Cleveland, Ohio – Trine University's figure skating team made history at the 2022 Spartan Classic hosted by Case Western Reserve University, earning a program high score and becoming the champions of a conference competition for the first time in program history.
At the first intercollegiate Midwest conference competition of the year, the Thunder earned a total of 275.0 points, gained from numerous podium placements by team members, including whopping 12.0 first place finishes by Trine skaters.
The Thunder started the competition strong on Friday night, earning a fourth place finish in low team maneuver and a second place finish in intermediate team maneuver. The Low Maneuver event was skated by Kellan Chwojko-Frank, Julianna Foy, Madison Koscinski, Kaitlin Gunter, Reilly Johnson, Celine Sanchez, and Payton Scott. The Intermediate Maneuver was skated by Brinna Russell, Beth Carley, Allison Korpi, Haley Williams, Brigid Guerin, and Kelsey DeLaney. Trine ended the first day in second place with 19.0 points.
Saturday started with a bang as Foy, a senior, led Trine to their first gold medal of the competition, earning a first-place finish and the team 12.0 points in the Juvenile Short Program. Next, Guerin and freshman Brianna Parker performed Intermediate Short Programs, earning second and fourth place respectively and gaining a combined 16.0 points. Julianna Stanley fought hard, placing 5th in the competitive Junior Short Program earning Trine an additional 4.0 points.
In the afternoon, Harlow Shepherd gave the Thunder another huge victory and 12.0 more points, taking first place skating the Rhythm Blues in the Preliminary Solo Pattern Dance. Russell earned 4.0 points for Trine skating the Pre-Bronze Fiesta Tango in her Pattern Dance debut. Sanchez earned first place and a gold medal in the Excel Preliminary Free Skate with teammate Mattie Clark also earning a podium finish, taking third place, gaining a combined 20.0 points for the team in the overall standings. Gunter was the next to earn big points for Trine, taking first place in the Pre-Silver Pattern Dance. Her 14-step won against 8 other competitors and gave the Thunder another 12.0 points.
Johnson and Koscinski skated with poise and confidence, earning third and sixth place respectively in a tough field of 10 skaters in the Excel Pre-Juvenile Free Skate, giving Trine a combined 13.0 points. Next, in a huge victory, Foy and Chwojko-Frank, each dominated in their respective flights of the Excel Juvenile Free Skate and won two more gold medals for Trine. These two flourished under pressure in one of the most competitive and exciting fields of the competition, earning a combined 23.0 additional points for the team.
Our high team maneuver group skated powerful, clean elements, with the judges awarding them a second place finish and 10.0 points. The High Maneuver was skated by Allaina Werstler, Lainie Kuckkahn, Stanley and Carley. Arya Barnes-Kelley finished out Trine's competition for the day with another hard-won victory, earning the gold medal in group B of the Excel Preliminary Free Skate and 12.0 more points for the team.
Sunday brought even more success for Trine's Figure Skating team, starting with Korpi's win in the Excel Intermediate Free Skate at her first intercollegiate competition. Williams earned the silver medal in the Pre-Gold Pattern Dance skating the Starlight Waltz and giving her team an additional 8.0 points. In the Gold Pattern Dance, Carley finished second and Williams fourth, earning a combined 16.0 points for their effort in the Quickstep. Kuckkahn topped the podium in the International Pattern Dance, earning a gold medal for herself and extra points for her team due to the difficulty level of the event. Kuckkahn then earned the team 14.0 points for her win, skating the Silver Samba to perfection. Later, Werstler dazzled the crowd with her impressive Excel Junior Free Skate and managed to tie for second place, earning the team 9.0 points.
Solo Dances were the last events of the competition, a category in which our Trine skaters excel at due their musicality and graceful skating skills. In the Intermediate Solo Free Dance, Gunter took first place in a clean sweep of the event, earning first place ordinals by all three judges. In the same event, Chwojko-Frank overcame minor errors to still place fourth out of seven competitors. Together, Chwojko-Frank and Gunter earned Trine 18.0 points.
In the Juvenile Solo Free Dance, Scott clinched a crucial win for Trine in a competitive category with 8 other skaters. Clark earned fifth place in the same event, putting out an exciting skate and helping Payton to earn the team a combined 17.0 points. Kuckkahn earned second place in the Senior Solo Free Dance event, earning 10.0 points for the team with her nuanced, expressive, and technically difficult program. Stanley's aggressive and emotional skate took first place in the Junior Solo Free Dance, earning the team 6.0 more points. Finally, DeLaney ended the day for Trine with her 2nd place finish in the Novice Solo Free Dance, securing the win for Trine with an additional 8.0 points from her success.
The Thunder ended their first intercollegiate competition of the season with 275.0 points, 16.0 points ahead of the second place finishers, Adrian College (who earned third place at nationals last year) and 79.0 points ahead of the third-place school, Ohio State University. This team hopes to continue their success through the rest of the season to qualify for the National Intercollegiate Final in Los Angeles in April, 2023.
Trine University Figure Skating is looking forward to their next conference competition, the Bronco Challenge Cup, which will be held from February 3-5, 2023 in Kalamazoo, Mich., hosted by Western Michigan University.
Final Rankings
- Trine University – 275.0
- Adrian College – 249.0
- Ohio State University – 196.0
- Miami University – 164.0
- University of Michigan – 164.0
- Michigan State University – 119.0
- Wayne State University 108.0
- University of Notre Dame – 105.0
- Oakland University 102.0
- Texas A&M University – 97.-0
- Kent State University – 84.0
- Western Michigan University 81.0
- Case Western Reserve University – 53.0
- Marquette University 43.0
- University of Wisconsin – Madison – 42.0
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – 28.0
- Northern Michigan University – 23.0
- University of Minnesota – Duluth – 19.0
- Bowling Green State University – 5.0
- Ferris State University – 5.0
- Saint Mary's College – 3.0
