U.S. Men's Champion Nathan Chen won the Men's event at the Figure Skating Championships by more than 25 points with a total 328.01 Points, making this his 6th straight National Title. He is the three-time and reigning World champion and Grand Prix Final champion. Chen is a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist (team event) and finished fifth in the men's event in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Mariah Bell won her first-career U.S. Title when she was crowned U.S. Ladies Champion on Friday at the Women's event with 216.25 Points. Her performance in the final segment, featured six triple jumps, three of which took place in the second half of the performance for a 1.1-point bonus. She received a Level 4 on each of her three spins en route to a segment score of 140.70 points. This will be Bell's first Olympic appearance.
Based on their body of work, former U.S. National Pair Champions (2021) Alexa Knierim & Brandon Frazier have been named to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team. Alexa & Brandon were unable to compete at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships due to illness but were named to the Olympic team on Saturday. Additionally, Great Park Ice's Jessica Calalang & Brian Johnson placed 2nd at the 2022 Championships and have been named as 1st alternates to the U.S. Olympic team.
Skaters/Teams from The Rinks and Great Park Ice also placed in the Junior division of the 2022 Figure Skating Championships in the ladies (3rd and 4th) and pairs (1st, 3rd and 4th) disciplines. In Pairs, Great Park Ice's Sonia Baram & Daniel Tioumentsev captured the junior pairs title with 171.36 total points. The tandem earned positive grades of execution on all but one element to earn a free style segment score of 109.10. Great Park Ice's Catherine Rivers and Timmy Chapman earned bronze with 130.75 total points. The duo earned Level 4 on a lift and their combination spin, helping them score 85.05 points in the free skate. Great Park Ice's Megan Wessenberg & Blake Eisenach grabbed the pewter medal with 129.09 total points. In the Junior Ladies discipline, Josephine Lee placed third in the short, fourth in the freeskate and third overall with 172.08 total points. Both of her programs featured a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination. After placing 8th in the short, Anaheim Ice's Katie Shen won the free skate event to finish in fourth place with 170.77 total points for a pewter medal in the Junior Championships.
The 2022 Olympic Winter Games will take place Feb. 4-20, in Beijing, China. The Rinks and Great Park Ice congratulate all of their skaters/teams on their season and look forward to seeing their achievements at the Olympic Games.
