The High Peaks Skating Academy synchronized skating team smiles with their silver medals at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid on Sunday. Pictured from left are Elizabeth Kivlen. Lucy Lindsay, Harper Gnann, Madelyn Amell, Myla Lolonde, Nora Gardner, Madelyn Leblanc, Amelia Savage, Coach Amy Payton and Taelyn Woodruff. (Provided photo)

LAKE PLACID — The local High Peaks Skating Academy brought home the silver medal on Sunday during the Empire State Winter Games’ Synchronized Skating Aspire division.

The team is based out of Tupper Lake and includes skaters from Tupper and Saranac Lake and features skaters Elizabeth Kivlen, Lucy Lindsay, Harper Gnann, Madelyn Amell, Myla Lolonde, Nora Gardner, Madelyn Leblanc, Amelia Savage and Taelyn Woodruff. They are coached by Amy Payton.

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Short track speedskating

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The ESWG short track speedskating event concluded Sunday, with athletes competing in 1,500, 777 and 500-meter races at the Olympic Center’s 1932 Jack Shea Arena.

In the Division 1 Heartland Women’s 1,500-meter, Sasha Mensa, 16, claimed first with a time of 2 minutes, 51.411 seconds. In the men’s Division 2 Heartland final, Hugo Arthur Kelly’s time of 2:51.703 won the 15-year-old gold.

Serhiy Lifyrenko, 39, finished first in the Division 9 Masters A 1,500-meter event, crossing the finish line in 2:44.688. In the following Division 7 Open 1,500-meter race, Kate Stewart, 63, finished with an official time of 3:08.651.

The Division 5 Scholastic A title was won by Leilani Fuller, 12, who finished her 1,500 meters in 2:53.135.

Theodore Tucholski’s time of 2:53.135 earned the eight-year-old a gold in the Division 3 Pre-Scholastic B event, the day’s only 777-meter race. The next race, the Division 8 Master B 1,000-meter, was won by Max Pometun, 49, with a time of 2:09.383.

Canadian Amaliia Bushareb, 15, completed her 1,000-meter race in 2:01.652, placing first in the Division 6 Scholastic B group.

To round out the day, Sam Winter, 10, finished his nine laps in 2:01.214 to claim the top spot in today’s Division 4 Pre-Scholastic A 1,000-meter competition.

On Saturday, nine different divisions, with skaters ranging from ages 7 to 67, competed in short track speedskating.

Sadhana Ganesan, 17, earned gold in the Division 1 Heartland Women’s 1,000-meter race, crossing the finish line with an official time of 1:48.011. In the Men’s Division 2 Heartland 1,000-meter, Kelly finished his nine laps in 1:38.157, placing first in his division.

The Division 3 Pre-Scholastic B 333-meter title was claimed by Tucholski with a time of 45.148. In the Division 4 Pre-Scholastic A 777-meter race, Winter finished in 1:33.272 and won gold.

Andrew Smith, 14, finished his 1,000-meter race in 1:53.981, placing first in the Division 5 Scholastic A group. Bushareb, one of two Canadian athletes competing in the short track speed skating event, won the Division 6 Scholastic B 777-meter race.

Stewart claimed the Division 7 Open 1,000-meter title with a time of 2:00.493, and Pometun, 49, placed first in the Division 8 Master B 777-meter.

To wrap up the 1,000-, 777-and 333-meter races, Jin Sung Kim, 40, won the Division 9 Masters A 1,000-meter race with a time of 1:44.849.

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Ski orienteering

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The first of three Empire State Winter Games ski orienteering races got underway on Friday evening at the Scott’s Cobble Nordic ski course in Lake Placid. Joshua Yeaton won the Men’s 21 and up division, navigating the trail network in a time of 38 minutes, 22 seconds.

Ski Orienteering is a cross-country skiing event where athletes navigate with just a compass and a map, looking for checkpoints throughout the course. The further away the skier is from the starting gate, the more points are earned. The skier with the fastest time and the most points wins gold.

Friday night, a group of 50 skiers, competing in 17 different categories for men and women, were given two hours to complete one of four courses among different terrains.

James Connell finished second, more than six minutes off of Yeaton’s pace, crossing the finish line in a time of 44.33. The bronze medal was awarded to Taras Kashuk, who skied to a time of 45:47.

Sharon Crawford, who finished first in the Female 70 division in a time of 58:39, enjoyed the race’s ski and weather conditions.

“It’s wonderful to be on skis and is so fun. You combine skiing with navigating,” Crawford said.

She also explained that what makes ski orienteering fun is the uncertainty from spot to spot, and that “the whole point is to go in order, the fastest possible way, and without a mistake to lead you down a wrong path.”

Nadezhda Popova grabbed the Female 70 and up division silver medal when she crossed the finish line in 1:38:48, and Terry Myers Coney came away with the bronze. Her time was clocked at 2:00:46.

In the second of a three-race Empire State Winter Games ski orienteering race series at Mount Van Hoevenberg on Saturday, athletes ages 12 to 82 took part in a competition.

Woodrow Connell won the men’s U20 event in a time of 37:19. The 14-year-old finished more than three minutes ahead of silver medalist Etienne Jacques, 17, who crossed the finish line in 41.05, and more than 15 minutes in front of Andrei Ignatin, 15, who completed the race in 52.16.

Yeaton also claimed Saturday’s men’s 21 and up gold medal. He navigated his way through the course in 1:03:14.

Kashchuk, 33, claimed the silver medal, in 1:14:03, and Adrian Owens, 56, grabbed the bronze medal. He stopped the clock in 1:18:14.