JUNIOR DANCE

Ann Arbor, Mich., is officially the home of rising U.S. ice dancers. Couples from Ann Arbor occupied the top three spots on the podium after the junior ice dancing event concluded Wednesday afternoon at the Spokane Arena. Just 0.17 points separated the gold and silver medalists.

Samuelson & Bates, in second after the compulsory and original dance event phases, earned all level fours for their elements en route to winning the gold. Their program to “Thalia’s Hits Remixed” maximized the technical difficulty while also showcasing Samuelson’s flexibility and their expression, creating a fun performance for the audience. The team had some ground to make up after their mistake in the original dance.

”We were definitely a little nervous, but I’d say we were excited,” Samuelson said. “We just wanted to show what we could do in the free dance – that’s all that really mattered. The fall in the original dance – it’s unfortunate, but those things happen. We just had to bounce back.”

Samuelson and Bates are the first team to be rewarded all level fours at the U.S. Championships since the international judging system was introduced at the 2006 event.

Training mates Madison Hubbell (Sylvania, Ohio) & Keiffer Hubbell (Sylvania, Ohio), the leaders after the first two phases, drew the audience in with their performance to "Canto Alla Vita" by Josh Groban. The program has been successful for the duo this season. The team received mostly level fours and two level threes for their elements.

Lynn Kriengkrairut (Bismarck, N.D.) & Logan Giulietti-Schmitt (Oak Park, Ill.) finished fourth in the free dance but were able to retain third place.

SENIOR PAIRS

Inoue, 30, and Baldwin, 33, turned in a personal best performance to sit in first place after the senior pairs short program, but had a couple of hiccups along the way. The landing on their signature throw triple Axel wasn’t smooth and Baldwin struggled with a lift. Still, the two-time U.S. champions were satisfied.

“We left a couple of points on the table,” Baldwin said. “I had a little bit of a struggle with a lift so that’s uncharacteristic for me, but our goal is to come off the ice being happy and we did.”

Inoue said the throw triple Axel remains a strong emphasis for them. Last year at the U.S. Championships in St. Louis, they became the first team in history to successfully land the difficult element in competition.

Inoue and Baldwin have earned four U.S. pairs medals as a team: one bronze in 2003, one silver in 2005 and two golds in 2004 and 2006.

Peter Oppegard, who coaches Inoue & Baldwin as well as Nam & Leftheris, said his two teams turned in workman-like performances, and he expects both to shine during the free skate on Friday night.

For Nam, it’s been “a long time” (eight years to be exact) since she stood next to Michelle Kwan on the medal stand at the U.S. Championships in Salt Lake City. A serious hip injury ended Nam’s singles career and sidelined her until she put her skates back on in 2005 for a pairs tryout with Leftheris.

Just two years later, Nam is once again realizing her dream after she and Leftheris turned in a personal-best short program that earned them second place by less than a half a point. Nam displayed heartfelt emotion when asked about her career plight.“Yes, it was a long time ago,” said Nam, 21. “In between that time and now I’m a completely different person and I enjoy and appreciate the sport a lot more. I think it’s very rare for people to understand that. To be able to come back… I just appreciate it so much more.”

Their performance to the tango offered seamless transitions and was virtually error free. They started well by executing their triple flip and throw triple Salchow. Last year, they placed fifth at the U.S. Championships. This year, a berth on the World Team is within their reach.

Michigan’s Brooke Castile (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) & Ben Okolski (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished third in the short program and said a change in coaches and rinks has elevated their performances over last year. They turned in a solid program to “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd. Their only negative grade of execution came on their double Axels.

The event concludes with the senior pairs short program on Friday afternoon.