The 2022 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen welcomed more than 480 athletes to Newark, Delaware, where new champions were crowned in 10 championship-level events.
Championship Adult Silver Ladies
Philadelphia-based skater Anya Saretzky (individual member) captured the championship adult silver ladies title after finishing second at the event in 2021.
“I was happy I got two Level 2 spins,” Saretzky, 34, said. “That was definitely my goal for this season. I’ve been struggling not getting all the levels but today I got both. I’m thrilled with that.”
Saretzky, who posted the top sectional score, finished with an event-best 28.88 points. She performed to the song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by Jessie Mueller.
Cat Hickerson (SC of New York), skating to “Flying” by Cody Fry, secured the silver medal with a score of 25.29. It was her U.S. Adult Championships debut.
Jeanette Cajide finished with 24.78 points and the bronze medal. She performed her emotional routine to music from the La La Land soundtrack.
Marie McGlathery (Winterhurst FSC) finished fourth with 23.55 points.
Championship Adult Silver Men
First-time Adult Championships competitor Sasha Dresbach (Northern Ice SC) took home the championship adult silver men’s title with a score of 25.27.
“I’m shocked, honestly,” Dresbach said. “I couldn’t have done it without my amazing coach, Ashley Bergholtz, and my cheering squad.”
Dresbach performed a level 2 sit spin and two clean Axels (one in combination). He skated to an instrumental version of Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars.”
The skater was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and was raised in an orphanage until he was adopted by an American family at age 2.
Two-time champion Adam Hudson (Birmingham FSC) took home the silver medal with a score of 24.30, along with the highest technical mark. Hudson skated to the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.
Coming in third was Ken Nguyen (Red Rose FSC), who scored 23.75. Nguyen skated to Linkin Park’s “One More Light” and dedicated the program to those with mental health struggles.
Tyler Thames (Heart of Texas FSC) earned the pewter medal with a score of 21.59.
Championship Adult Dance
At their first appearance at the Adult Championships since 2018, Shay Sterlace (Colonial SC of Pennsylvania) and Yovanny Durango (IceWorks SC) finished atop the podium for the sixth time in their career. The duo, who have been skating together for nine years, earned 77.41 total points.
“This one means the most to me right now because we had to be off for three years,” Durango said. “We had a lot of doubts going into this one because we had so many setbacks ... we were just relieved that we could actually do it.”
Skating their free dance to “Black and Gold” by Brenna Whitaker, Sterlace and Durango performed three Level 4 elements.
Jennifer Freedman (Hickory Hill FSC) and Oleg Voyko (individual member) captured the silver medal with 72.14 total points. Skating a dramatic and electric free dance to music by Madonna, the tandem opened with a Level 4 straight line lift and earned the highest program components mark of the event.
Pamela Federbusch (North Jersey FSC) and Alper Ucar (Panthers FSC) captured the bronze medal with 68.61 total points. Their program to “In This Shirt” by the Irrepressibles featured a Level 4 twizzle sequence.
Ashleigh Lewis (Central Florida FSC) and Oleg Altukhov (North County FSC) earned the pewter medal with 56.51 total points.
Championship Masters Pairs
Erin Krentz and Chris Obzansky (FSC of Park City) earned their second consecutive championship masters pairs title with a score of 74.85, along with the highest program components score.
Krentz and Obzansky skated to a Michael Bublé medley, which their coach Jeremy Barrett helped them select. This competition was particularly special for Obzansky, as he was competing on home ice.
“I was very nervous,” Obzansky said. “I grew up skating here. Jerry Santoferrara discovered me and helped me launch my career. I don’t usually get nervous, but I was really nervous today.”
Their program opened with a difficult group 5 lasso lift, which earned a Level 3.
Carol Lynn Cooper (individual member) and Keiffer Hubbell (St. Clair Shores FSC) earned the silver medal with a score of 67.21, along with the highest technical mark. Their Addams Family program included three Level 4 lifts and a Level 4 pair combination spin.
Taking home the bronze medal was Elaine Jurun and Zdenek Krajc (Tacoma FSC), who skated to Game of Thrones and scored 53.36 points. Their program featured a side-by-side double loop-single Axel sequence and a double Salchow.
Receiving the pewter medal was Tara Cioppa (North Jersey FSC) and Stephen Trzaska (Washington FSC) with a score of 44.10.
Championship Adult Gold Ladies
Grace Stuever (Pittsburgh FSC) repeated as the championship adult gold ladies titlist with a score of 41.37.
A skating coach at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Stuever overcame a popped Salchow early in her program before rallying with a string of strong elements, including two Level 3 spins.
“I’m most proud of my spins and that I continued to fight after the mistake on my Sal,” Stuever said. “I had warmed it up great and I felt good going into it. It just happened, but I made sure to just keep going.”
Molly Linder (SC of San Francisco), the bronze medalist in this division in 2021, secured the silver medal with a score of 40.90. Inspired by two-time Olympian Jeremy Abbott’s 2014-15 short program to “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith, Linder chose the same music for her program.
Ranait OConnor (Chicago FSC) captured the bronze medal with 38.15 points. She fired up the audience with her program to the 70s hit “Disco Inferno.”
