JUNIOR PAIRS
SIMPSON AND BLACKMER FINALLY REACH THE SUMMIT
by JOSH ELLIS As the final team received their
scores, Britney Simpson and Mat- thew Blackmer engaged in a long embrace. For the pair, a long road, filled with ups and downs, had cul- minated in their first U.S. title to- gether, and you could tell from the look on their faces and the tears in their eyes how much it meant to them.
“For me, I’ve been coming to the U.S. Championships for a very long time and I have always been so close,” Simpson said. “We got what we wanted so I was happy to finally relax and be happy that we did what we trained to do.” “Last year we had big expecta- tions and a lot of pressure and we were right there, but not quite," Blackmer said. "But to get there this year was big, super emotional and a validation of what we have been working so hard for,” Simpson and Blackmer, who
joined forces in February 2011, were medalists prior to their part- nership, but a U.S. title was some- thing special for these two. Second after the short pro-
gram, Simpson and Blackmer ex- ecuted their elements well in their free skate, which included a throw triple loop that earned 5.80 points, but won gold on the strength of their component score, which was nearly six points higher than the second-place team. Tey finished with an overall score of 146.44. “I think all we focused on was going out, having fun and per- forming and that’s what we did out there,” Simpson said. Te duo were scheduled to
compete at the World Junior Cham- pionships in Milan, Italy, Feb. 25‒ March 3, where they looked to im- prove upon their 10th-place finish from last year. Jessica Calalang and Zack Sid-
hu, third after the short program, earned the silver medal with 141.52 points. Last year’s pewter medalists generated 93.20 points for their free skate and reeled in the best score for their elements in the competition. “Today we skated pretty
well, although it wasn’t our best,” Calalang said. “We still have room for improvement, but we had a lot
of fun today.” Included in their performance
were the event’s top two elements, a Level 4 Axel lasso lift that earned 7.20 points and a throw triple Lutz that counted for 6.35 points. Calalang and Sidhu, who train in California, were second after the short program last year in San Jose, but two falls in their free skate dropped them to fourth. Tis year, the duo who train under Olympi- ans Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, skated clean and confidently to ad- vance their position from the short program. Madeline Aaron and Max Set- tlage, rinkmates of the champions in Colorado Springs, Colo., secured the bronze medal with 138.41 points. Tey entered the free skate in first place; however three falls during their free skate had them clinging to the bronze medal by one-tenth of a point. Despite the rocky start to the routine, Settlage and Aaron executed their final five elements with a positive grade of execution. “Today we didn’t do exactly
what we had trained,” Aaron, fight- ing tears, said after the free skate. “But we are still happy to leave here with a medal.” Te bronze is their second of the season after earning a medal of the same color at the Junior Grand Prix–United States last September. Te duo also improved their posi- tion from last year’s sixth-place fin- ish at this event.
“I definitely feel like we’ve
grown a lot this year,” Settlage said. “Tis is just another experience and we are going to take it as that and keep going.” Aaron is the sister of Max Aar-
on, the newly crowned U.S. men’s champion.
Earning the pewter medal
were last year’s novice champions Chelsea Liu and Devin Perini with 138.31 points. Te two were happy with their finish in their first season competing at the junior level. “Both Chelsea and I have been
working really hard,” Perini said. “We medaled our first time as ju- niors and it feels good.”
GOLD MEDALISTS
BRITNEY SIMPSON AND
MATTHEW BLACKMER
SILVER MEDALISTS
JESSICA NOELLE CALALANG AND
ZACK SIDHU
BRONZE MEDALISTS
MADELINE AARON AND
MAX SETTLAGE SKATING 37
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