Skate St. Paul

[Jerome]

Anyone have any results from Skate St. Paul? I know it's smaller than last year, but any reports would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[Impromptu]

The intermediate girls looked pretty strong this year.

Junior Free Skate (solo competition, not combined with other events):
1. Kristina Olson, jumps included 3t-2t, solo 3t, 2x (fall on 3s), and her usual strong spins.
2. Jillian Asby, similar planned jump content as Olson, landed 3t-2t, popped salchow to single, fell on second 3t; very nice speed and flow.
3. Donna Vorpagel
4. Brittany Proctor
5. Meggen Skilling
6. Alison Nawracaj

Championship Intermediate Girls, SP
(Results will be combined with LP tomorrow, and top 4 from each group will skate a final LP on Sunday):
Group A
1. Megan Oster. The Entertainer (Boogie Woogie Style)
Nice tight spins, perky presentation, jumps were 2z-2l, big 1x, 2f placed right after a circular footwork sequence

2. Stephanie Lecheler Jazz/Cha Cha medley
Fast smooth stroking, she looked very strong right from the warm up, polished presentation; jumps were 2f, 2z-2l, 1x.

3. Tawny Sacilowski Mozart
Nice clean program, strong classical spin positions, jumps were 1x, 2z-2l, 2f

4. Katie Pennington flamenco from Zorro
Amazing speed and power, lots of nice detailed choreography, seems to know what to do with her hands, landed a 2x-2t combo in the warm-up. Popped the axel in the program, no combination; 1x, and 2f, solid spins and interesting circular step sequence.

5. Tanya Penutich
6. Amy Waryan
7. Jennifer Kim
8. Christine Marly
9. Ashley Nault
10. Laine Buntrock
11. Amy Iverson
12. Lauren Drilling
13. Chelsey Johnson

Group B
1. Katherine Patke Vanessa Mae version of Tocatta & Fugue
Nice speed and interesting straightline footwork; jumps were 2z-2l, 2s, 1x

2. Lisa Anderson Spanish sounding music
Another skater with nice flow and power, fast spins. 1x, 2f, 2x(fall, get up)-2t

3. Anna Schneider Showboat
Energetic presentation, smooth stroking, decent speed. Jumps were 2z-2l, 1x, 2f

4. Courtney Hellman Colors of the Wind
Very good spring to her jumps, she gets good height and distance, good flow, she seems to float over the ice. Jumps included 2f, 2z-2l, 1x

5. Michaela Dennis Rockin' Gypsies (Haunting flamenco by Willie and Lobo)
Good power and speed, fast spinner, looked strong out there. Jumps were 2z-2l, 2f, 1x

6. Rachel Kerm
7. Laura Anderson
8. Veronika Charytonik
9. Dana Goldamer
10. Trish Kozlak
11. Jaci Lang

Group C
1. Laura Patterson Victory (Bond)
Fast skater, with extremely fast, well centered and creative spins, and a lot of on-ice personality (I remember seeing her from pre-juvenile 2 years ago). Jumps were 2f, 2z(2foot)2l, 1x; I lost count of the number of revolutions in her combo spin.

2. Shaine Hartmann Sing Sing Sing
Power skater, her axel seemed to fly across the ice, efficient strong stroking; Jumps were 1x, 2l, and 2z-2t

3. Elizabeth Ahmann Music was odd combination of a slow Kenny G piece followed by the Tonight Show Theme
She's got wonderful deep secure edges and a beautiful line. Jumps were 1x, 2z-2t, and 2f

4. Kathy Kreuziger mystery music, poss. soundtrack
Got nice height on her 2f, 1x (free leg toe brush), 2z(2ft) 2? (I missed what the second jumps was).
5. Kayla Kamrath
6. Amanda Louiselle
7. Vanessa Szalapski
8. Jennifer Whitman
9. Amanda Voigt
10. Natalie Frederick

Junior Men
1. Ryan Yearous
2. Tyler Ecklund

Championship Novice SP (results will be combined with LP round, but since there were only 12 skaters total, I believe they will all go on to the final FS on Sunday)

