JUVENILE
gan Messing and Jonathan Cassar. “At sectionals, Keegan and
Jonathan came up and introduced themselves to Dinh,” coach Don Corbiell said. “As you can see, it re- ally made an impression.” — Renee Felton
JUVENILE PAIRS
Te juvenile pairs competition was a sibling affair, but not one of rivalry. Brother-and-sister duo Wil-
liam and Joanna Hubbart of Palm Harbor, Fla., took the top spot by nearly 10 points. Teir Irish- themed program and performance earned them an event-best score of 48.16. “We’re excited!” Joanna said. “Yeah,” agreed her older broth-
er, beaming, “We got surprisingly high scores.”
Te pair had been working
hard, practicing for this moment every day of the season. Tis was especially challenging for William, since he also competed in the inter- mediate men’s event. “It is difficult because there is
not a lot of break,” he said. Teir pairs performance was filled with skillful tricks, delivered with a mature air of ease. Te up- beat show included theatrical dance steps, a smooth death spiral and a nearly perfect synchronized side-by- side double Lutz. Te Hubbart siblings said practices focused on technique, par- ticularly with the throws and lifts. William said he thought the prac- tice paid off in Omaha, contribut-
GOLD MEDALISTS WILLIAM HUBBART
JOANNA HUBBART AND
ing undoubtedly to their high score. Tere was also an extra special element to their win at the U.S. Championships. “Today is my birthday,” Joanna
said. “I’m 14 today!” “It was a good way to spend
my birthday, since I love the sport and love to skate with my brother,” she said. For silver medalists Cate Haw-
kins and Eric Hartley, it may not have been a sibling bond uniting them on the ice, but they were both excited to see how far they have come over the past two years work- ing together. Te score for their Egyp-
tian-style performance, which in- cluded energetic and well-executed half press lifts and side-by-side fly- ing camel spins, was 39.91 points. Hawkins and Hartley, both
of Ohio, won the Midwestern Sec- tional Championships last year and competed at the U.S. Junior Cham- pionships, where they finished 15th.
“I feel like we were more sol- GOLD MEDALIST NAUMOV MAXIM 48 MARCH 2013
id,” Hawkins said. “Our style and everything has improved so much over the last two years.” Twin competitors Jasmine and Joshua Fendi, of Big Bear Lake, Ca-
lif., earned the bronze medal with a personal-best score of 38.84 points. Te two performed an Alad-
din-themed program with high en- ergy and speed. Te 10-years-olds also brought great personality to their performance, as it was clear to see that they were not only having fun skating, they were having fun with each other. “Tey’re a delight,” coach Kar-
en Kwan-Oppegard said. Te two are special, she said, because they have great minds, good attitudes, and are supportive of not only each other, but also their pair mates and their friends in the competitions. Indiana siblings Greta and
John Crafoord finished fourth with 38.43 points.
— Ali Hodge
JUVENILE DANCE Caroline and Gordon Green
finished seventh at last year’s U.S. Junior Championships. Just one year later, the brother-sister team secured their
first national title,
besting their competitors by more than seven points. “It feels amazing. I’m so hap- py right now,” Caroline said. “I
PHOTOS BY MELANIE HOYT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84