Team USA had a successful weekend at the 2024 Hevelius Cup, earning a total of three medals and sweeping the junior and senior divisions in Gdansk, Poland.
Teams Elite and Skyliners junior kicked things off for Team USA at the fourth stop of the Challenger Series, earning gold and silver in the junior division, while the Haydenettes led the way in the senior division, topping the podium with all new season-best scores and their first-ever Challenger Series victory.
The 2022 World Junior bronze medalists, Teams Elite continued their golden streak after winning the Budapest Cup in January. This is their sixth overall Challenger Series medal. The team dominated the short program with 77.95 points for their skate to "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven, good for a season’s best international score. Earning Level 4 marks on every element, the team from Northbrook, Illinois, led the field by more than 4.5 points going into the final day.
Despite a fall in the free skate, the team earned enough points to take home the gold and set a season’s best overall score of 205.54 points.
With their victory, Teams Elite now holds the title for most Challenger Series medals of any U.S. team.
Skyliners junior followed close behind with the silver, earning 202.07 points, almost six points ahead of Les Supremes Junior, who took home the bronze. En route to silver, Skyliners junior earned the top score in the free skate thanks to a clean skate and a Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection that earned them 10.50 points, vaulting them to a season’s best international free skate score of 128.72.
This is their fifth-ever Challenger Series medal and their second medal this season after taking home the gold at Lumiere Cup in January.
In the senior division, the Haydenettes found themselves on top of the podium for their first-ever Challenger Series gold and their second medal of the season. This also marks their fourth-ever Challenger Series medal.
The 30-time U.S. champions dominated in Poland with two clean skates with positive grades of execution across their short program and free skate to earn a score of 234.66, nearly six points over silver medalists Marigold Ice Unity of Finland.
Their short program to "Clair de Lune" by Imagine Music was highlighted by their intersection while their free skate set to "Who Wants to Live Forever" by The Tenors featuring Lindsey Stirling including eight Level 4 elements, including a group lift that totaled more than 10 points and was the highest-scoring element of the segment.
Overall the Haydenettes earned international personal best scores in their short program (78.60) free skate (156.06) and overall score (234.66) en route to gold.
Miami University finished in sixth with 200.91 points, recording a short program score of 68.14 and a free skate score of 132.77.
For full results, streaming information, bios and more, visit the Challenger Series Synchronized Skating Competition Central.
