2006 U.S. Nationals

Junior Men

by Martha Kimball

Geoffry Varner, 18, landed securely at the head of a strong field at the conclusion of the Junior Men’s Short Program event. Varner’s father, a systems engineer, was offered a job in Delaware, so the whole family packed up to live near the training facility in Newark where Varner was then able to continue to work with Barbara Roles-Williams, his coach since age 9.

Wearing a black costume with a rhinestone design meant to symbolize a broken-glass pattern associated with the film The Skulls, source of his program music (along with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Varner energetically attacked his first three elements: triple flip – triple toe, triple Lutz, then double Axel. The Junior Grand Prix bronze medalist rounded out his program with a spin-heavy second half. His scores were 30.29 for Executed Elements and 27.29 for Program Components, for a total of 57.58.

Varner, a high school senior who learns through distance education, is contemplating a career in the Army or a post in the Army Reserves, like a number of his cousins.

In second place was Stephen Carriere, with scores of 26.25 and 27.15 for a total of 53.40. The 16-year-old who trains in Boston executed a slightly shaky triple flip – double toe to Varner’s clean triple-triple combination, but performed a fine double Axel and excellent triple Lutz to music from the 60s television drama Peter Gunn. The program, choreographed by Jamie Isley, was well balanced and seemed relaxed in its execution.

Carriere grew up near Stoneham, MA, and was inspired to see hometown girl Nancy Kerrigan skate at the Olympics. He has always enjoyed televised skating and says, "I feel for all these skaters, and I love to watch." He is fascinated by a sport in which the result of a whole year’s training comes down to four and one-half minutes.

Jordan Miller, like Varner, trains in Newark, DE, where he is a part-time political science student at the University of Delaware. Age 21, he has been skating for 17 of those years. The Eastern champion, who had never before made it to senior Nationals, savored the experience. "I was at peace with myself," he said. In the past he had several near misses with fifth-place finishes at Pacific Coasts. This time he hit the jackpot and planned to enjoy every minute.

Miller, climbing the judging ladder, is currently qualified to officiate at Novice-level competitions. That experience has been invaluable in helping him to master the intricacies of the new CoP system. In co-choreographing his program to "Alegria" from Cirque du Soleil, Miller purposely "put the big jumps on a calmer piece of music" to facilitate relaxation.

He completed a triple Lutz out of footwork, a triple flip – double toe, and a double Axel. Following his third-place finish he remarked, "The camel change camel could have been a little better. Everything else was spot on." With scores of 28.14 and 24.54 for a total of 52.67, Miller was less than a point out of second place going in to the Free Skate.

by Martha Kimball and Dawn Morgan

Stephen Carriere rose from second in the Short Program event to first place in the Free Skate and overall to give Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson of the SC of Boston a hat trick: their third podium (and first win) of these championships.

Carriere, within a flawless program, accomplished seven triples. The long, high triple Axel with good speed flowing out would have been the envy of many a senior man. Carriere’s spins were the equal of his jumps, notably the turning threes into a nicely stretched camel into a pancake and then an upright spin.

The Massachusetts native skated to music from the film Once Upon a Time in Mexico wearing a burgundy shirt paired with brown pants. He completed his final spin and, to the ultimate beat of the music, wiped his hand across his forehead in a choreographed gesture that meant, "Whew! What a relief." The Free Skate scored 126.88, more than ten points higher than his closest rival’s, for a combined event total of 180.28.

Contemplating his impending move up to Senior level, Carriere remarked, "It’s unreal. I can’t picture myself with all those skaters. It’s going to be intense. I think that my career’s just starting now."

Like Carriere, Jordan Miller moved up one place from his Short Program finish to take the silver medal. After performing to "Green Tomatoes" and "One More Night" wearing a royal blue jumpsuit with shades of lighter blue across the top and a diagonal pattern in rhinestones, Miller looked as though he had won the lottery, and he had. The two-time qualifier for Junior Nationals at the Juvenile level won a silver medal in 1996, but a lot of years have passed since then. A Junior-level skater since 1999, Miller qualified this year for his first-ever trip to Senior Nationals. At 21, he smiled at references to his status as the old man of the event. Was he the oldest? "I wouldn’t be surprised," he said affably.

Miller’s choice of Phil Collins’s "One More Night" was poignant. This was clearly a man who loved skating, who had hung in there year after year, and who was cherishing his one more night to compete.

"There was no pressure on me to go out there and perform," Miller said. "My entire goal was just to get to Nationals and then enjoy my time here. I think that I was able to do that with the proper training. It just all came together for me."

The Eastern champion, who has had no international assignments, executed six triples (two flips, two Lutzes, a Salchow and a toe) with only one error: a slight bobble on the triple flip - double toe. Three of the triples occurred after the halfway mark in the program, accruing point bonuses. In addition to the jumps, Miller performed a very nice traveling entrance into his back sit combination spin and presented the best jump sit spin of the competition. Spins, he noted, when carefully choreographed and well executed, can now sometimes be worth more mathematically than jumps. Miller’s score for the Free Skate was 114.89, for a composite total of 167.56.

Geoffry Varner wore black velvet embellished with curved patterns in red and gold to interpret the score from Columbus. A strong and stylish skater having a bad night, the aficionado of martial arts touched down following the triple Lutz - double toe combination as well as the solo double Lutz. His triple loop was shaky, and he traveled at the end of a long combination spin. The judges awarded him 107.91 for the Free Skate, for a total of 165.49 overall.

Varner, appearing understandably disappointed to have fallen from first place to third,

said philosophically, "I usually skate really well. It was just a little different feeling going into [the Free Skate] being on top. I take this as a learning experience."

Earlier in the evening, within the second flight of skaters, Daisuke Murakami, who will be 15 years old at the conclusion of these championships, provoked excitement and a hearty ovation, ultimately finishing fourth. In a bright red shirt, he skated without hesitation, as though he had nothing to lose, which was the case. Astonishingly (in the world of skating), Murakami rose to fourth from all the way down in tenth place.

There was one major glitch. Early in his Free Skate, the youngster from Southern California completed a triple Lutz that was meant to be part of a combination. Later he executed a second planned triple Lutz, which didn’t count because of the rule against repeating the same solo triple. Memorable, though, were Murakami’s crowd connection, his high Russian split jump, and his outstanding spins. He scored 105.38 for the Free Skate and 153.97 overall.

An honorable mention and a nod to his bravery must be extended to Craig Ratterree, who fell and slid hard into the boards during his group warm-up. He lay on the ice for a long moment, appearing from a distance to be unconscious. Amazingly, the 16-year-old recovered enough to skate first in the flight, opening with a huge, high triple Axel. Fourth in the Short Program, fifth in the Free, Ratterree, of Scottsdale, AZ, ended the competition in fifth place.