2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Junior Pairs Short Program and Free Dance; Senior Original Dance and Ladies Short Program - Highlights

2008 U.S. Nationals

Jan 20-27, 2008
St. Paul, Minn. (USA)

DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 6
DAY 7
DAY 8
FULL RESULTS

The 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships continued with the Junior Pairs Short Program, Junior Free Dance, Senior Original Dance, and the Senior Ladies Short Program.

Junior Ice Dance (Free Dance)

Not knowing if they would even be able to compete this entire season, the brother and sister team of Madison and Keiffer Hubbell (Ann Arbor FSC) overcame a summer of injuries to take the Junior ice dance title at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minn. on Thursday.

"I injured my right hip over the summer," said Keiffer. "I injured a whole bunch of muscles in my hip, and then there was a ripple effect up my back that [in turn caused] some nerve issues. But recently we have started acupuncture, and that seems to be working."

"I got food poisoning after the [Original Dance], and I had to go on IVs for dehydration," said Madison's older brother.

Skating to Heat by Apocolyptica, last year's Junior Grand Prix Final champions opened with a mistake on their twizzle sequence, which were in synch at the start, when Keiffer added an extra one that wasn't choreographed.

"The twizzles go by so quickly, explained Madison, "and to be able to count them is near impossible."

"A little bit of anxiety probably caused me to do that," Keiffer added. "We train our twizzles with the music, so if we rush them, it's difficult to know how many we did."

Madison, 16, and Keiffer, 19, recovered well, and gained momentum as the program went on, presenting a more mature style than last season. With each element, the team seemed to gain confidence, and attacked each element with technical competency. The highlight of the program was a new straightline lift in a back spiral position set perfectly to their music that earned the champions a level 4 and positive Grades of Execution (GOE).

"It is amazing to win the title," said a very happy Madison. "Everything has to work exactly how you plan it for something like this to happen, and it's hard to prepare to for that."

The Hubbells won the free dance with a score of 82.21 points, and easily defeated their closest competitors overall with a total score of 167.48 points.

Last year's pewter medalists, Piper Gilles (Broadmoor SC) and Timothy McKernan (Broadmoor SC) moved up two positions this season to claim the silver medal with an impressive technical performance that earned the team a level 4 on each of their elements.

Gilles, the older twin sister of junior ladies champion Alexe Gilles, was overcome with emotion after the performance, and the team dedicated their program to McKernan's father.

"My father, Lt. Col. Tim McKernan, is in the U.S. Army," explained McKernan. "He went over to Iraq in September, and will be there for fifteen months. He's watching the competition on the internet."

Gilles (16) and McKernan (17) placed pulled up from third place after the Original Dance, to second overall, narrowly edging out Madison Chock (All Year FSC) and Greg Zuerlein (Arctic FSC), who finished with the bronze medals. The silver medalists placed second in the free dance and scored a competition total of 161.66 points to Chock and Zuerlein's 161.40.

After placing fifth in last year's novice competition, Chock, 15, and Zuerlein, 19, made a splash on the international circuit this season by earning a spot in the Junior Grand Prix Final where they also finished fifth. The team felt like they skated well here, and were satisfied with the result.

"We had a few bobbles in the free dance here," Zuerlein shared. "But once we got going, it went smoothly."

Skating to cuts from West Side Story, the duo brought a bit of Broadway to the ice with an impassioned performance that told the story of young lovers facing immediate tragedy.

"I don't have any theatrical training," confessed Chock. "I really enjoy performing to the music. I've seen the movie many times. I think that I just relate to the characters and the love story well, so it is easy to perform."

Chock and Zuerlein showed that they had the technical mettle as well, as the team also earned a level 4 on each of their program elements. In the end, they scored78.45 points in the free dance and 161.40 overall.

Finishing in fourth place and winning the pewter medals was another team of siblings, Maia Shibutani (SC of New York) and Alex Shibutani (Broadmoor SC).

"I think we achieved more than we hoped to here," shared a surprised Alex. "Each year we take it as the next step, and it is a long road to get there. I'm just really happy with the way we skated."

