SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Trine University Collegiate and Senior synchronized skating teams concluded their season with season high scores at the U.S Synchronized Skating Championships held in Salt Lake City, Utah this month. Trine's Collegiate team finished fifth, while the senior team finished sixth.
Competition for Trine started with the Senior Short Program event on Friday night. The team took the ice first in the division, and executed a strong, clean skate on the national stage. The team's intense and passionate Libertango short program scored 54.90 points, highlighted by level 4 synchronized spin and intersection elements. The senior team earned positive grades of execution on every element performed in the short program and ended the day in sixth place behind Hayden Select.
On Saturday, it was time for the Collegiate Free Skate and Senior Free Skate. Collegiate took the ice to show off their "Showgirls" themed free skate early in the division and the team knew they had to execute their program well to be in the mix. Skating to "Hey Big Spender," "Puttin' On the Ritz" and "Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend," the team put out their best performance of the season with confidence and ease. The team's performance was highlighted by earning full technical calls on their group lift, twizzle, synchronized spin, and traveling elements. Trine earned a seasons high score of 104.02, a season's high score by 12 points. This is the first time Trine's collegiate team has recorded a score of over 100 since the 2023-2024 season. Overall, their performance was good enough for fifth place, finishing just .36 behind the Northernettes.
"I couldn't be prouder of the skate we put out at nationals. We haven't gotten a score in the one hundreds in 2 seasons and to be able to hit it at nationals was the perfect note to end my synchro career on." said senior Katie Walcutt.
The Senior Free Skate was the last event of the competition, and Trine was the first team to take the ice. Skating to an "Icarus" theme, the team's choreography is filled with flying tricks and transitions to showcase the story of flying too close to the sun. Despite a fall during the twizzle element, Trine was able to earn level 4 element calls on their pairs, twizzle, group lift, no hold, and intersection elements. The Thunder saw a ten-point increase in the free skate from the Midwest Sectionals, scoring 110.58 and earning fifth in the free skate segment. This is also a program record for the Senior team. Trine earned an overall score of 165.48, just .45 points away from finishing above Hayden Select in the overall standings.
"This weekend meant everything to me. Being out there with my team and seeing all the work we've put in come together made it so special, especially knowing it was one of my last times skating with them" said senior Alexa Dill.
Detailed Results can be found on US Figure Skating's Website.
