News
February 5, 2008
It's a bronze for Stephen Carriere at US Nationals
While most skaters pondered the uncertainty of one of the most competitive US National Championship competitions in recent memory, Stephen Carriere's thoughts were more long term. "I want to continue to build on each competition," a visibly confident Carriere said. "The year 2010 is coming soon."
Certainly the approaching drum beat of the Vancouver Winter Olympics is on the minds of many skaters. And this pivotal year seemed to bring out the best in many of the newest faces on the US figure skating scene. Stephen Carriere, who took Junior gold in 2006 and finished a respectable ninth in his 2007 senior debut later rallied to win the 2007 World Junior Championship. Since then Carriere's work ethic has intensified, netting him a fourth place finish at Skate America followed by bronze at the NHK Trophy. Not a bad outcome for a debut year on the senior Grand Prix circuit.
But to many US skaters, the National Championships are the most difficult and nerve wracking of all competitions -- a place to face old rivals and to compete head-to-head among old friends. And with two US champions -- Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir -- in the house, the prospects for young up-and-comers like Carriere may seem limited.
This did not deter Carriere. From the opening circular footwork of his "Stairway to Heaven" program Carriere set himself apart from the field in both speed and style. Despite a slight bobble on his triple Axel, he upped the ante with a huge triple flip-triple toe and then continued through the required elements, earning positive GOEs and level 3s and 4s for his spins and step sequences. His 76.66 was both a personal best and a comfortable hold on third place.
In the long program, Carriere presented his "Zoot Suit" medley with flair and a wink in his eye. He followed his opening triple Axel-double toe combination with a huge triple toe-double toe-double toe embellished with hands over his head. In all, he completed a total of eight triples and received level 3s and 4s on his spins and footwork. He earned a 78.82 technical score and a 72.58 for program components, placing him in the lead with a personal best total competition score of 228.06. Just Lysacek and Weir remained, and with both posting personal best scores Carriere was only too pleased to "settle" for the bronze medal.
Due to live network broadcast limitations, SCOB members were cheated out of enjoying Scott Smith's free skate among the top six. Fortunately, this conservative but glimmering performance to Asturias (Leyenda) by Albeniz is preserved on icenetwork.com.
Opening with a triple Axel-double toe-double loop, Smith landed a total of seven triples but placed five past the half-way point for bonus points. He earned level 4s for three of his spins, but it was his comparatively easy level 1 straight line step sequence -- attacked at the climax of the music -- that really brought the house down. Upon finishing the clean program, Smith seemed overwhelmed by the appreciative audience and was visibly moved when the audience erupted again in spontaneous applause while awaiting his scores from the judges. A personal best of 144.21 for the free skate with a total competition score of 210.55 earned Smith six place overall.
In senior ladies, SCOB newcomer and Eastern Sectional champ Katrina Hacker was a study in poise and control. After just missing qualification for Nationals one year ago, Hacker made up for lost time with two memorable performances. Her "Love Story" short program exhibited such quality and flow she should not have been surprised by the high marks for GOE and components. In fifth place, Hacker sat just 0.71 behind defending champion Kimmie Meissner and ahead of Beatrisa Liang and Caroline Zhang. In the long program, Hacker completed four triples including a triple Lutz she attempted for the first time in competition. She was awarded level 4s for her spiral sequence and all four of her spins. Her free skate score of 101.41 put her in sixth place for her senior debut with a total competition score of 158.28.
Congratulations to Stephen, Scott, and Katrina for delivering personal best performances when it really counted!
