Split Decision in 14-15 Final, 16-17 Underway

The 16-17 trio prelims kicked off Wednesday's competition with Vanessa Mosharaf, Jennifer Baron, and Christine Grisham of the Pirouettes of Texas taking the early lead at 82.500. Cincinnati's Kaitlin Bolt, Emilie Siemer, and Abby Donselman finished second scoring a 80.333 followed by Sacramento's Katherine Norris, Chelsey St. Pierre-Bennett and Andrea Valoppi with a 80.167.

The San Diego duo of Catherine Benzi and Julia Broadfoot holds a slim lead over Sacramento's Norris and Bennett, 83.167 to 82.500 in the duet prelim. Benzi and Broadfoot finished sixth in this event last year. Mary Soto and Anna Soto of the Kansas City Terrifins sit in third at 81.834.

The day ended with 14-15 finals. Walnut Creek's Deborah Shim was a double winner taking top honors in both the solo and duet competitions. Shim scored a 76.971 edging out Riverside's Meghan Kinney and Santa Clara's Elizabeth MacAfee at 76.678 and 76.139 respectively.

Shim later teamed with Diana LaScala-Gruenewald to win the 14-15 duet competition scoring a 76.265. MacAfee and Carolyn Watts placed second with a 75.723 while Mandi Meditz and Katie Soloway of San Diego finished third at 74.377.

The evening closed with the trio and team finals. Santa Clara's Bianca Johnson, Christine Park, and Watts won gold in the trio finals with a 73.608. Nicole Cardinale, Carrie Roehner and Haley Ruh finished in second scoring a 72.456. Walnut Creek was close behind in third with a 72.134.

Santa Clara won the team competition posting a 74.972. Walnut Creek finished a close second at 74.412 followed by Tucson at 71.701.

Thursday's competition begins with 18-19 solo prelims at 8:00 a.m. followed by 16-17 solo prelims at 10:30 a.m., 18-19 trio prelims at 4:30 p.m., and 16-17 team prelims at 8:00 p.m.

14-15 Solo Final
1. Deborah Shim, Walnut Creek, 76.971. 2. Meghan Kinney, Riverside, 76.678. 3. Elizabeth MacAfee, Santa Clara, 76.139. 4. Debbie Chen, Cerritos (Calif.), 76.056. 5. Robin Cabe, Sacramento, 74.434. 6. Hannah Ozer, Austin, 74.174. 7. Vanessa Mosharaf, Pirouettes of Texas, 74.131. 8. Corinne Smith, New Canaan, 73.510.

14-15 Duet Final
1. Deborah Shim, Diana LaScala-Gruenewald, Walnut Creek, 76.265. 2. Elizabeth MacAfee, Carolyn Watts, Santa Clara, 75.723. 3. Mandi Meditz, Katie Soloway, San Diego, 74.377. 4. Heidi McMahon, Katie Wenzel, Arizona, 73.325. 5. Derya Arac, Hanna Mittemeyer, MAC (Ore.), 73.008. 6. Kimiko Urata, Sarah Felix, Juneau, 72.750. 7. Nicole Cardinale, Carrie Roehner, Buffalo, 72.548. 8. Robin Cabe, Caitlin Loper, Sacramento, 72.463.