2012 PRUDENTIAL U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS JUNIOR - PAIRS
TRAINING MATES CELEBRATE
PODIUM SWEEP by TROY SCHWINDT
D
alilah Sappenfield’s army of pairs teams hooked up for an im- promptu celebration in a corridor of HP Pavilion following the junior pairs event.
A sweep of the podium by teams that train at the Broadmoor SC in
Colorado Springs, Colo., left Sappenfield and company feeling elated. “I’m speechless,” said the veteran coach, who with assistant coach
Larry Ibarra stood at the boards for seven teams (two senior, four junior, one novice) in San Jose. “I just want my kids to go out and skate their very best and skate what they’ve trained. I’m pleased that they really fought. It was completely unexpected.” Sappenfield, who has coached the U.S. senior pairs champions in four of the past five seasons, insists there’s no formula for her success. “My kids just work well together,” she said. “Tey are matched
well. Tey have a great camaraderie and work ethic at home.” Te team of Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier emerged as champions with 148.84 points. Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medal- ists Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer won the free skate and secured the silver medal with 146.43 points, while longtime partners Kylie Duarte and Colin Grafton grabbed the bronze medal with 144.35 points. In preparation for the bright lights of San Jose, the Broadmoor SC
teams performed their programs in costume at a handful of “Fire and Ice” exhibitions.
“Tat made it easier to come here and fight,” Sappenfield said. For Denney, 16, and Frazier, 19, their gold medal holds special meaning. Tey grew up together at the roller rink before embarking on an ice skating career from 2005 to 2008. Tey earned the U.S. interme- diate bronze medal in 2008. Teir partnership ended when Denney moved back to Florida. Te two skaters went on to compete with other partners until reuniting in the spring of 2011.
“I always had that feeling we would go back together,” Frazier said. “Brandon is like my brother, skating with him feels natural and
comfortable,” Denney said. Skating to music from the Chicago soundtrack, Denney and Fra- zier turned in a personal-best short program to take a two-point lead. Teir Pearl Harbor soundtrack moved seamlessly across the ice. Tey executed a pair of level four lifts and a level four spin. Denney, however, fell on the team’s throw triple loop. “When they got back together, we kind of knew it was right,” Sap- penfield said. “Tis year it was about trying to jell again; they had both developed, so it was just about jelling and working with their differ- ences they have now.” Simpson, 15, and Blackmer, 20, third after the short program,
performed a memorable routine to music from the Titanic soundtrack. Program highlights included a pair of level four spins and level three lifts. Tey received all positive grades of execution except for a minor deduction on their double flip-double toe combination. Te duo credited their JGP experience with helping them in San
Jose but tried to approach their two performances in a business-like manner. “At the end of the day, nationals is just another sheet of ice for us to
show what we have been training and to continue our performances,” Blackmer said. “Te experience is definitely invaluable, but it’s ice all the same.”
Britney Simpson/Matthew Blackmer
Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier
Kylie Duarte/Colin Grafton
With so much success in the JGP Series and at the JGP Final, Sap- penfield was concerned that Simpson and Blackmer might place too much pressure on themselves to succeed. “I was very proud of them coming in here,” Sappenfield said. “As
much as the Junior Grand Prix and the Final is an experience, it’s also a pressure cooker. Tey put a lot of expectations on themselves instead of treating it like another competition, so we had to work on that between the (JGP) Final and nationals.” Duarte, 18, and Grafton, 20, who have skated together for nine
years, placed fourth in the short program and third in the free skate. “She has had injuries along the way, so it’s been rough on her men- tally to train the way she wants to train, so they’ve always been on the cusp of doing well,” Sappenfield said. “I’m happy they were able to keep it together; the experience of being together so long paid off in the end.” Jessica Noelle Calalang and Zack Sidhu, second after the short program, finished fourth with 134.84 points.
SKATING 37
PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF
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