U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
competition.” Johnson’s Zorro-themed free
skate featured a double Axel-double toe combination and one level four spin.
Te Broadmoor SC’s Jun-
Hong Chen loves to skate, a fact that is visible not only in his presen- tation on the ice, but also in the fact that he and his family are based in Santa Fe, N.M. “He has great discipline,”
coach Eddie Shipstad said of the bronze medalist. “He has to do a lot of work on his own because he is only in Colorado Springs to train about every other weekend. A lot can be said for his work ethic and the dedication of him and his fam- ily that they are willing to make these sacrifices for the love of the sport.”
Te pewter medal went to Eric
Sjoberg, while hometown skater Ivan Mokhov placed fifth. “I’m so happy I got to compete at my home rink,” Mokhov said af- ter receiving overwhelming cheers from the crowd. “Tey were really loud. I liked that.”
— Renee Felton JUVENILE PAIRS Gabriella Marvaldi and Kyle
Hogeboom’s journey to the top of the podium actually started at the 2011 U.S. Junior Championships with a few pieces of paper and a hat. At that event in Salt Lake City,
Gabriella Marvaldi and Kyle Hogeboom
Marvaldi and Hogeboom placed 12th. Tat night, the pair sat down with one of their coaches, Isabelle Brasseur, and decided on the music for next year’s program. Marvaldi and Hogeboom placed pieces of pa- per with music genres in a hat and pulled out Country. Hogeboom later found a violin version of “Cot- ton-Eyed Joe” to skate to. “I think it’s the kind of pro- gram people can relate to and clap to,” Brasseur said. Marvaldi and Hogeboom’s fun-filled skate propelled them to the top with a score of 38.23 points. At the end of their program, the pair hugged, beaming with smiles. “I don’t even know the feeling
I’m having,” Hogeboom said. “We did everything we wanted to. We had fun.”
Teir routine, which included
a throw Axel, received a loud ova- tion from the crowd. As the pair came off the ice, they were greeted with hugs from their coaches Bras- seur and Rocky Marval, who also are Marvaldi’s parents. Te coaches were emotional about the win after the scores were announced. “I was pretty happy and pretty
emotional,” Marval said. “Having my daughter win a national title, I was excited.” For Marvaldi and Hogeboom, the journey to a national win was a hard one, Marval said.
“A lot of learning experiences
for the kids,” he said. Alicia Bertsch and Austin Hale placed second with 37.62 points. Te pair began skating together six months ago, with this being their second competition as a team. Teir routine included side-by-side Axels and a level two lift. “Tey skated really well,”
coach Alena Lunin said. “Tey did their best.” Bertsch thought their perfor-
mance went well. “I just wanted to do my best,”
Bertsch said. “[Te score] doesn’t re- ally matter to me.” Garnering a score of 36.74
points, Joanna Hubbart and Wil- liam Hubbart finished third. Teir Russian-themed performance con- tained a throw Axel.
“I think it was good, but we
could do better,” William said. Darbie Burke and Griffin Schwab ended in fourth place with 35.64 points.
— Julia Nagy
JUVENILE ICE DANCING In what might be the second
coming of Meryl Davis/Charlie White and Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir, a quartet of friendly rivals and close friends, all representing the Wash- ington FSC, topped the podium. Eliana Gropman and Ian
Somerville, who finished second in the pattern dance segment, skated a near-perfect “Moon River” free dance and earned 45.69 points.
Totaling 83.71 points for the com- petition, they bettered their Eastern Sectional Championships score by five points.
“Tat was the best we have ever
done,” Gropman said. Teir pals Gwen Sletten and
Elliot Verburg secured the silver medal with 80.83 points. Looking the part in their Alice and Wonder- land finery, Verburg conceded he couldn’t wear the Mad Hatter’s top hat à la Johnny Depp so he had to settle for orange hair dye. “Tis stuff comes off really eas-
ily,” he said. “I had the umbrella so close to my head when we were coming here because I didn’t want the rain to make this orange go all over my face.”
Each team was thrilled with the one-two finish. “We are such good friends, es-
pecially Elliot and me,” Somerville said. “We are each pretty good so we watch out for each other. We moti- vate, support and push each other to keep improving.”
When asked if they aspire to the successes of famous training mates and friends Davis and White, the 2011 World ice dancing cham- pions, and Virtue and Moir, the 2010 Olympic champions, Somer- ville smiled. “I really hope so.” McKenzie Schurman and Chandler Schaak, of the Pond FSC, placed third in both segments of competition and earned 77.80 points overall.
(l-r) Alicia Bertsch/Austin Hale, Gabriella Marvaldi/Kyle Hogeboom, Joanna Hubbart/William Hubbart, Darbie Burke/Griffin Schwab
18 FEBRUARY 2012
PHOTOS BY TSS PHOTOGRAPHY
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