Cassandra McNulty (Crossroads FSC) earned the pewter medal with a score of 37.64.
Championship Adult Gold Men
In his first appearance at the Adult Championships and first season on the competitive track, Dean Wiles (Spokane FSC) topped the championship adult gold men’s field to secure the title. Skating to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon,” Wiles landed an Axel and three jumps in combination in or sequence to score 31.32 points.
“The goal was to work on all the elements but then just go out and play to the crowd and have a lot of fun with it,” Wiles said.
Marco Pizzo (All Year FSC) captured the silver medal with 30.00 points. His program to “Never Break” by John Legend, was choreographed with the theme of coming out of the pandemic and featured three jumps in combination or sequence.
Liam Cowper (Uncle Sam SC) earned the bronze medal with a heartfelt performance to music by Muse, inspired by Jeremy Abbott’s performance. He opened his 28.56-point program with an Axel.
Stephen Trzaska (Washington FSC) finished fourth with 26.19 points.
Championship Masters Intermediate-Novice Ladies
Beth Delano (Philadelphia SC & Humane Society) won her fourth championship masters intermediate-novice ladies title with a score of 45.96.
A competitor at the first U.S. Adult Championships in 1995 in Delaware, Delano has made 22 qualifying appearances at the marquee event.
She skated to “Clair de lune,” a piece she and her late coach, Lydia Paley Hume, discussed using years ago.
“I just love the piece and I actually said before I skated, ‘Lydia, carry me,’” said Delano, who choreographed the program.
Patricia Satkiewicz (Portland ISC) performed a fun routine to music from The Sims computer game en route to a score of 44.13 and the silver medal. She also won the silver medal in 2019 in her first U.S. Adult Championships appearance in Salt Lake City.
Kathleen Westmoreland (Dallas FSC) earned the bronze medal with 43.56 points. She skated to a “Fields of Gold” medley. This was her second time in this division, having placed fourth in her category debut in 2019 in Salt Lake City. She won the championship adult gold ladies title in 2018.
Felicia Rogers (Seattle SC) captured the pewter medal with 43.41 points.
Championship Masters Intermediate-Novice Men
Michael Rubke (Los Angeles FSC) earned his seventh championship masters intermediate-novice men’s title on Saturday, marking an event record. Skating to music from Legends of the Fall, he opened his program with a single Axel followed by a double Salchow en route to a score of 44.66 points.
“I feel really good,” Rubke said. “It’s the music I skated to when I won my title in 2011, so I was trying to bring it full circle a little bit.”
In his fourth appearance at the Adult Championships, Demis Maryannakis (SC of New York) earned 41.57 points to capture the silver medal. His program to “Con Buena Onda” by Ernesto Baffa featured four double jumps – three in combination. Before competing in Delaware, Maryannakis played Pumbaa in Disney on Ice.
Souvanthong Muangkhoua (ISC of Fresno) earned the bronze medal with 38.88 points. In his program to “Dear Father” by Neil Diamond, he opened with a double toe loop-double toe loop combination and went on to execute four more double jumps.
Ken Ho (Pittsburgh FSC) finished fourth with 35.20 points.
Championship Masters Junior-Senior Men
Delaware native JY Sun (Chicago FSC) earned the championship masters junior-senior men’s title with a score of 83.20.
Sun, 30, returned to competition for the first time since 2009 when they competed at the Midwestern Adult Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earlier this spring.
Skating to a remix of the song “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap, Sun delivered a program that they envisioned when they contemplated returning to skating in 2019.
“It’s like a very introspective type of song,” they said. “One thing I knew I wanted to do as an adult skater was give a more emotional performance and just feel more free and liberated on the ice; that was what I tried to do today.”
2021 champion Michael Solonoski (IceWorks SC) captured the silver medal with 77.44 points. As he did last year, Solonoski used his singing talents to cover a version of his musical choice “Heroes.”
Daniel Palmeri (Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy) collected the bronze medal with a score of 59.77. It marked his seventh time competing in the division, having won the title five consecutive times.
Weipeng Xie (Dutchess FSC) earned the pewter medal with 56.40 points.
Championship Masters Junior-Senior Ladies
Kristina Struthwolf-Leato (Centennial Park FSC) earned her second championship masters junior-senior ladies title after winning the event in 2019. The Utah native skated an emotional performance to “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston. She opened her program with a strong double flip-double loop combination and ended with a Level 4 combination spin en route to a score of 66.92 points.
“I’m so excited to be skating, to be healthy and be able to perform,” she said. “I’m just so grateful to be here.”
Regan Alsup (Detroit SC) earned the silver medal with 63.84 points. Her program to “O” featured all positive grades of execution and included a Level 4 change-foot combination spin.
In her first appearance at qualifying competition at the Adult Championships, Brenna Stotlemeyer (Lansing SC) captured the bronze medal with 63.30 points. Her program to music from Sunset Boulevard featured a double Axel and two Level 4 spins.
Ashlee Pantano (Ice House Skating Academy) took the pewter medal with 63.19 points.
Full results from the 2022 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen can be found here. On-demand video from the competition will soon be available on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone video corner.