Last year's novice champions will finally be age-eligible for junior international assignments next season after sitting out this fall due to Maia being just twenty days short of the cut-off date. Maia, now 13, and Alex, 16, are ready to start climbing the international ladder.

"We're going to take a little rest," stated Alex, "but then we'll start preparing for next season."

Maia added, "I'm thinking that we are staying juniors next season, and we are eager to start competing internationally."

The Shibutani's earned a level 4 on several of their elements, and were awarded a total of 77.82 points for the free dance, and 157.80 points overall.

Shannon Wingle (Arctic FSC) and Ryan Devereaux (Coyotes SC of Arizona) moved up to fifth place overall with a lyrical program to Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, overtaking Pilar Bosely (Peninsula SC) and John Corona (Philadelphia SC & HS), who had a rough performance and finished sixth.

Junior Pairs (Short Program)

It was not a great day for pairs skating at the as the junior teams hit the ice for their short programs. In recent years, U.S. junior pairs were showing promise, but the difficulty level took a huge hit in this competition.

Pacific Coast Sectional Champions Chelsi Guillen and Danny Curzon (Coyotes SC of Arizona) looked to be the only team with a championship on their minds, and easily finished first in this weak field.

Skating to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Guillen and Curzon used an error-free performance to catapult them into the lead with 53.65 points.

"This is such an imposing and haunting piece of music that sucks you in," said Curzon. "We really wanted to go for a really mature and elegant look this season, so we picked this piece knowing that we would grow into it by the end of the season."

The duo finished in eighth place in this competition last year, but is now in their second full season together as a team. Guillen (14) and Curzon (20) landed clean double Axels and executed level 4 spins that could rival some of the best in the world.

"Chelsi is a pretty good singles skater, and Danny has been skating pairs for nine years," explained coach Doug Ladret.

"You don't have to be the fastest spinners out there," Curzon interjected. "You just have to be together."

But what really separated the team from the rest of the field, was their attention to interpreting the music. They shared it with each other, and in turn, invited the audience to watch.

"We really worked on our connection this year," shared Guillen. "It was something that we really paid attention to and wanted to share with the audience."

Finishing in second place with a less-difficult program, are last year's bronze medalists Jessica Rose Paetsch (Broadmoor SC) and Jon Nuss (Broadmoor SC). The Junior Grand Prix finalists had a mistake on their most challenging element - the double Axels, and only managed a throw double toe loop to the leader's triple of the same kind.

"We have been doing (the throw double toe) all season," Nuss admitted. "This is our first year doing double Axels, so we wanted to focus our energy on committing to that element this season."

However, this couple's international experience showed on the component scores for which they were rewarded with the highest marks of the afternoon. In addition, the 2006 Novice pairs champions were rewarded with high levels on their split twist and overhead lift. In the end, Paetsch (14) and Nuss (20) earned a total of 52.13 points for their routine to Por Una Cabeza, and promise increased difficulty in the free skate.

"We have a triple twist and a carry lift in the free skate," Paetsch declared. "And we are working on other stuff, but it just hasn't gotten strong enough to put into the programs yet."

Though they skated early, Tracy Tanovich and Michael Chau (Southwest Florida FSC) earned marks that kept them in medal position through the end of the competition. Skating appropriately to music from the soundtrack of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the duo opened with a nice level three split double twist.

Though she is just 11 years-old, Chau and her 17-year-old partner have podium experience as they won the novice title at last year's U.S. Championships. However, they did not have the technical mastery of their elements, making a small mistake on their throw triple toe, as well as receiving a level 1 on their death spiral.

"I thought that we put in a good effort," said Tanovich. "We had some little mess-ups here and there, but overall it was pretty good."

"We are very pleased that we got our highest score so far this season," Chau added. "I thought that we did really well, and we came in here wanting to put on a good show. We wanted to show that we could hold our own in a junior competition, and we did just that."

"There are a lot harder tricks with triple twists and throws, and you need to skate faster to look like one of the big teams," continued Chau. "But I think that we did a good job in fitting in today."

