Skyliners Synchronized Skaters Win Golds at Eastern Sectional Championships

CHAPPAQUA, NY — At the 2017 Eastern Synchronized Sectional Championships, members of the Skyliners won gold medals in every division they entered: Preliminary, Pre-Juvenile, Juvenile, Intermediate and Novice.

“We knew we had a strong chance at performing well at Easterns, but to capture Gold in every division we competed in was truly outstanding,” said Josh Babb, Skyliners Head Coach and Director of Synchronized Skating. “The skaters have been working incredibly hard, and now our qualifying lines get to compete on the national stage at the U.S. Championships in Rockford, Illinois this February. We are very proud!”

More than 2,000 synchronized skaters gathered in Hershey to compete at the Eastern Sectional Championships. Of those, Skyliners sent 123 skaters, ranging in age from 7-18.

Among the nationally-qualifying lines, Skyliners earned a season high score of 76.90 in the Novice division for their dramatic “Camelot” themed program. It is the first time in Skyliners history that the Novice line became Eastern champions.

In the Intermediate division, Skyliners earned a season high score of 66.62 for their riveting “Wizards” program and for the first time in five years, became Eastern champions.

And in the Juvenile division, Skyliners earned their seventh straight Eastern championship title with their inspiring “Angels” program, which earned a 48.21. All three of those qualifying lines move on to Nationals as well as Skyliners Junior and Senior, both of which earned byes to Nationals due to their international competition schedules representing Team USA.

Among the non-qualifying lines, the Skyliners Pre-Juvenile skaters were crowned Eastern champions out of 30 teams competing with their entertaining program set to “The Wiz.” In the Preliminary division where 20 teams competed, Skyliners had two lines in the field: Skyliners Preliminary captured Gold in the final round with their sassy “Wedding” themed program and Pre-Preliminary took 9th place with their rousing clean skate to their “Spanish Dance” program.

“To have our talented skaters on Skyliners perform so well at Easterns was amazing,“ said Sarah Blosat, Skyliners Director of Non-Qualifying Lines. “For many of our younger skaters, this was their first Eastern Championship and an exciting culmination to all their practice over the season.

Easterns Champions included seven from Chappaqua and Mount Kisco:

• Allison Bray (Juvenile), Devisi Goel (Pre-Juvenile), Rhianna Gold (Intermediate), Sophia Huang (Preliminary), Jayne Kim (Preliminary), Lauren Sallay (Intermediate), Emmy Sloan (Novice)
• Four of them - Allison Bray, Rhianna Gold, Lauren Sally and Emmy Sloan - earned spots to compete at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Rockford, IL.

Skyliners will now devote the early part of February to preparing for the 2017 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, which will take place in Rockford, Illinois Feb. 23-25.

Tryouts and clinics for Skyliners 2017-18 season will be announced soon. Please check the website for the latest information.

The Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team was established in 2001 by a group of parents who wanted to create the most competitive synchronized skating club in the tri-state area. In that first year, the team had three lines. Over the last 16 years, Skyliners has grown into one of the top synchronized skating teams in the country - now with 12 competitive lines, and 200+ skaters ranging in age from 5 to 26. While the majority of the skaters reside in the tri-state area, Skyliners also draws members from Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The tremendous growth and success of the team are attributed to the dedicated athletes, talented coaches and devoted Board members and parent volunteers who make Skyliners possible season after season.

PHOTOS/ contributed: Skyliners Novice; Skyliners Intermediate