INTERMEDIATE
featured great attitude, eye contact and some daring elements, such as a split double twist, a death spiral and a throw double Salchow. Tey had notably good speed on the ice and good momentum through their routine. Despite one fall from Burke, the pair achieved a score of 59.69.
“Te fall was OK,” Burke said.
“It hurt a little bit, but it was fine.” Teir coach, Cathryn Schwab,
said the two had been working hard in practice, especially on things that came as a challenge to them. “Te side star (lift) was proba-
bly the hardest thing for them com- ing in, and they’ve done a great job with it,” she said.
“Te split double twist was dif-
ficult as well,” Schwab added. “Tat was a new one.” Burke, who is 12 years old,
and Schwab, who is 16, have skated for more than three years together. Tey have competed at three U.S. national events, but winning the sil- ver medal in Omaha is the best they have done to date. “I love skating, especially
pairs,” Burke said. “I’m excited,” Schwab said.
“Skating is definitely going to be the rest of my life.” Finally, for Gabriella Marvaldi
and Kyle Hogeboom, excitement was written on their faces, as well as emanating from the many sup- porters they had in the audience.
Te final score for their theatrical, dynamic performance was 53.59. “We’re so excited,” said
Hogeboom, as the two struggled to hold all of the mementos thrown onto the ice after their program, which included multiple bouquets of flowers and several stuffed ani- mals.
“Yeah, we didn’t expect it at
all!” Marvaldi said. Te two, who live in New
Jersey, had been working on their throws and spins and they were proud of the final product they de- livered in Omaha. Hogeboom said their families
were present, as well as friends from their home rink. A special supporter who was
also in the crowd cheering for them was “Mr. Debonair” Richard Dwyer. Alexandria Schmainda and
Matthew Scoralle earned the pewter medal.
— Ali Hodge
INTERMEDIATE DANCE Eliana Gropman and Ian
Somerville have grown accustomed to the top of the podium. Both just 12 years old, they have already won juvenile dance titles at the 2012 Eastern Sectional and U.S. Junior Championships, the intermediate dance title at the 2013 Eastern Sec- tional Championships and now, the 2013 U.S. intermediate dance title.
here,” Gropman said.
“We’re both just so happy to be After a second-place finish in
the Rocker Foxtrot pattern dance, Gropman and Somerville stunned with their European Waltz, demon- strating posture, edge quality and carriage well beyond their years. Finishing the segment with 52.67 points, Gropman and Somerville entered the free dance more than four points ahead of the field; a feat they admit was not as effortless as they made it look. “We train six days a week from one to maybe three hours a day,” said Gropman, who, like Somer- ville, lives in Maryland. “Sundays we have ballet and the other days we have warming up and exercising.” Gropman and Somerville went
on to edge silver medalists Madison Fox and Val Katsman by less than a point in the free dance segment, but took the title with a total of 103.56 points. Fox and Katsman, coached
by Patti Gottwein and Trina Pratt in Colorado Springs, Colo., placed second in both segments of the event
and GOLD MEDALISTS
ALICIA BERTSCH AND
AUSTIN HALE 52 MARCH 2013 finished with 97.63
points. Teir free dance featured three Level 4 elements, including a combination spin that netted a pro- gram-high 5.50 points. “We’re feeling really good right
now,” Fox said. “We’ve been work- ing on a lot of footwork and lifts, and definitely spins and twizzles, too.”
In addition to their hard work,
Fox and Katsman receive some ex- tra day-to-day motivation, training alongside newly crowned U.S. nov- ice silver medalists Tory Patsis and Joseph Johnson at Honnen Ice Are- na at Colorado College. “It’s not so much that they
push each other,” Gottwein said. “I think that, emotionally, the older team really finds ways to encourage the younger team. Tey have a nice friendship that has little to do with skating. I would also credit a lot of our success to our rink. Te woman who runs the facility has really gone out of her way to provide us what we need to train these couples, so we have a really good training envi- ronment.”
Completing the podium were
Gwen Sletten and Elliot Verburg, who overcame a slight bobble in their European Waltz to earn 89.75 points and the bronze medal, fol- lowed by Rebecca Lustig and Zach- ary Milestone, who finished fourth with 87.61 points. — Mimi Whetstone
GOLD MEDALISTS
ELIANA GROPMAN AND
IAN SOMERVILLE
PHOTOS BY MELANIE HOYT
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