Last year's seventh place finishers, Lisa Moore (ISC of Ft. Collins) and Justin Gaumond (All Year FSC), placed fourth with a clean, but low-tech program. The team score 47.14 points with their Nights in White Satin program, and showed a sleek and romantic side to their skating that delighted the audience. However, in only attempting a throw double toe loop and side-by-side double loops, the team would have had difficulty in placing higher.

In fifth place, and still within reach of the podium, are Andrea Best and Trevor Young (Detroit SC) with a score of 47.04 points. The veteran team, who are no longer age-eligible to compete on the junior level internationally, fell on the double Axels and lost levels on their final two elements in their program.

Senior Ice Dance (Original Dance)

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto retained their lead after the Championship Original Dance, but their scores should be raising more than a few eyebrows.

Thus far, the four-time and reigning champions have been outscored in both phases of competition by their younger training mates, Meryl Davis and Charlie White. However, superior program component scores have kept them in the lead, and in the hunt for a fifth straight title.

Skating to a western-theme American folk dance, complete with hitch kicks and fringed costumes, the reigning World bronze medalists had a great performance - if you could subtract just one element - the no touch midline twizzles.

"I put my foot down on the twizzle," said a disappointed Agosto. "It was just a stupid mistake; I lost my focus for a second."

"I think that what was really frustrating is that aside from the twizzle, it was a great performance for us," he later added.

The team received only a level 2 for that element, but made up for it with the level 4 that they received on their other elements.

"I think that (other than the mistake) that everything was cleaner than any other performance this season," said an optimistic Belbin. "The footwork was stronger and with more speed, and overall, it was just much better."

The leaders scored 64.29 points in the original dance and have a total of 106.15 overall, but will have to be at their best to win on Saturday.

"Our free dance to Chopin is a new departure for us," Agosto declared. "We want to stay on top, so we always have to be pushing ourselves and looking towards our end goals."

Davis and White are coming on strong after a disappointing Grand Prix Season, and are pleased with their performances so far here in Saint Paul.

"Certain aspects of the program were better than we have done before," explained White. "But others we have obviously done better. We are pretty happy with how everything went."

Like their teammates, Davis (21) and White (20) also made a mistake on their twizzle sequence, but were not penalized as harshly as Belbin and Agosto.

"I missed my blade on the first twizzle (for) which you need to get four rotations for the level four," admitted White. "To get that level four, I did an extra rotation."

Skating a Russian folk dance to Kalinka, the current bronze medalists used every ounce of energy in their bodies. They skated with lightening speed, and performed appropriate choreography in tandem with difficult skating elements. The young team earned 62.69 points for their program, and are just a little less than three points off the lead heading into the free dance. However, they will have a difficult time overtaking the leaders, as Belbin and Agosto's season best is more than nine points better than their own.

Maintaining their third place position after the compulsory dance, is the entertaining team of Kimberly Navarro (Santa Rosa FSC) and Brent Bommentre (Philadelphia SC & HS), who skated an interesting African tribal dance that drew loud cheers from the audience.

"There were a lot of people from our families, and people from my home club in the audience tonight," said a happy Navarro. "And then there are the fans that we are so proud to have accumulated, because they have no obligation to support us."

Navarro (27) and Bommentre (23) performed innovative choreography inspired by Michael Velez (a dancer in the Koresh Dance Company in Philadelphia) as the backdrop to their technical elements that were neatly woven into the program. Never the team to take the traditional route to their programs, Navarro and Bommentre are excited to be in position to earn a spot on the podium.

"I think that this is the best that we have performed this dance all season," said Bommentre. "We have made some improvements since NHK, and we are committed to improving our skating skills, so we are very happy."

Last year's pewter medalists earned a new personal best of 58.71 point for their original dance to Sowete Percussion, and have a total of 94.09 points leading into the free dance.

In fourth place in their first championship competition, are the fresh-faced team of Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates (Ann Arbor FSC). Like Davis and White, this team presented a Russian folk dance program to the music of Kalinka.

