News
December 3, 2007
SCOB skaters shine at Junior Nationals
Showing maturity and competitive spirit beyond their tender years, ten SCOB skaters earned spots to compete in this year's U.S. Junior National Championships, held last week in Salt Lake City. They brought home two medals - a silver in Intermediate Ice Dance and a pewter in Intermediate Men.
Susan Enright and Michael Bramante were early favorites in intermediate ice dance, placing first in each of two compulsory rounds to take the lead. In their stunning free dance, skated to a pair of sultry tango pieces, they displayed solid lifts, clean edges, and difficult elements. "They have great flexibility," remarked Nancy Kerrigan. They earned 48.97 in the free dance, giving them a total score of 93.31 - just a hair out of first place, but more than enough to bring home the silver medal.
After the intermediate men's competition, Harrison Choate is a big fan of the new scoring system. With an eighth place finish in the short program, a skater would normally have had little chance of medalling under the old system. A subdued Choate took the ice for his long program - a tribute to baseball featuring cuts from *61 and A League of Their Own - and hit it out of the park. Landing two double axels and a difficult set of combination jumps, Harrison's rally earned him the fourth spot and a pewter medal. "I really had fun," said a relieved Choate in the kiss-and-cry.
The intermediate ladies event featured powerful performances from four talented SCOB skaters, each completing the final round with flawless performances. In the final results, Keilani-Lyn Rudderham finished in fifth, Yasmin Siraj in sixth, Angela Sementelli in 13th, and Rochelle Dost in 15th.
In the juvenile events, SCOB skaters showed a glimpse of the future, with Brianna Coviello and Lauren Lampiasi finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, in ladies' qualifying group C, and Adrian Huertas (Hayden FSC) placing 14th in boys' qualifying group A.
