Skate St. Paul

[kgl2]

Is anyone attending? Who are what are the novice, jr and sr skaters doing?

[Impromptu]

FRIDAY


Intermediate Ladies Championship Combined Event SP

Group A (top six)
1. Kirsten Olson, 2. Amanda Farris, 3. Jessica Schubert, 4 Laine Buntrock, 5. Katelyn Myers, 6. Lauren Dixon

Kirsten Olson's beautifully presented interpretation of "Scherezhade" featured a clean 2z-2l combination and a double flip. She's got gorgeous arms, always hitting just the right position and note, get's the ta da's in there but its pretty subtle.

Amanda Farris's zippy "Hernando's Hideaway/Carmen" was a close second. For such a small girl, she's got huge jumps, landing a 2z-2t with nice flow and a big 2f.

Group B (top six)
1. Kinsey Kleppe, 2. Courtney Baga, 3. Chelsey Johnson, 4. Jenner Sio, 5. Briana Bruce, 6. Lauren Taylor-Sharp

Kinsey Kleppe's quirky "Flight of the Bumblebee" program featured some interesting spin position and a deep back hydroblade spiral highlight. Jump combo was the 2z-2l, also tried 2f (2 footed???).

Group C (top six):
1. Amanda Voigt, 2. Claire Tabolt (spelled that way in the program, but the announcer said "Talbot"), 3. Sarah Semon, 4. Jennifer Bernstein, 5. Caitlin Birrenkott, 6. Kathy Kreuziger

Amanda Voigt skated to "Evita", with good speed, big jumps with nice run out (2z-2l; 2f) and did a nice big circular footwork sequence that pretty much covered three quarters of the rink.

Claire Tabolt/Talbot might have been one of the fastest skaters in the event, skating to the Diamond commercial music. Jump combo was 2z-2l (slight hop on the loop landing) and a 2f with her hands over her head.

And I have to mention Sarah Semon's jazzy "Pink Panther" program, because it was a lot of fun to watch. It featured lots of sinuous cat-like movements, and she did a good job keeping her hands in claw-like position. Jump combo was 2z-1l and solo jump was 2f


Intermediate Men SP (5 entries):
1. Eliot Halverson, 2. Alex Johnson, 3. Robert Kisting, 4. Joe Gorecki, 5. Cody Blaubach

Eliot Halverson has a cute race car program (it's not the same music that Yagudin used last year, but some of the transitional movements are the same). Nice big 2x-2l combination, 2f, and did the required single axel with one arm over his head. Nice smooth stroking, good sense of music, spins have some interesting positions and he seems to know what to do with his hands.

Alex Johnson did a nice job with "Jumping Jack" to take second place. Also tried a 2x combination, but fell. Great footwork, he did a long serpentine sequence and then stuck his required axel at the end of it. Nice stretched out position in the camel spin as well.

Championship Junior Ladies Combined Event SP (8 entries):

1 Jillian Asby, 2. Kendra Keenan, 3. Katie Bouts, 4. Stephanie Zastrow, 5. Brianna McLuen, 6. Megan Willaert, 7. Allison Nawracaj, 8. Samantha Nyman

Jillian Asby (rock version of Vivaldi's Winter) now has a big and beautiful 2x, also landed a nice 3t-2t combination. Her jump from footwork looked a little more like a 2-lutz than a 2-flip, but whichever it was, the landing had decent flow.

Kendra Keenan (ballet music that had a vaguely Spanish theme) had a nice 3s-2t combination, 2f, fell on the 2x, and had some problems with her layback (got only 3 rotations, it looked like).

Katie Bouts did a nice job with a Gershwin medley, 3s-2t, big 2x, 2f with nice flow out.

Stephanie Zastrow had some jump issues today, falling on the 3l (so no combo) and also on the 2f.

