U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
(l-r) Gwen Sletten/Elliot Verburg, Eliana Gropman/Ian Somerville, McKenzie Schurman/Chandler Schaak, Madison Fox/Val Katsman
Eliana Gropman and Ian Somerville Skating to an energetic Latin
medley, Schurman, in an orange dress that could give the Hatter’s hair a run for its money, and Schaak agreed that beefing up their training time paid off. “We are at the rink six days a
week for about four hours of train- ing on ice and another hour off ice,” Schurman said. “We are both home schooled now so we have the flex- ibility to train and concentrate on skating when we need to and still get our schoolwork done.” In one of the closest margins
possible, Madison Fox and Val Katsman, with 70.36 points, edged Morgan Tromp and Zachary Mile- stone’s 70.33 and secured the pew- ter medal.
— Renee Felton
INTERMEDIATE LADIES Ashley Shin, 13, was speechless
following her victory. Coaches Olga Ganicheva and Aleksey Letov could barely coax a word from their shy student, but needed no help cajol- ing a flawless free skate out of the 13-year-old. For her Carmen free skate,
Shin, from the Dallas area, exhibited easily the best technical elements of the competition. She earned 38.00 of her 68.05 points for the segment on elements including a triple toe- double toe combination, two more triple jumps and level four spins. Tough in ninth place after the short program, Shin totaled 99.41
points and edged silver medalist Elizabeth Nguyen by 0.35 points. “I was very nervous going into
the short program,” she said. “I let go after that and decided to have more fun. I’m very happy.” Shin will complete at the nov-
ice level next season. Despite being required to move up the competi- tive ladder following the win in East Lansing, Ganicheva is confident her student already has the necessary el- ements to remain competitive. “She’s already doing a triple- triple combination and is working on her triple Lutz,” Ganicheva said. “Ashley is a great skater and is ready for the next step.” Short program winner Nguy-
en, of the All Year FSC, showcased her spin technique during her “Children” free skate. Te pro- gram, which netted 62.79 points,
Ashley Shin
(l-r) Elizabeth Nguyen, Ashley Shin, Tyler Pierce, Dalia Rivkin
SKATING 19
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