2014 U.S. ADULT CHAMPIONSHIPS
ice on another throw but fought her way back up to the crowd’s delight. Te pair finished with 45.19 points — a mere 0.03 points short of the bronze medal and just 0.44 points from the silver.
CHAMPIONSHIP ADULT DANCE
BY BARB REICHERT As the familiar chords of the rock ballad
“Open Arms” filled the arena, it was obvious Shay Sterlace and Yovanny Durango were about to take the crowd on a Journey. In a dramatic and powerful free dance, the
mesmerizing couple transformed an ice rink into an intimate setting and easily swayed away with the title. Sterlace, of the Liberty FSC of Philadelphia,
and Durango, of the University of Delaware FSC, entered the free dance just 4.06 points ahead of Sandra Nielson and Peter Sasmore, but the judges rewarded the duo for their lifts, artistry and speed with a huge free dance score of 42.61, more than 20 points higher than the silver medalists. Teir total score of 78.87 left nothing to doubt. “Tis is our first IJS,” Durango said. “When
Carol Cooper and Ethan Burgess
gess said. “It just clicked for us. We had a lot of fun getting into character.” In the second half of the program, Cooper
and Burgess showed little sign of fatigue as the tra- ditional Bond music changed to Adele’s “Skyfall.” But near the end, their third lift appeared headed for a dangerous fall until Burgess was able to pro- tect his partner from what looked like certain di- saster. An undeterred Cooper showed no hesitation as they entered their final lift, and the couple skat- ed off with an 8.90-point victory, a far cry from last year’s bronze-medal performance. Te rest of the podium was decided by the slightest of fractions, but each team took the mar- gins and the judging in stride. Tara Cioppa, of North Jersey FSC, and
Stephen Trzaska, of Washington FSC, put on a dreamlike performance, showing strong side-by- side spins and great balance to earn the silver med- al with 45.63 points. Te score was more than six points higher than in 2013 when the team finished fifth.
Kimberly Sailer and David Garber, both of
Pittsburgh FSC, combined comedy and athleti- cism as they skated their Blades of Glory program to “Don’t Wanna Miss a Ting” by Aerosmith. Te knowing crowd cheered on the characters Jimmy MacElroy and Chazz Michael Michaels, who took home the bronze medal with 45.22 points. Pewter medalists Jan Calnan, an individual
member, and Mark Stanford, SC of New York, opened with a solid combination spin that nicely fit the tune “Unchained Melody” and executed the best throw of the night, a double Salchow. Late in the program, Calnan came close to touching the
SKATING 17
we went to sectionals, we were hoping to have an IJS critique but it ended up being a 6.0. I was just hoping that our levels were OK, so we worked re- ally hard on everything and just wanted everything to be as smooth as possible.”
Teir opening twizzle set the tone and laid
the groundwork for a stunning diagonal hold, which earned 7.70 points. When they ended with a straightline lift with a cantilever position, the crowd was on its feet and passing tissues. Sterlace said the program originally was de- signed as an exhibition number, “but it just devel- oped into this great program. It’s wonderful.” Coincidentally, Sterlace used to be coached
by Sasmore, a professional choreographer and dance instructor. Sasmore had nothing but praise for the gold medalists. “She’s a wonderful skater,” he said. “I watched
Yovanny skate when he was competitive and he was such a strong skater. We knew coming in that they were going to be a very, very good team and we were excited to see them.” Sasmore and partner Nielson, a first-year ice
(l-r) Sandra Nielson and Peter Sasmore, Shay Sterlace and Yovanny Durango, Josephine Lee and Jim Kamin, Amy Engeler and Robert Engle
dancer still skating in freestyle blades, certainly held their own. Performing to U2’s “One,” they showed off a dramatic and athletic style to earn 26.11 points in the free dance. Teir 58.31 total earned the first- year team from the Peninsula SC the silver medal. “I chose the song because we’re tall and we usually skate to lyrical music,” Nielson said. “We wanted to do something more modern and we both like U2.” While Sasmore started the choreography, he
shared the credit. “We got help from other coaches on lifts that
would show off our height and positions,” he said. Josephine Lee and Jim Kamin, both of the
Starlight Ice Dance Club, heated up the ice with a romantic flamenco dance. Competing for the first time at the championship level, Lee and Kamin agreed the program needed a higher degree of dif- ficulty. “We put a slightly more challenging lift in af-
ter Midwesterns for the second lift, so we’ve only been working on it for a couple of weeks,” Lee said. “Given it was a new program, with really hard elements for us, we’re pleased with this. It was a challenging year,” Kamin said. Tey were rewarded with 27.87 points, lifting
them from fifth place to the bronze medal with a total score of 49.89. Te veteran team of Amy Engeler and Robert
Engle, both of the SC of New York, took home the pewter medal with 44.15 points.
Shay Sterlace and Yovanny Durango
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
MIA CORSINI/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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