Junior Men Combined Event SP (3 entries):
1. Joshua Fischel, 2. Yuri Guzikov, 3. Tyler Ecklund

Joshua Fischel skated to a medley of Jean-Luc Ponty's "New Country" and a piece by the Blue Man Group (I had to ask). He's got a nice style on the ice, good speed and seemed to really enjoy himself out there. Fell on the 3salchow (no combo), landed the 2x, and 2f from steps. Nice footwork

Yuri Guzikov (techno music). Jumps were 3z-2t, 3f from steps (little turn out on the landing), nice 2x.... and then ooops, did a flying camel (nice one 15 rotations) and a sit/sit combo (again, very nice, 9 rotations on the front, 10 on the back) instead of flying sit and camel/camel

Tyler Ecklund (Zorro). He doesn't really seem to have the jumps to be competitive... landed 2t-2t, fell on a 2f and opened up on the axel, but did some strong footwork. He seems fairly expressive, too, I could imagine him as an ice dancer.


Senior Ladies Combined Event SP (3 entries)
1. Melissa Lind, 2. Dana Peterson, 3. Donna Vorpagel

Melissa Lind. Huge 2x with long flow out, 3s-2t (possible two foot on the toe), 3flip from steps (had the landing for a moment, then had to put both hands down... but she had a perfect one in the warm up), great speed and flow, nice extension on the spirals. She seems to alternate between representing the Northern Illinois FSC and a club in South Atlantics (I don't remember which one off-hand), so I'm not sure which regional she'll be competing in this year.

Results of events I did not see:

Intermediate Ladies Free Skating Competition
Group A (top 6):
1. Rhianna Brammeier, 2. Kirsten Olson, 3. Amanda Farris, 4. Courtney Baga, 5. Lauren Buckvold, 6. Dominque Giordano

Group B (top 6)
1. Kinsey Kleppe, 2. Devan Brevig, 3. Rachel Kern, 4. Jenner Sio, 5. Jodi Buckentine, 6. Kathy Kreuziger

Senior Ladies Free Skating Competition (3 entries):
Dana Peterson, Brittany Proctor, Donna Vorpagel

Junior Ladies FS Comp (7 entries)
1. Jillian Asby, 2. Megan Willaert, 3. Kylie Bloodsworth, 4. Brianna McLuen, 5. Lindsay Schrader, 6. Katherine Porter, 7. Allison Nawracaj

Novice Ladies Championship Combined Event, SP:
Group A (top 6):
1. Lisa Anderson, 2. Katie Pennington, 3. Natalie Patrnchak, 4. Lynn Kriengkrairut, 5. Maggie Beller, 6. Allison Hoyer

Group B (top 6):
1. Amanda Louiselle, 2. Kayla Kamrath, 3. Lauren Elyse Anderson, 4. Katherine Patke, 5. Elizabeth Ahmann, 6. Trish Kozlak

[kgl2]

Thanks!

[Impromptu]

Saturday:

Results of Events I saw:


Juvenile Girls Final Free Skate (top 6, of 16):
1. Alexa Scimeca, 2. Mackenzie Conn, 3. Sarah Christensen, 4. Brittany Johnson, 5. Arianne Thomas, 6. Lee Keller


Looked like the entire field has all of their doubles except for the double axel, the top girls are all doing some kind of double-double-double combination, or double-double-half loop-double sequence. Alexa Scimeca's jumps are huge, with lots of hang time, and her performance of rocked out Christmas carols featured strong fast skating.


Intermediate Ladies Combined Event FS:
Group A: (Top Six)
1. Kirsten Olson, 2. Lauren Dixon, 3. Amanda Farris, 4. Jessica Schubert, 5.Naomi Patrnchuk, 6. Laine Buntrock


Holy cats, can Kirsten Olson spin! Her layback, which starts in classic position, and then changes to a dropped back position which sped up and blurred. I counted about 25 rotations; combo spin was camel 4-sit4-layback 5/sit 4-pancake 10 , step to forward blur spin, about 20 rotations. Jumps were strong too, including 2x-2t combo.


Nice work from Lauren Dixon in second place with a creative interpretation of Cirque du Soliel music that featured lots of agile footwork with many changes in body positions. Also landed a 2x-2t, and did many of her jumps out of footwork.


Group B: (top 6):
1. Courtney Baga, 2. Chelsey Johnson, 3. Kinsey Kleppe, 4. Jenner Sio, 5. Briana Bruce, 6. Lauren Taylor-Sharp


Good all around performance from Courtney Baga to mystery music. Solid jumping, good speed, jumps included a nice 2f-2l and 2z-2t.