"It was a pretty good performance for us," shared Bates. "It was a bit of an unfamiliar position for us in skating last and behind the Olympic silver medalists. But it turned out to be a good thing because the crowd was excited, and we think that the energy from (Belbin and Agosto's) performance transferred into ours."

Coming off an impressive silver medal winning finish at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Samuelson (17) and Bates (18) performed well, and earned the magic level 4 on all of their elements in this program.

"It is the first time that this has happened at the senior level of course," said Bates, "but we accomplished this several times in our career on the junior level."

Jennifer Wester and Daniil Barantsev (Dallas FSC) remained in fifth place with a fun program to Cotton Eyed Joe and Country Waltz.

"We just want to attack every program, and today everything went pretty smooth so we are quite pleased," Wester said matter-of-factly.

Dressed in bejeweled denim shorts and white cowgirl boot covers, Wester (22) certainly looked the part of a young country girl heading to a hoedown. And Wester's husband and partner wore tight-fitting jeans and a matching shirt that drew cat calls from a handful of audience members.

"I made the costumes myself," said Wester. "I asked all of the ladies back home at the rink if the shorts were too much, and they thought they were perfect."

The program was entertaining, but it was not without mistakes as Wester's more experienced partner made an uncharacteristic mistake on the twizzles.

"I don't have any answers as to why I made a mistake," said a puzzled Barantsev, who is a former Junior World Champion. "This has probably been my weakest competition probably in my career. I have made too many mistakes. It's too much."

"I think that we have a lot of pressure on ourselves," lamented Wester. "We are really strapped with the move (to Michigan) and financially to stay in this sport that we love and have given everything up for."

Moving up to sixth place with a fascinating Native American Indian folk dance, was Charlotte Maxwell (All Year FSC) and Nick Traxler (Stars FSC of Texas). The duo, in their third season together, are excited to be moving up in the standings, and are proud of their accomplishments so far here.

"We skated really well," said a confident Maxwell. "We had a really great warm-up, so we were very prepared."

Traxler added, "This is the highest that we have scored all season, and we have worked very hard to get a level four on our footwork. We are so pleased to have achieved that here."

Jane Summersett and Todd Gilles (Broadmoor SC) moved up to seventh place after a disappointing 10th place finish in the compulsory dance, while Mimi Whetstone (Oklahoma City FSC, Inc.) and Chris Obzansky (Salt Lake FS) slipped from sixth to eighth place overall.

The dancers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon with the free dance, the awarding of medals, and the announcement of the World Team members.

Senior Ladies (Short Program)

It is difficult to explain what it was like to be in the audience for the Championship Ladies short program at the 2008 U.S. Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The reigning silver medalist is out with an injury, the current champion makes a major mistake and is somehow still pleased with her performance, and then you have last year's bronze medalist who has a complete meltdown. Oh, and did I mention that the anointed up-and-comer has a mini disaster of her own?

But then you have skaters like Mirai Nagasu (Pasadena FSC), who surprised many by skating a performance for the ages. In her debut, she destroyed her competition along the way to place first in this tight field of talented ladies.

Or how about Ashley Wagner (Washington FSC), the 16-year-old self described "old lady" also making her debut in this competition? Not only did she land the most difficult combination jump among women this season, but she is sitting in second place behind Nagasu with an enchanting performance that brought the audience to their feet.

Following Wagner, is the "veteran" of the bunch - Rachael Flatt (Broadmoor SC). Flatt is skating in her second championships and is currently in third place. The 2007-08 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist also landed a difficult triple-triple combination, and she performed with a maturity well beyond her tender years.

A high school freshman, Nagasu electrified the audience with a mesmerizing short program choc full of technical mastery and complimented with a youthful exuberance that just can't be taught.

"It was really exciting that the crowd got really into it," said the tiny skater. "It was just pure fun out there, and that is what I am here to do. I just want to continue doing that."

Nagasu opened her program, choreographed to the zippy tune I Got Rhythm, with a zinger of a triple lutz-triple toe combination - a first for her in competition.

"I just wanted to land my triple-triple," Nagasu confidently admitted, "and just to be in first right now is really is exciting. But I'm not going to let any of the pressure of being in first bother me for the freeskate."