Group A:
1. Stephanie Zastro A Mambo version of the Dragnet Theme
Flexi-skater with incredible extension on her spirals and nice position and speed in her spins.
Jumps were 3s (fall, get up) 2t, steps to 2z, 2x

2. Hillary Drew Sager The Planets
Nice height and distance on her jumps, nice speed and edge quality. 2x, 2f-2l, and great steps right into 2z

3. Lindsay Lockman
4. Lauren Elyse Anderson
5. Sarah Marie Bergquist
6. Jessica Johnson

Group B:
1. Kendra Keenan Two Guitars (Russian Folk tune)
Good speed and flow, beautiful 2z right out of steps; serpentine spiral sequence included split falling leaf as connecting step. Jumps, 2z; 3s (two footed)-2t(fall), 2x (Held on to landing w/determination)

2. Brianna McLeun
3. Megan Willaert
4. Monika Hartsel
5. Katherine Porter
6. Christa Claviter

Championship Junior SP (will be combined with Free skate results)
1. Jillian Asby Gypsy Kings (?)
Good speed and flow, gets a lot of spring in her jumps. Looked a lot stronger this afternoon than this morning.
Jumps were a big 2x, 3t-2t, steps to 2z; good spiral sequence including a twizzled knee slide; strong circular step sequence too.

2. Anna Buller
3. Brittany Proctor
4. Allison Nawracaj
5. Katilyn Bouts
6. Donna Vorpagel
7. Sara Medek

Championship Senior Ladies SP (will be combined with Free skate results)
1. Angie Lien Unsure of music, sounded a little like Debussy
She looks a lot stronger and faster than last year (and last year, I called her a power skater), and she's improved her presentation. Angie just missed sectionals last year, ending up 5th at UGL (after placing 4th in both the sp and the lp). In the warm up she hit a 3f and a 3z-2t.
Very good footwork in this program, lots of turns in both directions; did a FI-FO change edge spiral at good speed.
In the program popped the flip, and two footed the triple lutz, huge 2x at the end of the program. If she can hit the jumps in the program, I think she has a good change of getting back to sectionals this year.

2. Tami Trenter
3. Kristin Odegaard
4. Jean-Marie Paul

[Impromptu]

Attended Intermediate Ladies Championship FS (all three groups), Novice Ladies Championship FS (both groups), Junior Ladies Championship FS (only 1 group), and Senior Ladies FS.


Int. Champ FS Group A
1. Stephanie Lechler Medley of Italian folk tunes
Smooth, fast stroking and deep edges. Jumps included 2z-2t-2l and 2x-1/2l-2s sequences, and some impressive straight line steps right into a 2z. Nice centered spins.

2. Megan Oster Music was something perky, but I don't know what it was exactly
She's a quick skater, and though she doesn't "appear" to get a lot of power to her stroking, her jumps have great spring into the air. Very fast spins centered, good at using her hands to accent the beats of the music. Tried a 2x (fell), did land a nice 2z-2l. Really knows how to sell a program.

3. Christine Marty soundtrack music?
Nice speed and flow, interesting complexity to the program including a layback with a hop to a layback. Landed a 1x-1/2l-2f combo, also the 2z-2l. 8th place in yesterday's SP keeps her out of the finals.

4. Katie Pennington Medley that included a Philip Glass piece
Katie was seriously channeling Michelle Kwan, from a dress that was a white & gold version of Kwan's Rach dress from this past season to the side part and low bun hairstyle, to the death drop sit up to a Y position. Many of the same arm movements, the way she holds her hands and her head. She's also got very powerful stroking, big jumps, and a double axel that's better than some senior ladies. Biggest problem right now is consistency, but even with several falls, she's enjoyable to watch. Attempted a triple salchow, two double axels; landed a few solo doubles.

5. Tawny Sacilowski Sound of Music
Singled a couple of jumps but did do an interesting sequence 1x-1/2l-2s-2l, spin positions included a Y and a Biellman. (There was a family sitting next to me with two active toddlers, and they kept getting in my way with this group. Jocelyn, I will take better notes tomorrow, yes, she is with the SC of Western NY).

