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RICHMOND, British Columbia – As veteran teammate Chad Hedrick was saying his goodbyes nearby, Jonathan Kuck was relishing his first Olympic experience.

Kuck, a 19-year-old Champaign speedskater, won a silver medal in team pursuit Saturday. The Urbana University High grad and Illinois junior-to-be became the first Champaign County male to medal at the Winter Olympics and, along with Champaign's Katherine Reutter, upped C-U's total to three at Vancouver.

"It feels great," Kuck said. "Coming here to my first Olympics, it is really exciting to wear the silver medal."

Kuck, Hedrick and Brian Hansen finished second to Canada in the final by 0.21 second. Hedrick claimed his fifth medal in five different events, making him one of only four males in Olympic history to compile such a versatile resume.

"It's sort of bittersweet," Hedrick said.

Kuck finished eighth in the 10,000 meters earlier.

"I think we skated well," he said. "Maybe we could have had some improvements. We haven't skated together too much. But given the fact that I think I have only ever skated with Chad once before Vancouver here. So pulling together in a few days, I think we did all right, and I am excited about it."

Hedrick was impressed.

"I'm proud of these guys," Hedrick said. "We came in as big underdogs. The average age of our group, aside from myself, is 19 1/2. We came out here and I pumped these guys up. I believed in them all week. All three of these guys are great skaters, and they've got bright futures."

Sven Kramer and the Netherlands won bronze in men's pursuit, beating Norway by 0.55 in the third-place race with an Olympic-record time (3:39.95) that was faster than either of the finalists.