The U.S. Novice and Junior Challenge Skate continued on Saturday with the novice pattern dance, junior rhythm dance, junior ladies short program and junior men's short program at the Skating Club of Boston's facility in Norwood, Massachusetts. The competition is in its third day of action and continues to run alongside the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic.
Novice Pattern Dance (Westminster Waltz)
From the Washington Figure Skating Club, Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain placed first in the novice pattern dance with a score of 23.25. The duo received 19.90 points for their technical score and 13.31 for program components.
In second place, Anna Sophia O'Brien (North Jersey Skating Club) and Steven Wei (All Year Figure Skating Club) scored 21.20 points. A panel of international judges awarded them a technical score of 17.07 and 13.22 for program components.
Just .07 point behind O'Brien and Wei, Sylvia Li (North Jersey Figure Skating Club) and Rowan Le Coq (Skating Club of New York) placed third with 21.13 points. The duo received 17.96 for their technical score and 12.23 for program components.
Junior Rhythm Dance
Hailing from the Florida Everblades Figure Skating Club, Helena Carhart and Volodymyr Horovyi led the junior rhythm dance with 59.35. Their performance to "Careless Whisper" by George Michael and "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" by Wham! featured Level 4 twizzles and closed with a Level 4 rotational lift.
Second place was awarded to Vanessa Pham (Skating Club of Houston) and Jonathan Rogers (Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club), who scored 52.29 points. Their Black Eyed Peas medley notched a technical score of 30.09 and a program components score of 22.20.
Rounding out the top three was the sibling duo of Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal, who finished with 52.21 points. The Scott Hamilton Skating Club athletes performed to a Swinghoppers medley and scored 28.56 for a technical score and 23.65 for program components.
Junior Ladies Short Program
Leading the way in the junior ladies short program was All Year Figure Skating Club's Josephine Lee, who finished with 58.30 points. Fresh off her Junior Grand Prix debut in France, Lee opened her program with a triple flip and ended with a Level 4 layback spin.
With a score of 52.54, Hazel Collier earned second place honors. The Skating Club of Boston athlete's program was highlighted by a triple Lutz-triple toe loop and a triple flip.
From Skokie Valley Skating Club, Elsa Cheng placed third with 52.28 points, just 0.26 point shy of Collier. Cheng's program featured two Level 4 spins and a triple flip.
Junior Men's Short Program
In the junior men's short program, Maxim Zharkov finished 10.15 points higher than his competition and placed first with a total score of 69.89. The Dallas Figure Skating Club skater began his program with a triple Axel and followed with a triple Lutz-double toe loop.
Behind Zharkov was New Jersey Figure Skating Club's Robert Yampolsky, who finished second with a score of 59.74. His performance featured a triple Lutz-double toe loop and a triple flip.
Third place honors went to Samuel Mindra, who scored 58.76. Competing for the Portland Ice Skating Club, Mindra opened with a triple Salchow-triple toe loop.
The 2021 Novice and Junior Challenge Skate concludes tomorrow with the novice and junior free dance and junior ladies and men's free skate. Fans can tune in live and on-demand on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