6. Ashley Nault
7. Chelsey Johnson
8. Laine Buntrock
9. Jennifer Kim
10. Tanya Panutich
11. Amy Iverson
12. Amy Waryan
13. Lauren Drilling

Group B.
1.Katherine Patke (didn't write down music)
Good speed and flow, skated cleanly, nicely positioned wel-centered spins. Jumps included 2z-1/2l-2s-2l sequence, a 2s with her hands over her head.

2. Courtney Hellman Broadway Medley (Striptease From Gypsy/Sunrise Sunset/I Can Fly)
Fell on a 2x attempt, but otherwise a clean program. Looked very smooth, jumps included the 2z-2l combination, and a 2f-2t.

3. Michaela Dennis Tommy (Henry Mancini version)
She's got a lot of power, nice high jumps, good spins, an all around good skater. Not too many difficult combinations (looked like she was thinking about putting a 2l after a 2z that was landed close to the boards), but everything performed solidly and strongly.

4. Lisa Anderson Miss Saigon
Good speed, attempted a lot of difficulty in this program. 2x-2t(two footed), fell on a second 2x, but not consistent yet with the harder jumps.

5. Dana Goldamer
6. Rachel Kerm
7. Laura Anderson
8. Jaci Lang
9. Anna Schneider
10. Veronika Charytonik
11. Trish Kozlak

Group C
1. Laura Patterson
Another very quick skater with superfast spins with lovely positions. Has a lot of personality on the ice. Mostly clean program, fell on a 3s attempt (got it in the warm up), and popped the 2x. Got about 25 rotations in her combo spin.

2. Elizabeth Ahmann
Nice power and smooth stroking, solid centered spins at good speed; jumps included a 2z-2l, and a 2l-2l combination.

3. Kayla Kamrath Czardas
Skated with a lot of energy, jumps included 2s-1l and a 2z-1t.

4. Natalie Frederick
Pretty spirals, fair sized jumps, and well centered spins. Jumps included a 1x and a 2z. 10th in the short keeps her out of the finals.

5. Kathy Kreuziger
6. Amanda Voigt
7. Amanda Louiselle
8. Jennifer Whitman
9. Vanessa Szalapski
10. Shaine Hartmann

Championship Novice FS
Group A

1. Stephanie Zastro Victory (Bond)
Clear winner of this group. Very good speed and flow, fast centered spins, and Bobekian amplitude on her spirals and spins. Jumps included a big 2x, 3s-2t, 3l (!), 2f-2l-2l. I'd say she has a very good chance to get to Mids this year.

2. Lindsay Lockman
3. Lauren Elise Anderson
4. Hillary Drew Sager
5. Sarah Marie Berquist
6. Jessica Johnson

(SP + FS results same as above).

Group B:
1. Kendra Keenan 3rd Piano Concerto by Rachmaninov
Good speed and flow, some nice footwork passages. Hung on to a 3s, also landed 2x-2t.

2. Megan Willaert
3. Monika Hartsel
4. Brianna McLuen
5. Christa Claviter
w Katherine Porter

(SP +FS results same as above)

All skaters qualify for the final tomorrow

Championship Junior Free Skating
1. Anna Buller
Nice high jumps that travel a lot of distance, good speed, and solid spins. Landed a 3s, also a 2z-2l combination
2. Jillian Asby
3. Brittany Procter
4. Donna Vorpagel
5. Allison Nawracaj
6. Sara Medek
7. Kaitlyn Bouts

Overall results same as above.

Senior Ladies FS
1. Angie Lien classical
Again left her jumps in the warm up. Big 2x, what looked like a 2t-3t combination (hard to tell from my angle, her jumps are so big to begin with, but I wonder if she's attempting a 3t-3t this season), fell on the 3z, popped the flip, 3l, 2s. Again great power and flow, much improved presentation from last year.

2. Tami Trenter
3. Jean-Marie Paul
4. Kristin Odegaard

Overall results same as above.

[sk8rzmom]

Bump

[Impromptu]

Novice Ladies Finals

1. Kendra Keenan Piano Concerto #3, Rachmaninov
Back outside spiral, 2x (fall), 3s, camel3-sit3/sit5 nice positions, 2z-2l, 2f, camel7-layback4, back outside spiral, forward inside spiral, 2l, fast and intricate straightline steps to 2z, flying sit 10, split jump to 2t, 2x (fall). Very steady skater with secure edges and good speed.

