The novice competition at the
2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships wrapped up Tuesday at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Novice Pairs Free Skate
After their second-place finish in the short program, Isabelle Goldstein and Keyton Bearinger (Detroit Skating Club) came ready to fight for the top of the podium on home ice.
"We put it all out there and everything went as we hoped minus one element," Goldstein said, referring to their side-by-side double flip-double toe loop combination jumps, in
which Bearinger spun out of the landing.
Despite that, the duo performed a solid throw triple Salchow, which helped them earned the highest elements score of the competition and a total of 134.28 points to secure the title.
Cate Fleming and Jedidiah Isbell from the Skating Club of Boston were just short of first place by less than three points. The duo attempted a throw triple Salchow, but Fleming fell on the landing and fell on the exit of their second lift.
"We've been working on the throw triple Salchow for a few months now," Fleming said. "It's definitely one of our harder elements."
This is the team's fourth U.S. Championships together and third U.S. Championships medal.
Anastasiia Smirnova (Yarmouth Ice Club) and Danil Siianytsia (All Year Figure Skating Club) finished in the third place spot with 129.45 points. Their program set to "My Immortal" by Evanescence earned them the highest components score of the free skate competition.
Rounding out the podium are Alexandra Schneiderhahn (St. Louis Skating Club) and Timmy Chapman (Central Florida Figure Skating Club), who earned the pewter medal by just .38 points. Skating to the theme from
Love Story, the duo executed a Level 4 lift and double Axel-double toe loop combination to earn 123.55 total points.
Novice Ladies Free Skate
The novice ladies brought it all to fight for a chance at the podium.
Calista Choi from the Skokie Valley Skating Club dominated the field, winning the competition with 160.15 points, almost 11 points above the second place finisher. Despite a stumble on a triple Salchow, Choi performed three Level 4 spins and a Level 4 step sequence in her program set to music from
Ladies in Lavender.
"It was really great to put out a great performance," the 14-year-old said. "My favorite part was putting my skating skills and emotion into it."
In her U.S. Championships debut, Aubrey Ignacio (All Year Figure Skating Club) executed two Level 4 spins and two triple Lutzes in her performance to "Rhythm is Gonna Get You" by Gloria Estefan to score 149.33 total points and secure the silver medal.
"Training was hard, but it definitely paid off in the end," Ignacio, 15, said.
Isabelle Inthisone (DuPage Figure Skating Club) grabbed the bronze medal, posting an overall score of 148.16. The 14-year-old's program to "I Dreamed a Dream" from
Les Miserables featured three Level 4 spins, all of which received positive Grades of Execution.
"I just wanted it to be something really special," Inthisone said. "I just really wanted to give it my all and have fun, because that's what it's all about."
After a sixth-place finish in the short program, Skating Club of New York representative Laura Jacobson, 15, scored 90.60 in her free skate to finish to jump up to fourth, scoring a total of 139.52 points.
"I was really so in the moment," Jacobson said, "I just wanted to come here, do my best, and perform because that's what I love to do."
Novice Men's Free Skate
William Annis (Yarmouth Ice Club) would say it was the triple Axels he landed in his short program and free skate that helped him win the novice men's event.
"My short left me in a good spot where I was able to make one mistake [today]," the 14-year-old said.
Despite falling on one of his combination jumps in his 106.81-point free skate, Annis opened up with an explosive triple Axel, which earned 13.06 points alone. Though it was a
third-place free skate overall, his total scored added up to 168.08, less than half a point above second.
Matthew Nielsen (Strongsville Skating Club) earned the silver medal with 167.64 points. His program included three Level 4 spins and a Level 4 step sequence, which helped him earn the highest elements score of the event.
"I'm pretty happy with what I put out there," Nielsen, 15, said. "I really wanted to do my Lutz, and that's what I got done."
Representing the Washington Figure Skating Club, Ilia Malinin, 14, fell to third place after the free skate after popping his opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and later falling on another triple Lutz.
"I was thinking, 'It's fine. Try to continue, finish the whole program,'" he said. "It was kind of iffy because in practice I've done better."
Malinin landed a strong double Axel-triple toe loop combination and executed two Level 4 spins, scoring 167.05 points overall. The 2016 U.S. juvenile and 2017 U.S. intermediate champion plans on moving up to junior next year.
Joseph Klein (Skokie Valley Skating Club) finished in fourth place with 154.39 points. His program included three Level 4 spins and Level 4 step sequence. This is his third appearance at the U.S. Championships but first time on the podium.
"This time I came in a lot more prepared and consistent," Klein, 14, said. "I was just here to skate and it felt a lot better."
Novice Free Dance
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov from the Washington Figure Skating Club posted a score of 124.53 points to win the novice dance competition. Skating to a medley of songs by Elvis Presley, the 12- and 13-year-olds said they really enjoyed performing.
"Our coaches know that we like to dance a lot," Tkachenko said.
"And our favorite part is near the end because it's the most fun part to perform," Kiliakov added.
This is the team's sixth U.S. Championships appearance and third gold medal. Moving forward, they plan on moving up to junior and working on improving together.
Scoring just .05 points ahead of third place, Jordan Lin and Morgan Sletten, also from the Washington Figure Skating Club, said they were proud of their overall performance.
"Our pattern dances were definitely better than our free dance," Lin said. "But, we've improved so much since last year."
Following a 10th place finish last year, the 14-year-olds said they improved their technical elements and felt calmer coming into this year. The development helped the team this year, as they earned a total of 118.52 points for the silver medal.
Layla Karnes (All Year Figure Skating Club) and Kirill Aksenov (Skokie Valley Skating Club) secured the bronze medal with an overall score of 118.47 points.
"It was beyond what we expected," Karnes said. "I think we did very well trying to tell the story we were trying to do and doing the elements."
Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal from the Skokie Valley Skating Club finished fourth with 116.85 points. With four Level 4 elements and all positive Grades of Execution to prove their testament, the Peals said they've improved since last year.
"It was really fun to see how much we've improved in our skating skills," Elliana said.
"And it's great to see how we've grown as a team," Ethan added. "I like to think that every year and day helps us get closer."
The novice free dance wrapped competition at Detroit Skating Club. Junior and senior competition take place at Little Caesars Arena from Jan. 22-27, and will be live on NBC Sports Gold with the Figure Skating Pass.
