GREENSBORO, N.C. — One of the last things John Coughlin heard from his mother before she passed away last year was, “Keep skating.” He has, and he and pairs partner Caitlin Yankowskas, both based out of Colorado Springs, have never placed better than sixth at nationals but now have the inside track at a title.
They scored 64.30 on Thursday to lead after the short program of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Olympians Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig are second at 62.87. Defending champions Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett are in fourth at 57.79.
“It’s been a wild year,” said Coughlin, a part-time operations specialist at the Olympic Training Center. “I’ve been knocked down about every way a person can be knocked down.”
The team is finally hitting their stride. They took third at the Cup of China for their first Grand Prix podium finish. The top two teams qualify for the world championships in Tokyo in March.
Wise, Baldwin off to a good start.
Harrison High School graduate Tiffany Wise landed all of her elements in the short program for the first time and did so with her live-in boyfriend, Don Baldwin.
The couple, who’ve skated together less than two years and dated even less, scored a 54.29 to stand fifth in the pairs competition. Wise and Baldwin finished 17th in their first nationals last year.
Another Colorado Springs-based team, Molly Aaron and Daniyel Cohen, scored 47.24 to stand 10th.
USFS eyes NFL sked.
If the NFL goes ahead and moves from a 16-game to an 18-game schedule, games will likely conflict with future USFS national championships. Nationals are usually held the week in between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, except during Olympic years.
“It’s one of the No. 1 things on my mind when I talk to future cities,” USFS executive director David Raith said.
John Henderson, The Denver Post
