News
November 21, 2007
Veteran junior skaters grab coveted spots at Nationals
A talented team of junior skaters represented SCOB well across all disciplines in Sectionals this year. Among them, second year juniors captured gold in men's, silver in ladies, and a 4th place qualifying spot in pairs.
In the men's short program, Curran Oi captured the spotlight with his dramatic interpretation of Phantom of the Opera. Dressed in black with a mask across his gloves, he not only delivered a solid set of jumps, including a double axel, triple flip-double toe, and triple loop, but he also racked up component points for his effective portrayal of a conflicted and complex Phantom. His level 3 circular steps, level 4 flying sit spin and level 4 combination spin completed the well constructed program, earning a total of 53.92 points.
For the free skate, a determined Oi was even more spectacular in his "Freedom" program, demonstrating eight triple jumps including triple loop, triple Axel, triple Lutz-double toe, triple flip-triple toe, triple flip, triple Salchow and triple Lutz. With a program score of 118.66, Oi's total of 172.58 left him with a gold medal around his neck and more than twenty-six points ahead of his nearest competitor.
Other SCOB junior skaters competed at Easterns included Schuyler Eldridge, who delivered two solid rounds to finish 10th overall, and Colin Norgeot who finished 11th in the short program and withdrew prior to the free skate.
In junior ladies, Brittney Rizo dazzled in the short program. In elegant buttercup yellow with a backdrop of fluid music she delivered a clean set of jumps including triple loop, triple toe-double toe, and double Axel. Her program was notable for its speed, especially during the spiral sequence, and the gentle emotion she brought to the music was consistent even through the spins and footwork. Her score of 50.48 was the high mark for the event.
In the free skate, Rizo was just as captivating, although her program was marked by a few stumbles. Changing character for "Malaguena," Rizo delivered three solid triples and continued to rack up points for the strength of her other elements, particularly her signature spiral sequence and fast combination spin. She was rewarded for her artistry with very high component marks and a 76.73 for the performance. In the end Rizo won the silver, finishing just .73 points behind the gold.
In junior pairs, SCOB fielded two brother-sister teams. At the end of the short program, Lara and Neill Shelton held the fourth spot with a score of 31.22 while Molly and Chris Schleicher sat in fifth place with 26.89. With only four teams qualifying for U.S. Nationals, the competition went down to the wire with a battle for the final spot. In the end, it was the Schleichers who put up the higher scoring free skate, earning 54.87 and a total score of 81.76 to finish fourth. This will be Molly and Chris' first trip to U.S. Nationals as juniors.
SCOB member Brin Adams and her partner Daniel Donigan (All Year FSC) opted to contend in the junior ice dance competition at Pacific Coast Sectionals, delivering strong performances that placed fifth in both compulsory rounds as well as the free dance, resulting in a fifth place finish overall.
We congratulate Curran, Brittney, Molly and Chris on their accomplishments and wish them the best in St. Paul.