Group C: (top 6)
1. Claire Tabolt, 2. Amanda Voigt, 3. Sarah Semon, 4. Kathy Kreuziger, 5. Jennifer Bernstein, 6. Kristin Lusis


Claire Tabolt (Danse Macabre, which somewhere along the line I started abbreviating as McDanse). Good speed and basics, jumps included a 2x (with both hands over her head) and a 2z-2t combo.


Qualifying for finals (SP + LP added, taking top 5 from each group): Olson, Farris, Dixon, Schubert, Buntrock, Baga, Johnson, Kleppe, Sio, Bruce, Tabolt, Voigt, Semon, Kreuziger, Bernstein


Novice Combined Event LP (top 5 in each group):
Group A:
1. Lisa Anderson, 2. Katie Pennington, 3. Natalie Patrnchuk, 4. Alison Hoyer, 5. Lynn Kriengkrairut


Lisa Anderson has evolved into a beautiful skater, she's got beautiful flow, nice soft knees, and solid jumps. Her double axel is just huge, and she's gotten much more consistent over the past year.


Katie Pennington was the only skater in this group to try a triple (salchow). Almost had it but it may have been two-footed. She continues to put a lot of Kwan influenced moves into her program (music was East of Eden, costume was a white and gold version of MK's SP costume from last season), including the hands-behind the back layback, and the deathdrop sit to Y spin.


Group B:
1. Lauren Elyse Anderson, 2. Katherine Patke, 3. Amanda Louiselle, 4. Briana Peterson, 5.Elizabeth Ahmann


Lauren Elyse Anderson also had a 3s in her program (it looked like the very last bit of rotation was on the ice), strong spins, and a change edge spiral.


Above skaters all qualify for finals.


Senior Solo SP competition (only 3 entries)
1. Dana Peterson, 2. Angie Lien, 3.Donna Vorpagel


Lien had an off jumping day (fell on 3z, fell on 3f, popped the axel), but every time I see her skate, she's managed to improve something from the year before. This summer, her spins look much faster, nicely positioned and well centered. Spirals are still strong, including change edge spiral that covered about 2/3s of the ice, and a left back outside spiral, stepping forward immediately to a right FO spiral. Nice deep edgy diagonal steps, too. Dana Peterson landed a 3s-2t combination and 2x, fell on a 3t, and also included some strong spirals.


Results of events I did not see:


Novice SP Solo Competition
Group A (top 5)
1.Lisa Anderson, 2. Christine Marty, 3. Natalie Patrnchak, 4. Katherine Patke, 5. Maggie Beller


Group B: (top 5)
1. Lauren Elyse Anderson, 2. Trish Kozlak, 3. Amanda Louiselle, 4. Nicole Jackson, 5. Kayla Kamrath


Intermediate Solo SP Competition:
Group A (top 5)
1. Rhiana Brammeier, 2. Kirsten Olson, 3. Hope Hoffman, 4. Naomi Patrnchak, 5. Lauren Buckvold


Group B (Top 5):
1. Courtney Baga, 2. Devan Brevig, 3. Amanda Farris, 4. Chelsey Johnson, 5. Jodi Buckentine


Group C (top 5):
1. Kinsey Kleppe, 2. Rachel Kern, 3. Amanda Voigt, 4. Caitlin Birrenkott, 5. Kathy Kreuziger


Junior Solo SP competition (only 4 entries)
1. Kendra Keenan, 2. Lindsay Schrader, 3. Brianna McLuen, 4. Katherine Porter


Novice Men SP (2 entries)
1. Nicholas Krongard, 2. Joshua Flores

[Impromptu]

SUNDAY


Junior Ladies Combined Event, FS:
1. Jillian Asby, 2. Stephanie Zastrow, 3. Kendra Keenan, 4. Katie Bouts, 5. Megan Willaert, 6. Brianna McLuen, 7. Samantha Nyman (Overall final order is the same)

Split ordinals between the top three.

Jillian Asby (I forgot to write down the music, but I have a vague memory of thinking it was Sparticus) fell on a 3t attempt, but landed lots of doubles including two huge double axels. She's developing into a very strong looking skaterf

Stephanie Zastrow (Vanessa Mae Tocatta & Fugue/Nessun Dorma). I expected that this program would end up in first because she did stand up on three triples (although some of that rotation was on the ice), but it looks like this time around the judges were rewarding Asby's all around power and speed.

