2006 U.S. Nationals

It was a good day for the Midwest as its sectional gold and silver pairs medalists finished one-two in the Short Program event.

Jessica Paetsch and Jon Nuss of the Broadmoor, together for just eight months, led the pack with an athletic performance to "King Herod’s Song." Paetsch, soon to be 13, a diminutive 4’ 5", became a pair skater quite recently. Nuss, age 18 and 6’ 2", previously partnered his sister. But the new combination gelled. The duo cited lifts and a death spiral

as today’s highlights, but their side-by-side double Lutzes netted points as well.

Andrea Best, 17, and Trevor Young, 18, of the Detroit SC, sectional runners-up, have been skating together for only seven months. Young competed at Nationals last year with a previous partner while Best and her former partner appeared at Junior Nationals. With those experiences under their slender belts, they felt that their 2006 performance to music from The Pink Panther went exceptionally well. The forward inside death spiral was a highlight. Said Best, "It went around almost three times."

Eastern champions Meg Byrne and Nate Bartholomay, who have been partners for three years, broke the Midwest lock on placements. The fellow Pennsylvanians, who train at the University of Delaware, have never before been to "big Nationals" and view this trip as a giant step up the ladder. Byrne, 14, and Bartholomay, 16, received high marks for their overhead lift and death spiral as well as neatly executed side-by-side double Lutzes. Their plan going into the free skate? "Stay confident. Keep it all easy."

Tracy Tanovich and Michael Chau, only fourth at the Eastern Sectionals, stood fourth after the Short Program event. The placement might well have been higher but for Tanovich’s fall on attempted side-by-side double loops. The duo, who train in Tanovich’s native Florida (Chau is from Oakdale, MN), skated an energetic and generally sharp program that included a quick and high double twist lift.

The tightly bunched scores of the top four teams going into the Long Program event stood at 44.43, 44.25, 42.59 and 40.19.

by Martha Kimball and Dawn Morgan

Success bred success for Jessica Rose Paetch and Jon Nuss. A first glance might suggest that the 4’5" Paetch is a poor match for Nuss, six years older and fifteen inches taller. But when the music starts, the tiny ball of energy can hold her own – to a point at which the height differential becomes invisible. Paetch is bigger than life.

The duo skated confidently from first place in the Short Program to first in the Free and overall. Performing to "Sing, Sing, Sing," they demonstrated excellent speed and synchronization. The throws, double loop and double Salchow, were characterized by prodigious height and ice coverage. Paetch held her landing position securely.

A layover arabesque press lift sent Section 119 of the Family Arena to its feet.

The Midwestern champions lost a little momentum on the final pair spin, which caused Paetch to drop her foot out of textbook position.

Ironically, after Nuss’s pairs partnership with his sister dissolved, his coach, Dalilah Sappenfield, spent two years persuading him to return to the discipline.

"I bugged him for about two years. Finally I said, ‘I have this little girl. She’s a dynamite skater, a great singles skater. Just try her out for a week.’ And, you know, the rest is history."

Asked about the winning Free Skate, a jubilant Nuss said, "I thought it went great. The twist, I guess, just set the tone for the rest of the program."

Second in the Short Program event, third in the Free Skate and second overall, Andrea Best and Trevor Young dodged a bullet and eked out their silver placement by a mere .51. Strong and mature at ages 17 and 18, with pleasing posture, the duo started with a nice press lift before Young stepped out of their side-by-side double Axels. Next came a split twist, a throw double Salchow, a right inside death spiral, a one-handed star lift, and side-by-side double Lutz - double toe combinations on which Best fell. Young didn’t achieve full extension on the overhead press lift, barely saving it. The team’s overall score was 126.73.

Said an amazingly candid Young, "There weren’t many highlights, actually. There were a lot of things that needed improvement. Our highlights were that we got all three lifts in the program, which is one thing we struggled with in the past. Today we got all three done. And one of the worst things that I thought we did were our side-by-side jumps, which are usually very good. We struggled on those today."

Rising from fourth in the Short Program, Tracy Tanovich, 9, and Michael Chau, 15, placed second in the Free Skate to finish third overall. They were fast and remarkably original. The opening one-arm press lift began with Chau in a spread eagle. Then the originality continued as Tanovich entered the split double twist from a shoot-the-duck position. She drew her blade to her head during the right inside death spiral.

The throw double loop, too, was unique, as Chau casually explained.

"She’s in the stag position. I did one and a half revs, landed backwards, and just went right from there. It helps our GOE. It’s definitely a plus with the new system."

Coach Kerry Leitch paired the team without foreseeing immediate success.

"I just thought it was a good opportunity for them to get a little extra exposure. Chances are maybe you can get to Nationals in pairs. By the time you get there in singles, it might be a little easier to perform. We didn’t expect a medal. The idea was that next year was going to be the medal year."

At times, Tanovich & Chau’s footwork was out of sync, a small enough criticism in the overall context. Their final score was 126.22, not even a point less than the second placed team.