Halverson Victorious in Novice Men
by Michelle Wojdyla
 (St. Charles, Mo., 1/9/06) - Once in a while, a novice program will be performed with such quality of technique and unabashed enthusiasm and grace that the audience will be brought to its feet. Today at the Family Arena outside St. Louis, Mo., Eliot Halverson (St. Paul FSC) did just that. Skating the performance of his life, Halverson captured the first gold medal awarded at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships, taking the novice men’s title.
“I’ve been giving 100 percent all year,” Halverson said. “I don’t know if I’m surprised, I’m just happy and excited.”
Halverson (pictured), who was born in Bogota, Columbia, but calls St. Paul, Minn., his home, performed a technically excellent and energetic program to Hungarian and Russian folk music. He opened with a triple Lutz-triple toe (downgraded by the judges to a double toe) that was followed by a huge smile. Halverson was on, completing triple flip-double toe, and the triple loop-double loop-double loop combination, the latter being his highest scoring element, gaining him 8.0 points. His solo triple jumps included the Salchow and flip, plus a back Biellmann spiral into triple Lutz. At times his feet seemed to skip across the ice as he rounded out the program with fleet footwork and a final Biellmann combination spin. He scored the highest technical element score (52.65) and combined with 51.68 for program components, his 104.30 in the free gave him 150.99 overall.
“I paced myself really well, took breaths when I needed to, and I was definitely happy throughout the whole thing. Every thing went exactly as planned,” Halverson said. “I was really relaxed and not as nervous as yesterday. I took my time and couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
Skating under the new judging system is a plus for Halverson.
“I think I’m real lyrical skater,” he said. “I like to get into the music and the new system honors that and acknowledges that, so I think it’s benefited me a lot. That’s what I really love about skating, getting into the character of the music and telling a story when I’m on the ice. I hope the judges and audience can see that.”
Halverson looked forward to seeing what the future holds.
“We’ve paced my training throughout my whole career. We are on track,” he said. “I want to go much further and this is just the beginning. I’m going to move up to juniors and planning on making it to nationals again.”
St. Louis’ own Brandon Mroz, who trains in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor, won the silver medal with 51.42/47.63/99.05 in the free and 148.73 overall. Dressed in black with bright lightning bolts, Mroz performed to music from “The Incredibles.” His tight, quick rotations helped him turn two triple-triple combinations, triple Lutz-triple toe (gaining a +.86 GOE) and triple flip-triple toe (downgraded to a double toe). His third combination was a triple Salchow-double toe, and he performed a hydroblade into triple loop.
His second spin was given no credit because it was called as a second combination spin. Mroz did his flying spin as his final element but did not perform his required one position spin.
“I might have done better with my spins, keep those a little bit faster,” Mroz said. “I’m a little disappointed, but it gives me things to work on.”
Overall, Mroz was happy with his competition.
“I like the support from everyone,” he said. “I had family and friends out there. Felt really good. Personal-best score, so I was pleased.”
Curran Oi (SC of Boston) pulled up from fifth in the short to second in the free and third overall. Skating to music from the “Robin Hood” soundtrack, Oi opened immediately with a triple loop but then struggled on the triple Lutz-triple toe combination, falling on the toe.
“I was just trying to get back on my feet and keep everything else strong in the program,” Oi said.
His edges and extension were smooth and held, showing the influence of coaches Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson. In the middle of the program, Oi showed off a series of spread eagles on deep edges. His awareness of the choreography showed in moves like a split jump on the crescendo of the music.
Oi felt it was a satisfactory way to end his season.
“I feel very good,” Oi said. “I’ve had a tough, tough past year, and it’s been great to go out and give a great performance.”
The pewter medal was won by Scott Dyer (Columbia FSC of Maryland) who interpreted Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. Dyer set the mood from the opening note, using a series of edgework to show his control. His first jump was a big double Axel followed by a triple Salchow with a flowing exit. Popping his Lutz and bailing forward on another triple cost him on his technical mark (37.35), but his components were the highest in the event (54.65). His 92.00 free skate gave him 140.20 overall. Brian Simm (Los Angeles FSC) fell from fourth after the short to fifth overall.
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