Varner Outpaces Field with Clean Short Program
by Lynn Rutherford

St. Louis

Expected to be one of the most competitive events at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Championships, three of the junior men competing here placed among the top six in this fall’s Junior Grand Prix Series, qualifying for December’s Junior Grand Prix Final in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Two of them medalled --  Austin Kanallakan (Broadmoor SC) brought home silver, while Geoffry Varner (Peninsula SC) took the bronze -- while a third, Stephen Carriere (SC of Boston), placed sixth.

It is the third-place finisher in Ostrava, 18-year-old Varner, who grabbed the lead here with a clean and commanding performance to music from the soundtracks of “The Sculls” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Varner landed a solid triple flip-triple toe loop combination, as well as a triple Lutz and double Axel. While his step sequences and spins were not as strong as his jumps, he earned a total segment score of 57.58 and carries a 4.18-point lead into tomorrow’s free skate.

“I felt like I had great flow in my performance today. I’ve been training well, and I’ve kept up a positive attitude. That was my best short program of the season,” said Varner, who relocated to Newark, Del., from Discover Bay, Calif., in July when his father, a systems engineer, got a new job. Once there, he joined long-time coach Barbara Roles-Williams and began training at the University of Delaware.

“My short is to the same music as last season, but it’s a completely different program. I love martial arts, and I’ve always loved this music. Since I usually skate well to it, we decided to keep it,” said Varner, who added that he has been spending 40 minutes a day practicing his spins.

“Spinning has always been hard for me, but you need good spins under the new judging system. Working on them so much – even as much as my jumps – is a big change for me,” he said.

Another goal, to gain a consistent triple Axel, remains elusive.

“I have landed (the triple Axel) in practice, but it’s not worth the risk to try it in a program. I’ve been sticking with the triple-triple combination in the short and a three-jump combination at the end of my free instead. That way, I earn more points,” Varner reasoned.

Less than 1.5 points separates the skaters placing second through fifth, promising an exciting conclusion to the competition.

Carriere, a 16 year old from Wakefield, Mass., coached by Peter Johansson and Mark Mitchell, sits in second with 53.40 points. Skating to Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn,” he put a hand down on his triple flip, done in combination with a double toe loop, but landed a strong triple Lutz and earned Level 3’s on two of his spins.

“It didn’t go as well as I had planned. I did a double toe in my combination, and I wanted to do a triple toe. Otherwise, it felt good,” said Carriere, who called himself “a perfectionist.”

“I got the feel of the ice and the audience. Now that I have that, I think I will skate better in the free,” he added.

The surprise of the event was unheralded Jordan Miller (SC of NY), the 21-year-old Eastern Sectional champion making his first-ever appearance at the U.S. Championships. He took third place with 52.67 points.

“I’m in shock. This is the culmination of a 17-year journey in figure skating,” said Miller, who landed a clean triple flip-double toe loop combination as well as a triple Lutz and double Axel. But it was his spins – two of which were designated Level 4 – that helped him stand out from the pack.

“I’ve begun judging, which has really helped me learn about my own skating and figure out what the caller and the judges are looking for under the new system,” said Miller, who has several fifth-place finishes at sectionals the past few years.

“I also have to give a lot of credit to my head coach, Jeff Digregorio, as well as Ron Ludington and my other coaches at the University of Delaware. They have me very well prepared,” Miller said. “The program I did out there was exactly what I do in practice every day.”

Craig Ratterree (Washington FSC), one of only two skaters in the competition to attempt a triple Axel (he stepped out of the jump, done in combination with a double toe loop), is fourth with 52.07 points. Kannallakan opened his program with a clean triple flip-triple toe loop combination but popped his double Axel into a single and placed fifth with 51.93 points.

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