U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
TRENDING UPWARD JUVENILE, INTERMEDIATE CHAMPS CROWNED IN EAST LANSING
M
ore than 300 athletes converged on East Lan- sing, Mich., Dec. 10-14
for the 2012 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships. Champi- ons in singles, pairs and ice dancing were crowned in the first two levels of the U.S. Figure Skating competi- tive structure: juvenile and interme- diate.
Singles skaters qualified for the
U.S. Junior Championships based on their finishes at one of nine re- gional championships held around the country in October. Pairs and ice dancing teams qualified at one of three sectional events in mid- November. Suburban Ice East Lansing hosted the 2012 U.S. Junior Cham- pionships.
JUVENILE GIRLS Tere were a lot of firsts for Caitlin Nguyen
Caitlin Nguyen in East Lansing. It was her first national competition. She was first to skate. It was her first time landing a double Axel in com- petition. And she finished first with a score of 49.65 points. Landing the Axel had eluded
the All Year FSC representative all season. She was pushing herself, working at it, but couldn’t land it, until finally, it happened. “I’m very proud of her,” coach
Tammy Gambill said. “She’s a hard little worker. She just has this en- ergy about her that’s just so nice to watch.”
Nguyen’s win shocked her. “I felt excited,” Nguyen said. “I was surprised. I was the first skater.” After skating first, the compe- tition was a waiting game to see if Nguyen would grab the top spot. Gambill knew Nguyen’s score was high enough to make it onto the
podium, but didn’t know how high on the podium Nguyen would be, she said.
“I was very happy,” Gambill
said. “She tried to skate big. She re- ally put it out there.” Nguyen enjoyed the experi- ence and opportunity to perform on a big stage, she said. She also loved having the op-
portunity to work with her sister Elizabeth Nguyen, who is also coached by Gambill and was a silver medalist in the intermediate ladies division at this event. “We both fix each other,” Cait-
lin said. “It helps a lot.” When Elizabeth found out
about Caitlin’s win, she was ecstatic. “I was jumping up and down,”
Elizabeth said. “She’s a very hard worker and loves to skate. I hope she can continue doing that.” Tessa Hong from the Los An- geles FSC earned second place with 48.05 points. Coach Pe- ter Oppegard credited the high placement to Hong’s speed and spins.
“I thought it was absolutely fantastic,” Oppegard said. “I’m really proud.” With arms outstretched and a smile, Hong made her way across the ice as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 played in the background.
“I’ve been working on my pre-
sentation,” Hong said. “It felt really great.”
Ashlee Raymond from the
Dallas FSC finished third with 45.46 points. Raymond performed to “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman.
“I did my best,” Raymond
said. “Once I know I did my best, my results don’t matter at all.” Aurora Abraham from Palm
Beach FSC placed fourth with 45.27 points.
— Julia Nagy JUVENILE BOYS
Andrew Torgashev expected he could win gold if he earned be- tween 49 and 50 points for his “Pa- ganini” free skate. It’s a good thing he scored 54.02 points instead, as the top four finishers each broke the 49-point mark.
“I skated a lot better than in
the qualifying round,” the 10-year- old explained. “I landed my double Axels and had a great skate. Te win is fantastic. I did more than what I came to do.” Torgashev, who won bronze
in this event last year, noted that his skate at the Junior Champion- ships was far better than the one he turned in at regionals. “For the first time this season, I did everything,” he said. “Even
(l-r) Tessa Hong, Caitlin Nguyen, Ashlee Raymond, Aurora Abraham
16 FEBRUARY 2012
PHOTOS BY TSS PHOTOGRAPHY
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