Gold Medals in December for Skyliners Synchronized Skating Teams

Notes from the Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team:

Three Chappaqua skaters were on the Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team that traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan in early December and earned gold medals with their synchro teammates. It was a historic weekend for Skyliners, since all four lines competing at the Porter Classic won medals.

Rhianna Gold (Horace Greeley freshman), Lauren Sallay (John F. Kennedy Catholic HS) and Emmy Sloan (Horace Greeley freshman) all skate for Skyliners; the first two on the Intermediate line, and Sloan on the Novice line.

In the same weekend, younger Chappaqua skaters Caroline Caruso (Beginner line), Devisi Goel (Pre-Juvenile line) and Sophia Huang (Preliminary line) also all earned gold medals with their respective Skyliners teams at the Terry Conners Open in Stamford, CT.

Traveling halfway across the country, Skyliners hit the ice with impact and made history at the 21st Annual Porter Classic, December 2-4, 2016 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The team’s Junior, Novice and Intermediate skaters all won Gold among the top synchronized skating teams in the country, and Skyliners Senior captured Bronze.

It is the first time in the team’s 15-year history that three of its four qualifying lines stood at the top of the podium at Porter, and that all four lines medaled.

“We are enjoying a stellar season so far,” said Director of Synchronized Skating and Head Coach Josh Babb. “Our most important events occur in early 2017 – Easterns, Nationals and Internationals. The competition will continue to get tougher, and the skaters know there’s hard work ahead. We welcome the challenge!”

Skyliners Junior performed their dramatic “Gangster Hip Hop” short program on the first evening of the competition and earned first place. The next evening, they performed their emotional free skate to “Last of the Mohicans” theme music, maintaining their first place position and earning the overall Junior team trophy.

Skyliners Novice performed their gripping “Camelot” program in a field of eight teams, and received the top score by almost 15 points – easily winning the Gold medal.

Skyliners Intermediate performed their magical “Wizard” program in a field of eleventeams and earned first place scores.

Skyliners Senior earned 3rd place with their graceful “California Dreaming” shortprogram, performed on the first evening, and solidified their Bronze medal placementwith a strong free skate to “Whitney Houston” music. Both Skyliners Junior and Seniorwere selected to represent Team USA in international competitions in early 2017. Junior travels to Germany for The Cup of Berlin, and Senior competes in Salzburg, Austria for the Mozart Cup.

Meanwhile in Stamford, CT, Skyliners younger lines dominated the Terry Conners Open,winning the Gold medal in all four categories it competed in. The Juvenile, Pre-Juvenile,Preliminary and Beginner lines all topped the podium with their first place finishes. The Pre-preliminary line (competing in the same category as Preliminary) took second place and the Intro line (competing in the Beginner category) took pewter in their debut competition.

Images/contributed