The reigning Junior Worlds silver medalist, who added a nifty triple flip from footwork and a double axel to complete her jumping requirements, earned a whopping 70.23 points for her first championship level short program. However, she admitted to being nervous leading into the competition, and that caused some trouble for her.

"Last night I couldn't sleep because I was so excited to perform," Nagasu said with a giggle. "So I got in trouble with my mom because she wanted me to get my rest. I just kept mentally visualizing the performance in my head, and that is why I couldn't sleep because I was so excited."

Nagasu delivered a well-balanced program for which she was rewarded with a level of four on all of her spins and her spiral sequence. In addition, the 14-year-old earned high program component scores, easily besting reigning champion Kimmie Meissner in that department.

"Wow! That's exciting," said last year's Junior champion, with surprise in her voice. "I didn't realize that I was ahead of (Meissner) by twelve points."

Like the leader, Wagner opened her program with a triple-triple combination, but hers was a triple Lutz coupled with a more difficult triple loop, which earned her 11.57 points. She also completed a triple flip and a double Axel in her routine to Henry VIII by Saint-Saens, and is solidly in second place with a score of 65.15 points.

"I was coming here hoping to skate a nice clean program," said Wagner. "I just went out there for my senior national debut and thought I might as well put on a show."

Wagner won bronze medals at both the Junior World Championships, the junior level at the U.S. Championships last season, and 2007 Trophee Eric Bompard, and her experience certainly paid off here.

"I really think the (junior circuit) has helped," admitted Wagner. "The ladies within it are really inspiring and make me work harder. They have really helped me prepare for the senior level."

Wagner's program painted a more sophisticated picture than some of her other competitors attempted, and she used her long limbs and all-American girl looks to her advantage. Her score was a personal best by over 13 points.

Flatt skated immediately after Nagasu, and soaked up all of the positive energy that she could, and it worked. The 15-year-old chose to open her program with a layback spin and an easy triple flip. But then, she laid down a gauntlet of her own when she landed her triple Lutz-triple toe combination that earned her 10.57 points.

"I can't explain how happy I am right now," Flatt said, as she got off the ice. "It's so great to know that I skated my best at the end of the season."

The Colorado native felt every note of her music to Gershwin's It Ain't Necessarily So, coupled with her technical content, earned high praise from the judging panel on her program components.

"When I heard this music originally, I knew that I wanted to skate to it immediately," explained Flatt. "I have so many people helping me with this program, and it has really come along way since the beginning of the season."

Flatt is comfortable with her placement leading into the free skate, and is motivated to continue her run for a spot on the podium. "I think that at this nationals anything can happen. I just hope that I can skate even better in my free skate than I did tonight."

Sitting in fourth place, Meissner (University of Delaware FSC) started out with an elegant spiral sequence, but then immediately made a mistake by falling on an underrotated triple flip attempt.

"My flip was just a silly mistake," said the 2007-08 Grand Prix Finalist. "I've been having great practices, and I felt very confident in myself. I said to myself, '‘alright Kimmie, there are no falls in figure skating!' I have experience in dealing with falls from other competitions, so I know how to recover from them."

Meissner salvaged her program when she landed her triple Lutz-double toe combination, and seemed satisfied with her skate, though she was in first place when she received her scores.

"I thought the performance as a whole was a good thing," said the 18-year-old. "I was really happy to be out in front of a U.S. audience."

The 2006 World Champion is more than 12 points out of the lead, and will have to pull out all of the stops if she expects to retain her title.

Another surprise is Katrina Hacker (SC of Boston), who skated an elegant program to the soundtrack from Love Story, and is in fifth place after the short program.

"I really wanted to skate well," admitted the Eastern Sectional champion, "and I knew that I was training well. I wanted my skate to represent my training. I guess that I wish I could have done a solid triple loop. I turned out of the loop, but I did receive credit for landing it, so I'm happy with it."

Hacker does not have the high level jump content that the current leaders do, but the 17-year-old made up for that with level 4 elements that received positive GOEs.

