Zawadzki leads the ladies at U.S. Nationals

It was a spectacular night for the American ladies at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, with just about every competitor fighting for the coveted title. In the end, it was 17-year-old Agnes Zawadzki who leads the way, skating a spectacular program after contemplating the sport altogether at the end of last season.

“I just kind of lost my love for the sport for a while,” she said. “I wasn’t sure that I wanted to continue.”

Instead of quitting, Zawadzki decided on a coaching change—from Tom Zakrasjek back to her previous coach David Santee. The 2011 U.S. pewter medalist has seemingly made the right choice—electrifying…

Marley and Brubaker lead pairs at U.S. Nationals

Mary Beth Marley, 16, and Rockne Brubaker, 25, took the lead in the senior pairs short program at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, skating the only clean program of the top three contenders. With rain clouds forming outside the HP Pavilion, their Singin’ in the Rain program drew a partial standing ovation from the San Jose, Calif., crowd.

“Tonight felt really good to perform again,” Brubaker said. “We’ve trained hard, and we have felt good all week, which allowed us to let loose and tackle each element one at a time.”

As a two-time U.S….

Volosozhar and Trankov golden at Europeans

Russian pairs ruled again at the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, and swept the podium for the first time since 2005. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov were the clear winners, followed by Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov.

Volosozhar and Trankov are the current World silver medalists, but they competed in their first Europeans together as a team since Volosozhar did not become eligible to represent Russia until March 2011.

Their dramatic Black Swan program wasn’t flawless, but it was a treat. The Russians produced a huge triple twist, a triple Salchow, triple…

Gachinski edges out Plushenko in short program at Europeans

Artur Gachinski and Evgeni Plushenko of Russia finished head to head in the Men’s short program while other contenders stumbled and tumbled at the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, Great Britain, on Thursday. Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic is currently ranked third.

Gachinski turned in a strong performance to St. Louis Blues, reeling off the only quad-triple toe combination of the day, a somewhat scratchy triple Axel, and a strong triple loop. The World bronze medalist also scored well with the non-jump elements, receiving a level four for two spins and the circular footwork. This meant a new season’s and personal best score…

Gold takes U.S. National junior ladies title by a landslide

Gracie Gold, the highly touted 16-year-old from Springfield, Ill., decimated the competition at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and takes home the junior ladies title. Her score of 178.92 points is the highest total earned by a junior lady since the new judging system was put into place in 2006.

“I have some improvements to make to this program, but overall I think it went really well,” Gold said. “I’m really happy.”

Gold was on fire from the moment she took the ice for her The Mission/The Untouchables program, completely focused on the task…

Denney and Frazier golden in San Jose

It was a huge day in the lives of Delilah Sappenfield and her son Larry Ibarra. The tandem, who coach out of the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, Colo., swept the top three spots of the podium of the junior pairs competition at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships this afternoon in San Jose, Calif.

“I don’t know that I’ve fully gelled with this yet,” said Sappenfield. “My kids skated so well, and that’s the most important thing. They were training well in their preparation for this competition, and I am just so proud of them.”

Sappenfield characterized each…