Local Skaters Take Gold At National Championship

DETROIT, IL — A 12-year-old skater from Bolingbrook and a 14-year-old Highland Park skater became national champions of ice dancing on Sunday in Detroit. Kiana Pan, 12, of Bolingbrook, won the 2019 United States Figure Skating Association National Championship's juvenile ice dance division with a score of 80.03. The duo finished second in both the pattern dance and the free dance in a Willy Wonka-themed performance, according to the USFA.

In November, Ilya Mondrowski of the Skokie Valley Skating Club, and Pan, of Northern Ice Skating Club, placed third at the Midwestern Sectional Championships before becoming national champions at the Detroit Skating Club. The Chicago-area team improved their free dance score by three points compared to their sectional score to top Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain of the Washington Figure Skating Associations, winners at the the Eastern Sectional Championships.

Pan said the team was "really, really, really happy" after learning they had won the gold, according to USFA.

"We didn't expect this at all," she said. "We just wanted to get on the podium."

"This is really exciting," said Mondrowski, a freshman at Highland Park High School. "Our confidence is at an all-time high and hopefully we can carry this into next season."

Officials at Centennial Ice Arena in Highland Park, where Mondrowski skates, said they were "incredibly proud" of his performance and thanked the teams coaches and families.

“It is an amazing feat to win the Nationals,” said Recreation Supervisor Carol Sassorossi. Operated by the Park District of Highland Park, the arena is a member of US Figure Skating and Learn to Skate USA.