2003

U.S. Nationals

Junior Pairs

by Lynn Rutherford

Hometown Favorites Howerton & Pottenger Take the Lead

Brooke Castile & Benjamin Okolski, who placed second at Midwestern sectionals, were fifth. Christie Baca & Scott Smith, who were third at Pacific Coast sectionals, placed sixth.

Howerton & Pottenger’s Win Pleases Dallas Crowd

Dallas natives Amy Howerton & Steven Pottenger skated a conservative, but relatively clean free program this morning at the Reunion Arena to win the 2003 U.S. junior pair title.

The Midwestern sectional champions, who lead after the short program, overcame the memory of last year’s Nationals, when they also placed first in the short but faded badly in the free to fall to fifth place. With this win, Steven Pottenger and his younger brother, Christopher -- who won the novice pair title earlier in the week -- became the first siblings to ever win national pair titles in the same year.

Howerton & Pottenger opened their program with a back inside death spiral and one-arm press lift, followed by a strong throw double Axel. Their program then tailed off somewhat when Howerton stepped out of the landing on their throw triple Salchow and fell on a double flip jump. Nevertheless, they captured eight first-place votes from the nine judges.

"It went really well. We did the best we could do today," said Pottenger.

When asked whether she had thought about last year’s melt-down, Howerton answered, "Honestly, yes. But I thought about how much more prepared we were this year, and I relied on God and prayed all week. I asked God to please take my nerves away and give me faith, and He did."

Coach David Kirby – who also coaches novice champions Christopher Pottenger & Sydney Schmidt – was overjoyed with the week’s results. "It’s the first time in the history of the sport that two brothers have done this. All five of us went into this together. We worked as a team and that’s what helped us achieve what we’ve accomplished."

He added that concentrating on elements his teams could perform, and avoiding more difficult moves that could cause problems – like the triple twist – was a calculated decision. "Unison counts on both the first and second marks this year. I don’t know why the other coaches haven’t figured that out and taken a similar approach," he said.

Brittany Vise & Nicholas Kole, who were in second place after the short program, captured the silver medal with a performance that included a throw triple Salchow into side-by-side double two loops. They were also one of only two teams who attempted side by side triple jumps, but Vise fell on her triple toe loop.

Defending champions Collette Appel and Lee Harris moved up from fourth place in the short program to claim the bronze medal. Their free program opened well, with a nice platter lift and a strong throw triple loop, but tailed off significantly when Appel fell out of a throw double Axel. In addition, the couple lacked unison on their final jump sequence, single Axels into double toe loops, and was able to execute only the most basic lifts.

Chelsea Meador & Josh Martin, in third place after the short, dropped to fourth place overall by placing fifth in the free program. Their free program opened with a big triple twist and a throw triple Salchow, but Meador fell on a double Axel and the couple had complete lack of unison during the final 30 seconds of their performance, with Meador failing to complete the final jump and footwork sequence.

Christie Baca & Scott Smith, who placed sixth in the short, claimed fourth place in the free and fifth overall with a free program that included side-by-side double Axels into double toe loops, a triple twist and a throw double Axel. Unfortunately, they, too, petered out in the second half of their performance, with Baca falling on another double Axel and singling out a throw loop. Brooke Castile & Benjamin Okolski were sixth.

Short Program

Free Skating