2002

U.S. Nationals

Novice Pairs

Again the placements from the judges were all over the board with the top four couples receiving at least two first places each.

The leaders, Katie Boxwell & A. William Sears are a new pairing having teamed up only last February at the national tryouts in Boston. They train in Hackensack, New Jersey with Igor Moskvin and it was readily apparent with Sears looking like a younger version of John Zimmerman, demonstrating presentation skills and artistic flair out on the ice.

Their straight-line sequence with twizzles in the middle was especially effective. She had nice stretch in the lift and good arch on the death spiral.

He was introduced to ice skating by an aunt who took him to Wollman Rink in Central Park.

"I used to be overweight and I couldn’t seem to lose any weight, my aunt was a former skater, it all went from there," he recounted with a laugh.

Originally an ice dancer he switched to pairs at the age of 16, which he enjoys more. "I always liked freestyle but I wasn’t a very good jumper and I didn’t really care for dance," he said, "So pairs was the logical choice."

Boxwell, of Reston, Virginia, who started skating at the age of 8 and switched to pairs at 12, was especially excited about her first visit to Los Angeles.

Sears had previously trained with Moskvin and said, "he’s a great guy, he’s like my grandfather."

Brittany Vise & Nicholas Kole, sixth last year were second in the short program also with two first places. Coached at the Broadmoor by Zakrajsek, they also utilized an arm variation on the double loop similar to McGraw. They exuded confidence in their presentation.

Colleen & Benjamin Okolski were fourth in Novice last season and currently stand in third but did receive three first places. Skating to "Romeo and Juliet," the program had a combination of highs and lows. The twist lift had good height and tight rotation by Colleen but the solo spins were out of sync and the loop jumps had no flow out. The combination spin was strong with a number of position changes.

Colleen said that this year the couple came to Nationals, "more prepared and confident." They have been skating together for five years and Ben said, "we have a feeling for what we can do now and have gotten in the habit of following each other very well."

"It’s hard sometimes (competing as siblings) but we always manage to work through it," she said.

They are planning a throw double Axel as the highlight of the free skate. "Throws are probably our number one element," Colleen said. "I take a lot of confidence and I’m good with them when we have to compete."

"I think we can redeem ourselves in the long and we are going to fight for it (the tile)," Colleen concluded.

The 2001 Intermediate champions, Sheila Harkaway & Brandon Larcom placed fourth and received two first places. Skating to music from the film, "Schindler’s List," they had nice expression and lyrical flow, executing a large circular sequence and solid lift. Their camel spins lacked toe point and stretch.

Kerry Leitch coaches the one and a half pairing of Shantel Jordan and Jeremy Barrett, who despite executing a huge double twist, failed to impress the judges and placed 10^th. It was apparent that her stroking strength did not match her partners and he appeared to pull her along at several points in the program.

Tatiana Klunchoo & Manny Gardner took a hard fall into the boards during their warm-up but regrouped to place sixth. She had nice stretch and extension on the combination Kauffman spin but the tumble obviously rattled their focus.

One judge had them in first, which was excessive as well as the seventh from another judge.

Although coached by Igor Moskvin, Craig Maurizio accompanied them to Nationals.

On the other hand the Okolski’s dropped out of medal contention after a flawed free skate. She fell on the throw 2 Axel and also on a 2 flip jump, 2 footed the throw 2 loop and they were out of sync on the solo spins. Unless Colleen has reached her maximum height and Ben develops a sudden growth spurt, this sibling pairing should seriously consider searching for new partners.

Sheila Harkaway and Brandon Larcom drew to skate last, took first place in the free and second and silver overall. They opened with a stag lift and executed throw 2 Salchow and 2 loop. He did pt his hand to the ice on the jump combination. The judging panel was split but with five first places they finished on top.

Brittany Vise and Nicholas Kole, winners this past summer of the 2001 North American Challenge Skate in Ottawa, dropped to third overall. She fell out of the landing of the 2 Axel jump coming down into a near split position, which caused a disruption in the program. She did however land the throw 2 Axel. The star lift had a minor collapse on the exit but they covered it well. Their double twist was solid and the solo spins in sync

Skating with good speed and power Amanda Harris and David Sanders moved up from their 10^th place at Novice Pairs last season to claim fourth. A highlight was a lift into star position with flip out exit. Her toe point and stretch was nice to see.

Short Program

Free Skating