2016 U.S. COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Skaters get into the spirit of the occasion at the draw party.
EXTRA CREDIT
Wang, Aaron launch season with promising performances by MICHAEL TERRY AND SARAH ARNOLD
Angela Wang, a health science major at
the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), elevated her game to claim the senior ladies title at the 2016 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships, July 29–30, in West- minster, Colorado. “I competed last weekend (Sun Valley
Summer Championships) so I’m glad I did that to get myself out there,” Wang, a member of Team USA, said. “I made lots of improvements today, even in a short week. I finally got my lev- els. I’m getting more and more comfortable with this program. I really love it. It’s a different style than I’ve done in the past, but it’s a lot of fun.” Te college sophomore, who has a mi-
nor in psychology, performed her winning free skate to music from the movie soundtrack of Te Notebook. She landed 11 jumps and earned Level 4s on three spins. “I wanted to work on my levels for sure,”
she said. “I struggled with those last week. I wanted to attack every single element. I achieved those goals and it’s a good start to the season.” Wang was one of 20 senior ladies com-
peting her short program and free skate at the Ice Centre at the Promenade. Her overall score of 172.73 easily won the event, which earned Wang a $5,000 scholarship, courtesy of the Pio- neer Fund. Alexis Gagnon, a sophomore at Scottsdale
Community College in Arizona studying exer- cise and wellness, secured the silver medal with 123.57 points and a scholarship of $2,500. “I tell the story of a guy and a girl going on
a date and she isn’t totally into it at first,” Gag- non said, describing her free skate to a version of
38 OCTOBER 2016
the song “A Night Like Tis.” “I come across as a sassy, tango character, which is fun to perform. “Tat was my personal best skate all season,
which is good because I’m trying to build up to making the national team again.” Angela Wang
Gagnon loved the atmosphere at the com-
petition. “I think it’s fun because everyone is in col-
lege and doing it for fun,” she said. “It’s not over- ly serious, which I like. We’re able to mingle and
PHOTOS BY SARAH ARNOLD
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