlett 5-11 Fr. Lakewood, Ohio Kristen Biondo 5-3 Fr. Broadview Heights, Ohio Sarah Burg 5-4 MSHS Alpena, Mich. Christopher (Kyle) Carr 5-11 So. Atlanta, Ga. Dan Fiorenza 5-9 Fr. Wausau, Wis. Tamara Frederick 5-7 So. Park Ridge, Ill. Taylor Grefsheim 5-3 MSHS Jackson, Wis. Levi Kirkpatrick 5-10 Jr. Hills, Iowa Kathleen Russel 5-4 MSHS Petoskey, Mich. Levi Sinak 6-1 So. St. Louis, Mo. Cherise Wilkins 5-7 Sr. Syracuse, N.Y. Barry Winslow 5-10 Fr. Midland, Mich. Okay, one of the guys you listed is hiding - either Grefsheim or Sinak (6 names, 5 guys). Kristin Biondo would be the one in red & blue with the stars on her sleeves. As for the others - I need a program and a helmet number...
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Post by mtnme on Apr 25, 2009 15:21:46 GMT -8
OOpps! I'm wrong again! LOL Taylor is a GIRL!!!Levi Sinak is the tall guy in back.... ;D
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 25, 2009 23:38:01 GMT -8
Yeah, now that I think about it, 5'3" WOULD be pretty short for a guy, wouldn't it? (Especially for 'the tallest guy in the back'!) I shouldn't even admit that I was reading it as 'Tyler', not 'Taylor' - and I swear, I'm not dyslexic!
(I'll delete my posts if you will - we can erase all evidence of our mutual stupidity)...
One second thought, there's nothing wrong with giving peeps a good laugh at our learning process... ;D
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Post by mtnme on Apr 26, 2009 12:01:56 GMT -8
I would delete the posts, but it sure made ME laugh at your remark. No reason not to give EVERYONE ELSE a good laugh at our expense... ;D
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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 7, 2009 16:53:43 GMT -8
DID YOU KNOW?
Dan is a member of the 2008-2009 USOEC All-Academic Team!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jun 4, 2009 9:17:52 GMT -8
A transcript of the article that Michelle linked to upthread (Reply #1): Speedskating: Nation's best compete in American Cup in AshwaubenonBY RICH PALZEWIC • Green Bay Press-Gazette correspondent • January 26, 2009Photos by Evan Siegle, Press-GazetteASHWAUBENON — There were no sightings of Apolo Ohno, but 75 of the country's best short-track speedskaters flocked to the Cornerstone Community Center over the weekend for the American Cup 3 races. The participants ranged in age from 14 to 31 and came from as far away as California to compete in the third race of the American Cup series. Although there were no Olympic berths on the line, there was plenty of action to be had. This was the first national caliber event held at the Resch Olympic Pavilion at Cornerstone, which opened early last year. "We were called last year as we were completing construction to see if we were interested in hosting the event," said Cornerstone manager Don Chilson. "We didn't have to bid for it and usually that's something that you have to do. It was a no-brainer to say yes, but then we found out how much work it was." The Green Bay speedskating club — which is the largest club in the state with more than 50 members — did most of the work by organizing meals for the elite skaters and going out and getting sponsorship for the event. "They don't give you any money for putting on the event," Chilson added. "So we had to raise enough through sponsorship to put the event on. We've raised just about enough money to break even." Short-track speedskating, which gained Olympic status in 1988, is one of the fastest human-powered sports in the world. Racers routinely hit speeds of 30 mph, all while skating in close proximity with three to five other competitors on a 111-meter (365-feet) oval track. Unlike the more traditional long-track speedskating, short-track speedskaters focus more on placement rather than time. The slightest slip-up can cost skaters a chance to move on. Much of the young talent assembled over the weekend dreams of making the Olympics, but years of dedication and perseverance are needed to turn an elite skater into Olympic caliber. For Wausau native Dan Fiorenza, he knows how much work it's taken and how much further he has to develop. "I started skating when I was 5 years old back in Wausau," said the first-year Northern Michigan University student who trains at the Olympic training center in Marquette, Mich. "My dad got me started and I was hooked from the beginning. "We get up at 5:30 in the morning and get to the rink by 6. We warm up for about an hour and we're on the ice from 7 to 9 for practice. I have classes in the middle part of the day, and then we have another practice from 3:30 to 5:30. It's really like a full-time job." It's not all about just getting on the rink and skating, though. Athletes at the Olympic center put in countless hours doing core body work and participating in dry-land technique drills. "We put in about five hours per day, six days per week," Fiorenza said. "We do weight-training sessions twice a week and lots of other things off the ice. You have to be well-rounded to do this sport." Fiorenza's best result over the weekend was a sixth place finish in his specialty event, the 1500 meter in the A final. "I wanted to get out of the quarters and into the semis," said Fiorenza. "In my semi race, I sat behind and these two guys in front of me were battling it out before they both got disqualified, so I moved on. In the finals, all the racers were very fast, and I sat in as long as I could, but with two laps to go, I was dead." "The 1500 was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. In all my other races, I technically raced very well and did exactly what I wanted to do, so I was happy." In order to qualify for the Olympic Trials (for the 2010 Winter Olympics) being held in Marquette this September, Fiorenza has to shave about a half-second off his best time in the 1000-meter race. "They use your time from the 1000 because it's the middle distance," Fiorenza said. "There are plenty of races ahead before (the Olympic Trials), so hopefully I'll be able to make it." Whether or not an Olympic berth is in the future for the 17-year-old Fiorenza, he realizes the competition is tight. The U.S. short-track speedskating team consists of 10 members (five women, five men). "I'd like to make the junior world team next year, and hopefully qualify for the Olympics (in Sochi, Russia) for 2014. You just train and hope to get to the top and be the best you can be."
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