"I think that me doing what I know I can do, and do it well, is the best game plan," said the college-bound high school senior. "There may be people who are better jumpers, but I just do what I can do, and I like what I do."

In her first nationals on the championship level, Hacker is surprised to be in this position going into the free skate.

"I had no idea how anybody else skated," said Hacker, "and I can only control how I skate. I'm just going to do my long the way I always do it. We just added a triple Lutz-double toe to the program, and that is something new since [winning] sectionals."

In sixth place in her 8th appearance at the U.S. Championships, is Beatrisa Liang (All Year FSC). Liang started her routine to The Sorcerer's Apprentice with a strong flying sit spin, but then popped her Lutz into a single, which took her out of contention almost immediately.

"Throughout the program, I didn't really take my time," said an upbeat Liang. "I think that I got a little bit ahead of myself, and that is something that I do a lot in competitions. I really need to train myself to calm down and take each element one at a time."

Liang's program, choreographed by men's competitor Braden Overett, was delightful even with the mistake, and highlighted the 19-year-old's trademark fighting spirit throughout. After the miscue, Liang finished strong, landing her triple flip and earning good levels on most of her elements to earn a total of 55.10 points overall.

"I know I have to push through everything, and even when I make a mistake, I still have to leave that behind," explained Liang. "I really think that I did that, and I really put forth all of my effort in all of the other elements."

The talk of the championships has been surrounding Caroline Zhang, the reigning Junior World Champion and this year's 4th place finisher at the Grand Prix Final. However, Zhang failed to live up to the talk, and succumbed to the pressure of being "the next great one" as she made two costly jumping mistakes in her program.

Zhang opened with an attempt at a triple flip-triple toe combination, but the triple toe was called underrotated by the Technical Specialist, so she only received 4.37 points for her attempt. On her next element, the triple Lutz, the 14-year-old again failed to fully rotate the jump, which killed any hope of her skating in the final group in the freeskate.

As usual, Zhang was rewarded for her superior spins and spiral sequence, but she was not able to overcome her jumping shortcomings, and had to settle for seventh place. Last year's junior silver medalist scored a disappointing 53.49 points for this program, making it near impossible to earn a spot on the podium on Saturday night.

Melissa Bulanhagui skated a fun program to music from the soundtrack The Pink Panther to finish in eighth place with 52.77 points. A crowd favorite, the Eastern Sectional silver medalist's scores drew boos from the audience who expected her clean program to place better.

"I kind of feel bad for the judges," admitted Bulanhagui. "But having the crowd behind me was great!"

Bulanhagui, who finished 12th at last year's championships, landed a triple Lutz-double toe combination, a triple flip, and a double Axel in her program, however, she only received a level 1 for her straightline step sequence.

"I was shooting for a level four," confessed the 17-year-old. "I guess that I just didn't get my edges right. I felt really good, though, and I just took everyone's energy inside and used it for my program. I think it worked."

Alissa Czisny (Detroit SC) made errors on each of her jump attempts, and looked visibly shaken as she left the ice. Though she earned high marks for her spectacular spins and elegant choreography, last year's bronze medalist was unable to overcome her mistakes and could only score 50.58 points for her efforts.

"I didn't quite trust my jumps enough," said Czisny. "I rotated them, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Things like this happen," continued the 20-year-old, "and obviously it wasn't a total disaster. I think that I just have to forget about it, and focus on what my job is here."

The ladies competition will heat up again on Saturday morning with the ladies who finished 11th-20th skating at 8:45, while the top 10 earned the privilege of skating later in the day and on the NBC broadcast. It will be an interesting ride as U.S. Figure Skating selects the team who will compete at the World Championships in March as three of the top seven are not age eligible to compete.

2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Highlights

Junior Pairs Short Program and Free Dance; Senior Original Dance and Ladies Short Program

Junior Ice Dance (Free Dance)

Junior Pairs (Short Program)

Senior Ice Dance (Original Dance)

Senior Ladies (Short Program)

Junior Pairs Short Program and Free Dance;
Senior Original Dance and Ladies Short Program