Kendra Keenan was a bit inconsistent on her jumps, but did a beautifully presented interpretation of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto.

Intermediate Ladies Combined Event FS Finals:
1. Jessica Schubert, 2. Amanda Farris, 3. Kirsten Olson, 4. Laine Buntrock, 5. Kinsey Kleppe, 6. Chelsey Johnson, 7. Sarah Semon, 8.Lauren Dixon, 9. Jennifer Bernstein, 10. Kathy Kreuziger, 11. Briana Bruce, 12. Courtney Baga, 13. Jenner Sio, 14. Amanda Voigt, 15. Claire Tabolt

Long weekend for many of these intermediate ladies. They competed in SP solo, qual rounds of LP solo, final rounds of LP solo, SP and LP qual rounds for the combined event, and a final LP skate for the combined event. And the LP finals were held 30 minutes after the Combined finals. It looked like a lot of these girls were very tired, lots of weird mistakes like falls on footwork or on spin entries, and many popped jumps.

Jessica Schubert skated to "Samson and Delilah," good solid program with two 2x (one in combination with a 2l) and 8 other very clean and big doubles. She's got a lot of spring in her jumps, and also was one of the few skaters to include a serpentine footwork sequence.

Amanda Farris (Cinderella/Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody) got in about 9 doubles (including 2x-2t) and had a neat, quick straight line footwork section.

Kirsten Olson (Flamenco) didn't skate as well as yesterday, two-footing her 2x attempts, but her spins were still impressive (layback 20+ rotations, combo spin 20+, scratch spin 20+ and blurred).

Senior Ladies Combined Event (3 entries):
1. Melissa Lind, 2. Dana Peterson, 3. Donna Vorpagel (Combined final results the same)

Melissa Lind (Les Miserables). Huge 2x, 3t (fall), 3s (nice), 2x (fall), 2l, 3s (fall), 2f-2l. Beautiful basic skating, classic spin positions, nice extension on the spirals, complicated serpentine footwork section that could have used a bit more speed. Not as strong a program as her SP, but she does everything so beautifully, that she's great to watch anyway. I caught a bit of her practice session last night, and I realize I misidentified her 3t as a 3f because she changes feet at the very last second before she picks.

Novice Men FS:
1. Nicholas Krongard, 2. Joshua Flores
Both skaters seem to have similar planned content, all of their double jumps. Flores tried a 3s but landed forward after 2.5 revolutions. They also seem to be paying attention to some nice in between MiTF, including spirals and Ina Bauers.

Junior Men FS:
1. Yuri Guzikov, 2. Joshua Fischel

Guzikov (synthesizer rock). 3t-3t, huge 3z-2t, 3l-2l, 3s (fall), 2f, 2z, 2x-2t, 2x; nicely centered spins with some creative positioning. Lots of hang time on all of his jumps, very athletic performance, but the choreography was a little empty.

Fischel (soundtrackish). 2z 2x (landed forward after 2 rotations), 2f, 3l (fall), 3s (fall), 3s (fall), 2x (two footed). Jumps weren't with him, but he did manage to capture some of the brooding drama of the music.

Novice Ladies Combined Final FS:
1. Katie Pennington, 2. Lisa Anderson, 3. Natalie Patrnchuk, 4. Katherine Patke, 5. Lauren Elyse Anderson, 6. Alison Hoyer, 7. Amanda Louiselle, 8. Lynn Kriengkrairut, 9. Elizabeth Ahmann, 10. Briana Peterson

I imagine that Katie and Lisa will be switching victories all summer - - they both have such beautiful basic skating, lots of power and big double jumps. Katie does try a 3s in her LP - this morning was the closest I've seen her come to landing it on one foot (there was a very short touch down).

Intermediate Men FS Final
1. Eliot Halverson, 2. Alex Johnson, 3. Joe Gorecki, 4. Robert Kisling

Eliot Halverson (Spanish medley including a Paso Doble, Jealousie, another tango, and two more Spanish flavored tunes). 2x step to 2x, 3s-2t-2l, fall on lutz take-off, 3t, 3s, 2z with arm over head; fast spins including a Biellman and pancake position, flying sit 10 -jump over -sit 6 -scratch 10; circular steps with lots of personality. Charisma oozes out of this kid, very good awareness of arm positions, even on his bows.