2008 U.S. Nationals

All photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano

Wolf & Ainsworth Step into Lead

The 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships kicked off with two contrasting novice compulsory dances: the Tango, a flowing, close dance demanding erect carriage and strong expression; and the Killian, a march done in side-by-side positions highlighted by a difficult Choctaw turn in the middle of the pattern.

Unlike the junior and senior competitors, the 11 novice couples perform two compulsories, comprising 50% of their total score.

And they’re not necessarily too happy about it.

"I’m just glad they’re done," Rhys Ainsworth said. "We spend about half our training time practicing the compulsories, but I really want to get to the free dance."

Despite his ambivalence, Ainsworth and partner Chloe Wolf, who split their training time between University of Delaware and Maine, took a .08-point lead, winning first place in the Tango and third in the Killian. They earned 49.52 points combined.

"The Tango went really, really well," Wolf said. "It was strong and smooth."

"The Killian was a bit shaky, but we got through it," Ainsworth added. "By the time we skated (eighth) the ice was pretty ruddy. It had just been chewed up."

Megan Evans & Nathan Truesdell placed a close second with 49.44 points combined, including third in the Tango and first in the Killian.

"We could have done better, especially the Tango," Evans said. "I’m pleased we pulled up a place in the Killian.

"I made a mistake in the Tango. In the first corner, my forward outside edge slipped, and I had to put a foot down."

Truesdell said he had a special reason for wanting a medal.

"U.S. Skating told me I would only be the second African American to win an ice dance medal at Nationals," he said. "The first was about 15 years ago, and that was a bronze. I hope to match or better that."

The couple, who are in their second season together, said they felt more comfortable on the ice than ever before.

"Last year, we were just getting to know the ropes," she said. "Now I’m contributing more. Nathan’s not just pulling me around."

Katie Wyble & Justin Morrow, who have skated together just eight months, took third with 48.80 points. They were fourth in the Tango and second in the Killian.

"We’ve been doing the Killian more; we haven’t worked on the tango as much," Wyble said. "The Killian was a little shaky for us, but it still felt stronger than the Tango."

Morrow disagreed.

"I was a bit slippery on the Killian; I actually thought the tango was stronger," he said.

Anastasia Olson & Jordan Cowan sit fourth after placing second in the Tango and fifth in the Killian, with a combined 46.62 points.

"We actually like the Killian more; I’m surprised we placed higher in the Tango," Cowan said. "Of course, we skated first in the Killian, and there were fewer ruts, but you have to be prepared for all kind of conditions."

"Both dances felt good; I don’t think we could have done better," Olson added. "Our goal was just to skate our best. It’s our first season together and the placement doesn’t matter."

Skating to "Les Miserables,"  Chloe Wolf & Rhys Ainsworth, won the Free Dance to capture the Novice Dance title.   Their margin of victory of over five points was decisive.  They got off to a shaky start with Ainsworth executing the synchronized twizzles poorly, five judges marking the element at -1.  The program quickly firmed up, and the remainder was well executed with GoE of zero through plus two.  Except for a circular step sequence, called level 2, their elements were otherwise called level 4.  (This is not uncommon at Novice where the step sequences usually do not reach level 4 and sometime are only level 1.)

The program was capably skated with Program Component marks in the mid fives.  While reasonable expressive, the skaters did not get into character as thoroughly as one sees in the best renditions of this music, nor did they show the strong relationship between the skaters that the music demands.

Megan Evans & Nathan Truesdell placed third in the Free Dance, but thanks to a strong, first place effort in the second Compulsory Dance they finished second overall.  Skating to "Little Miss Sunshine," they performed a visually interesting program, relating well to each other.  Except for the step sequence at level 2 and their spin at level 4, the majority of their elements were level 4.  There GoEs were mostly zeros through twos, with a few minus ones.  The only significant execution problem in their program was the combination lift.  Consisting of a straight line lift followed by a curved lift, the element was scored negative by the panel.  The couple also received an extended lift deduction for the element.  They were the only couple in the event to receive a deduction.

Compared to the top two teams in the Free Dance, their Transitions were marked down, being scored at only 4.75.  Their remaining components, however, were in the low fives.

Second in the Free Dance and third overall were Una Donegan and Andrew Korda.  Only fifth and fourth in the Compulsory Dances, their strong effort pulled them up to the bronze medal.  It was a technically strong routine will all level 4 elements except for a level 2 circular step sequence.  The elements were all scored positive by the panel, except for the synchronized twizzles, which three judges scored minus one.

Skating to Sarah Brightman's rendition of the Adagio by Albinoni, their PCS was third best.  It was a well choreographed routine with long flowing movement to compliment the music.  The routine was rewarded in Choreography and in Interpretation, but scored weaker in the more technically oriented components of Skating Skills, Footwork and Performance.  In these three areas their marks dropped to the upper fours.

Anastasia Olson & Jordan Cowan placed fourth in the Free Dance and fourth overall, trailing the third place team by just 0.70 points.  They executed well for most of the routine, but in the last two elements faltered.  Their synchronized twizzles were scored with minus ones and twos and their final rotational lift was poorly controlled and was also scored with GoEs of minus ones and twos.

The routine, skated to "Gypsy Medley" was artistically successful with program components in the low fives, and one judge going as high as six.  But in Skating Skills, Footwork and Performance their scores dropped to the high fours.