KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trine University's figure skating team made history again, at the 2023 Bronco Challenge Cup hosted by Western Michigan University, winning their second straight Midwest conference intercollegiate competition in a field of 23 colleges and universities.
The competition started Friday night with the high, intermediate, and low team maneuver events. Trine's high team was made up of skaters, Jewels Stanley, Lainie Kuckkahn, Brinna Russel and Brie Parker. Together, they performed their elements with power and grace and were able to earn a second-place finish in the event and ten points for Trine.
Next, Trine's Intermediate Team Maneuver group took the ice to showcase their elements. The Intermediate team included skaters, Allaina Werstler, Beth Carley, Haley Williams, Brigid Guerin and Kelsey DeLaney. These skaters showed mastery of the required elements and were awarded first place out of the ten universities competing. They earned the gold medal and 12 points for Trine.
Trine's low team also had some success, showing strong elements with just a few small errors and managed to still place fourth out of 15 schools. They also earned nine points for the Thunder. The members of Trine's low team at this competition included Kellan Chwojko-Frank, Julianna Foy, Claire Lightfoot, Kaitlin Gunter, Reilly Johnson, Celine Sanchez and Payton Scott.
Trine finished the first night of competition in first place with 31 points.
Senior, Beth Carley got the Thunder rolling on Saturday morning, earning fourth place and six team points for her precise and powerful Viennese Waltz. Next, Kaitlin Gunter competed a strong and upbeat Foxtrot and the judges placed her second. With her silver medal, Gunter earned Trine ten additional team points. In the afternoon, Mattie Clark earned the silver medal and ten team points from her entertaining Excel Preliminary FS. Kuckkahn skated the Rumba, a challenging international level dance, with flare and confidence, placing fourth and earning her team eight additional team points.
Later in the day, Scott skated an elegant Swing Dance and earned a bronze medal and nine team points for her efforts. In the Juvenile SP, Foy was able to earn second place and ten additional team points for Trine. In a difficult flight of Senior Solo Free Dance programs, Kuckkahn skated an intricate and captivating program and picked up the silver medal and ten more team points for the Thunder.
Williams picked up the second gold medal of the competition for Trine, winning with her fierce performance in the Paso Doble and earning six team points. In the canasta Tango, Harlow Shepherd put out a strong skate and took third place, the bronze medal, and eight team points for her effort. Next, Kellan Chwojko-Frank and Gunter competed back to back in the Intermediate Free Dance. They skated wonderfully and showed great sportsmanship, Gunter and Chwojko-Frank placing first and second respectively. Gunter earned Trine's third gold medal of the competition and together they earned 22 additional team points.
The last competitor on Saturday for Trine, Sanchez, skated a clean, dynamic program in the Excel Preliminary FS (Group B) and the judges awarded her first place for her performance. With a gold medal in hand, Sanchez earned Trine 12 additional team points and helped Trine end the second day of competition still in the lead with 142 points.
Starting bright and early on Sunday morning, Johnson earned third place in the Pre-Juvenile FS and took home a bronze medal and eight team points for Trine. Next, Werstler dominated in the Excel Junior FS, winning Trine's fifth gold medal at Bronco Challenge Cup and earning eight team points with her clean, elegant skate. Next, Foy and Chwojko-Frank competed in the Excel Juvenile FS. Both had great skates with Foy taking home the sixth gold medal for Trine and Chwojko-Frank earning fourth place in an extremely competitive field of ten skaters. Together, they earned 20 additional team points for Trine.
Next, Carly earned third place with her moving and sophisticated Senior Solo Free Dance, collecting eight team points and the bronze medal. In the Junior Solo Free Dance, Stanley earned the seventh gold medal for Trine after skating an intense and dramatic performance. Stanley took first place in her event and won six team points for Trine. In the Juvenile Solo Free Dance, Scott took third place and earned ten team points with her heartfelt program.
Parker and Allison Korpi both had strong skates in the Excel Intermediate FS with Parker taking first place and Korpi earning fourth. Parker earned Trine's eighth gold medal and together they gained 14 team points. DeLaney was the last skater of the weekend for Trine, competing in the Novice Solo Free Dance. In a very competitive 12 person group, DeLaney ended up taking third place due to her strong skating skills, performance quality, and speed across the ice. Her skate helped secure Trine's victory, with the Thunder keeping a narrow lead over second place finishers, Adrian College.
Trine finished the competition with a total of 226 team points, nine points ahead of second place, Adrian College and 52 points ahead of 3rd place, University of Michigan. Another wonderful accomplishment from this competition is that all Trine skaters that competed at Bronco were awarded top four placements in their events!
The next competition for Trine University Figure Skating will be our very own Thunder Country Classic, held at our home rink, the Thunder Ice Arena from Friday, March 10 through Sunday, March 12. The event is free and open to the public so come cheer on The Thunder as they compete against the best in the Midwest and solidify their qualification for the 2023 National Intercollegiate Final that will be hosted by UCLA in April.
Final Standings:
- Trine University – 226.0
- Adrian College – 217.0
- University of Michigan – 174.0
- Michigan State University – 154.5
- Western Michigan University – 138.0
- Ohio State University – 136.0
- Oakland University – 126.0
- Texas A&M University – 126.0
- Miami University 125.0
- Wayne State University – 111.0
- University of Notre Dame 110.0
- Case Western Reserve – 109.0
- University of Wisconsin - Madison – 71.5
- University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign – 71.0
- Kent State University – 65.0
- University of Washington St. Louis – 58.0
- University of Minnesota Duluth – 49.0
- Marquette University – 45.0
- Northern Michigan University 39.0
- Ferris State University – 26.0
- University Minnesota – Twin Cities – 18.0
- Saint Mary's College – 16.0
- University of Iowa – 8.0