2. Stephanie Zastrow Victory, Bond
Not as strong a performance as her qualifier on Saturday, looks like nerves got to her. She was tight in the warm-up (though she did land a triple loop at the end).
2x, 3s (fall), back outside Y spiral, forward outside spiral, 1z, big flying sit spin 8, back outside spiral, forward outside spiral, 3l (fall), 3s, layback 10 up to a Biellman 4, split jump, 2f-2l-2l, 2z, camel 3-sit 4/sit 5-mushroom sit 5-scratch 5. Although not so much today, she's generally very fast, with beautiful extension on her spirals and pretty spin positions. I checked my notes from her last year, when she was 7th in intermediate at UGL, and at that point she was cheating double axels... wish I knew what they were feeding her to bring about that much improvement in less than a year.

3. Lauren Elise Anderson Carmen/Jealousie medley
2z (fall), 3s (2foot), camel 5-sit4/sit6-upright4, spiral series including a deep hydroblade, 2f-2l, back outside spiral to 2z-2l, Bauer glide, 2x (2foot), layback-10, circular steps with a 2s stuck in the middle of the sequence, series of half jumps and hops to 2t, flying camel 4-arabesque camel 4 -upright 4. Another small and quick skater with a lot of attention paid to presentation, she uses a lot of hand-flips to accent moments in the music (a la Sasha Cohen).

4. Megan Willaert Soundtrack (I _think_ it was Dragon, but not 100% sure)
Really strange starting pose where she's squatting/leaning with her rear end in the air, arms outstretched; 2s, 2z-2t, 2l, camel 4-sit 2-layback 3/sit 3 - upright 3, 2f-2t, forward outside spiral, 2z, layback 10 with pretty arm position; split jump to 2t-2t, circular steps, 2f, hopping sit 5 -rise to upright 3.

5. Hillary Drew Sager
6. Brianna Mc Luen
7. Monika Hartsel
8. Lindsay Lockman

Intermediate Final
1. Megan Oster perky vaguely calypso-esque music
2f-2t, camel 6 -illusion 2, 2z-2l (fall), circular steps ending with a 2t, spread eagle, 2x-2t, layback 9 - upright 3, forward outside spiral, 2s, 2x, 2z, 2l, 2f, camel 4 -sit 5 -layback 4/sit 5 - upright 4. Quick feet and fast centered spins, she skates with a _lot_ of energy, and seems to have a lot of fun.

2. Stephanie Lecheler Italian Medley
2f-2t, 2z-2t-2l, camel 2 -sit 4/sit 3 - donut 8, forward outside spiral twizzle back outside Y spiral, 2l, 2x (2footed) -1/2 loop-2s, layback 10, 2s (fall) flying camel 4-upright 5, 2x, diagonal steps to a 2z (getting a lot of spring into that one). She has nice secure edges, good height on her jumps, and smooth effortless stroking.

Stephanie and Megan kept alternating between 1st and 2nd in all their qual rounds and the solo free skating competition. Megan was first in the SP, Stephanie was first in the LP qualifier; in the solo freeskating competition, Megan was first in the qual round, and Stephanie won the final.

3. Katherine Patke Waltz tune
2s (hands over her head); 2z-1/2l-2s-2l; 1x; 2f-2l; camel 4 - sit 4 - layback 4/sit 5; Bauer; 2s; 2z; 2t-2t; fall on double something (I missed the takeoff); 2f; layback -7; straightline steps; flying sit 5.

4. Laura Patterson unknown music
2f, 2z-2l, 2l, deathdrop into sit-9; 3s (fall); back outside spiral, 1x, layback 8- upright 3; 2f-2t; 2z-2t; camel 5 - cranston sit 10/sit 4 - back crossfoot 4. Very good spinner, with nice height on her jumps.

