U.S. Skaters Look to Qualify for JGP Final in Czech Republic

Megan Oster Photo by Paul Harvath

(10/18/06) - The eighth and final event of the 2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix Series takes place in Liberec, Czech Republic, Oct. 19-22. The event will be held at Tipsport Arena and will commence Friday at 9 a.m. with the compulsory dance.

Twelve athletes will represent the United States at the event in four disciplines: ladies, men's, pairs and ice dancing. The U.S. team hails from nine states: Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The JGP Series, now in its 10th season, consists of eight international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Approximately 400 athletes representing more than 35 countries are expected to participate in the series. Each athlete is eligible to score points in two of the eight scheduled events (pairs can compete in two of four designated events). The top eight point-earners in each of the disciplines then qualify for the JGP Final in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec. 7-9. Athletes will be vying for a total of $258,000 in prize money throughout the series.

Team USA cleaned up at last week's JGP event in Chinese Taipei with a gold medal in each category. Caroline Zhang pulled off another stunning victory, winning by 36 points and bringing in her second win of the series. Brandon Mroz went home with a gold as well and set a personal record with 177.16 points. He previously had won silver at JGP Mexico. The pairs team of Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker also won gold with a personal best 136.80 points. Jessica Rose Paetsch & Jon Nuss captured bronze in pairs, setting their own personal best with a score of 129.32. Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates won their second JGP ice dancing gold, adding that to their first gold from JGP Mexico.

Ladies
Back for her third year on the JGP Series is Megan Oster. Oster recently won the silver medal at JGP Netherlands. She took 14th as a senior at the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships and was the bronze medalist at the 2005 U.S. Championships as a junior. Melissa Bulanhagui returns to the 2006 JGP Series with another medal to her name after winning the silver at the Romania event. Bulanhagui also won the 2006 Gardena Spring Trophy as a junior and placed third at the 2006 U.S. Championships as a junior. Both Oster and Bulanhagui have a shot at making the JGP Final if they medal.

Men
Tommy Steenberg returns to the 2006 JGP Series as a gold medal winner, placing first in Romania in late September. A medal in this event will most likely qualify him for the JGP Final. Domestically, Steenberg moved up to the senior level last season, placing 13th at the 2006 U.S. Championships. Previously, he finished 10th as a junior at the 2005 U.S. Championships and fourth at the 2004 U.S. Championships. Douglas Razzano will be making his second appearance in the JGP Series after placing sixth at last year's event in Bratislava, earning second place in the short program. Razzano took fourth place at the 2005 U.S. Championships as a junior and won his first international gold at the 2004 Triglav Trophy.

Pairs
Returning to the 2006 JGP Series are Kendra Moyle & Andy Seitz. The pair added a gold to their collection at their first 2006 JGP Series event, held in Norway. The reigning U.S. junior champions made it to the 2005 JGP Final, where they finished fourth courtesy of a first-place finish in Japan and a second in Bulgaria. They are the 2006 World Junior silver medalists. Also back for a second event are Bridget Namiotka & John Coughlin, who took silver at the Norway event. They, like their teammates, made it to the JGP Final last year, placing fifth. The pair won the silver medal at the 2005 U.S. Championships as juniors and placed fourth at the World Junior Championships. Andrea Best & Trevor Young make their JGP Series debut at the Czech Republic event. After earning a silver medal at the U.S. Championships as novices, they placed third at the North American Challenge Skate (NACS) in their first competition as juniors.

Ice Dancing
JGP newcomers Samantha Tomarchio & Nicholas Sinchak are only in their second year of competing as a team. The duo won the bronze medal as novices at the 2006 U.S. Championships after placing second as novices at the Eastern Sectional Championships. They are recovering from a head injury to Tomarchio which delayed their appearance in the JGP Series.