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Skaters twirl to top results at Cariboo North Central Regionals

“We came home with four regional championship awards.”
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Chloe Frizzi (from left), Makenna Boucher, Olivia Holloway, Faith Ritchat, Kaelin Mackinnon and Sydney Mason enjoy some ice cream cake in the lobby of the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex for their hard work at the CNC Regionals in Prince George. (Greg Sabatino photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Williams Lake Skating Club skaters’ hard work throughout the season paid off during the weekend when the team travelled north to Prince George for the Cariboo North Central Region Championships.

Fifteen skaters joined roughly 250 competitors from the region at the competition, after spending their seasons honing in and perfecting their short and long programs, plus elements skills for judges.

“It was a good competition,” said WLSC head coach Joanne Macnair. “We came home with four regional championship awards.”

Bailey Jones (Star 4), Kolby Seterengen (Star 6 and 7) and Reagan West (Star 8), were each crowned regional champions in their respective divisions.

For Star 1 skaters Chloe Frizzi and Makenna Boucher, it was their first time lacing up their skates at a competition. Ivy Matieshen, meanwhile, was competing for the first time at the Star 2 level at the CNC Regionals.

Frizzi finished with a silver assessment, and Matieshen and Boucher earned a gold assessments for their efforts. Also in the Star 2 category, Kaelin Mackinnon picked up a silver assessment from the judges.

“It felt really good to get a gold for my first time in Star 2,” Matieshen, 7, told the Tribune. “Getting my ribbon was the best part … it’s really cool when you do all the spins and stuff.”

Frizzi, 9, said she was a bit nervous for her first time out, but noted she was proud of how she skated.

Boucher, 11, added it was amazing fun to compete for the first time.

“My spirals were the best,” Boucher said. “And there were so many different people, so that was fun to meet all of them.”

In Star 3, WLSC skater Emma Herrling pulled out a bronze assessment.

“She had a good skate despite having a broken arm in a cast,” Macnair said.

Jones, one of the regional champions, was first in both Star 4 elements and Star 4 solo, which Macnair said she was really pleased with.

Also in Star 4 and making their debuts in the division, Sydney Mason, Camdyn Cochran, Ella Kruus and Olivia Holloway all impressed.

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“They each showed extremely well,” Macnair said. “When you move up from Star 3 into Star 4 now you’re competing against others [in the division].”

Mason, in the under 10 division, was sixth, Cochran, under 13, was eighth, Kruus, under 13 group two, was fourth, and Holloway, 13 and over, was sixth place.

Representing the WLSC in the Star 5 division were Georgia Jacobson and Julia Bowman.

“A good, solid performance in Star 4 earned Julia a fourth-place finish and Georgia a 12th place finish,” Macnair said.

Bowman also placed sixth in Star 5 elements, while Jacobson finished fifth in Star 9 artistic.

Thirteen-year-old Emma Penner, skating in the Star 6 long program, Star 7 short program and Star 7/8 elements, said she had a very good weekend.

“The highlight was my clean skate in Star 6,” Penner said, noting she has been a member of the WLSC for the past seven years. “I think I’ve improved the most this year in my skating.”

Macnair echoed Penner’s sentiments and said three, clean skates were key in placing her first in Star 7 group one, second in Star 6 and second in Star 7/8 elements.

Seterengen also had a great weekend, Macnair said, posting first-place results in Star 6, Star 7 group two and Star 9/10 elements, completing a podium sweep.

West, who moved up in competition to Star 8 at the beginning of the season, also achieved first in Star 8, second in Star 9 and third in Star 9/10 elements.

“My Star 9 was a clean program, which I hadn’t done in a competition yet, so I was pretty happy with that,” West said.

“I’ve been working on it since the start of the season. It took some time to get it all down, and everyone [in the division] has had theirs for the past two years.

“Stepping up from last year has been a bit of a challenge, but it’s going really well.”

Coming up for the WLSC is a trip to Salmon Arm Feb. 7-9 to compete at the Okanagan Regional Championships, before they’ll close out their season with the team’s biggest competition of the year, the Super Series March 7-9 in Kelowna where 15 of the club’s skaters will be competing.



sports@wltribune.com

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Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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