5. Katie Pennington
6. Michaela Dennis
7. Lisa Anderson
8. Courtney Hellman
9. Kayla Kamrath
10. Elizabeth Ahmann
11. Tawny Sacilowski
12. Kathy Kreuziger

[ksskate]

Impromptu - What great notes you took!! I attended both Intermediate Final Round groups plus the Championship Juvenile final rounds. Championship Juv was pretty small - only 8 skaters. Here are the final results:

1. Nanoha Sato - Wisconsin FSC
2. Christina Maria Sperduto - Braemar City of Lakes FSC
3. Trisha Rowland - Southport FSC
4. Sarah Koller - Eden Prarie FSC
5. Dominique Giordano - Line Creek FSC
6. Kimberly Schaub - Fond du Lac Blue Line SC
7. Briana Bruce - St. Cloud FSC
8. Brooke Erickson - Eden Prairie FSC

Nanoha is a tiny girl; very quick; fast spins and lots of spirit when she skates! Landed a 2z/2l combo, but my notes are pretty undecipherable after that!!

Intermediate Group
I agree with Impromtu's earlier comment that this was a pretty strong group. There were two final rounds groups on Sunday morning - one from the Intermediate FS groups (top 3 from each qualifying group) and one from the Championship Intermediate group (top 4 from each qualifying group after SP/FS final standings). Many of the girls participated in both groups so it had to have been a long morning for them (Plus a few did Intermediate Jumps in between!!)

The Intermediate FS group was first - more double axels and triple sals (both landed and attempted) in this group by the first three finishers....

1. Stephanie Lecheler - Southport Sc
2. Megan Oster - Southport SC
3. Laura Patterson - DuPage FSC
4. Nicole Jackson - Braemar City of Lakes
5. Katherine Patke - Line Creek FSC
6. Michaela Dennis - DuPage FSC
7. Ashely Nault - Fond du Lac Blue LineSC
8. Lisa Anderson - Brooklyn Park FSC
9. Dana Goldamer - Eden Prairie FSC
10. Briana Jacqueline Peterson - FSC of Bloomington
11. Elizabeth Ahmann - Braemar City of Lakes FSC
12. Sarah Kirby - FSC of Bloomington

Impromptu has already listed the Championship Intermediate finishers but I have a few additional comments. Katherine Patke, who finished 3rd opened with a double loop with her arms over her head and she didn't fall on a jump - she had just landed a 2f/2t combo and was doing a crossover and just caught an edge or something - no element involved! Lisa Anderson has a fabulous high double axel/double toe combo - in warm-up. When that jump gets consistent, it will be very impressive!! Many of the girls in this group skated clean FS programs multiple times over the weekend which is impressive by itself!! Katie Pennington, who ended up 5th after falls and pops on too many jumps in her program, has wonderful presence and style - loved watching her skate and I winced with each fall!

This was a very well-run competition and kudos go to the organizers who did a great job keeping events on schedule!

[sk8rzmom]

I heard the competioin was smaller that in the past. How many skaters were there, and how many out of town coaches brought kids?

[ksskate]

The competition was smaller this year, but I'm not sure that was unexpected since the UGL Regionals was held at the rink last year and I'm sure many skaters participated in Skate St. Paul 2001 as a warm-up for Regionals.

As far as the number of skaters - here are some approximate counts. There were about 18 Novice Ladies total participating in the Championship and Novice groups ; Four Senior Ladies; 8 Junior Ladies total between Championship Junior and Junior groups; 35 in Championship Intermediate Ladies (there were four or five scratches) plus another 45 or so in Intermediate (some skaters did both so are counted twice); Two Junior Men; 8 in Championship Juvenile and 21 in Juvenile (looks like about 5 did both Championship Juv and Juv).

As to whether they were from out of town - just looking through the program I'd estimate about half the competitors were from the Twin Cities, about a quarter from other parts of MN and WI and the remaining quarter from beyond. A quick analysis of the Championship Final Rounds:

Juvenile: 1st and 6th Place -- WI; 3rd - Chicago; 2nd, 4th, 8th, -- Twin Cities; 5th -- Kansas City; 7th - St. Cloud.

Intermediate: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, - Chicago. 3rd - Kansas City. 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th - Twin Cities. 8th - Houston. 11th - Western NY. 12th - Swan City Skaters??

Novice - they were almost all from the Twin Cities or other parts of MN with a few exceptions (WI, IA)