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Skaters earn personal best results in Prince George

Meagan Pankratz and Jordana McEachern continue to improve in figure skating competitions
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MEAGAN PANKRATZ of the Glengarry Figure Skating Club earned three personal best scores while competing in Prince George.

 

Strong skating performances by Meagan Pankratz and Jordana McEachern are pushing their improvement trajectory up.

The pair of Glengarry Figure Skating Club members enjoyed personal best efforts in Prince George Nov. 6-9 for the 2015 BC/YK Sectional Championships.

Pankratz, in PreNovice Ladies, topped her previous best score of 31.92 with a mark of 39.51 combined from her short program, 14.79 and 24.73 in the free, while McEachern, competing in juvenile ladies, scored 24.18 after getting 21.67 in Kamloops on Oct.17-19.

“I think they did really well. The scores tell the story, really,” said Glengarry Figure Skating coach Trevor Buttenham. “Meagan did really well again and Jordana was up 2.5 points, which is a good improvement in three weeks.”

Buttenham pointed out that Pankratz had a slightly weaker performance in Kamloops, especially in her short program, but made up ground.

This sectionals event is the first of a qualifying competition that puts the skaters in a position to compete in the Canadian championships, which Buttenham said is a first for both.

For McEachern, it’s also important for her future as she wants to compete in the B.C. Winter Games in 2016, hosted by Penticton.

Buttenham said the improvements made by Pankratz are great because when it comes to the free skate, most skaters don’t get through it without making mistakes.

“It’s not about the mistake, the first mistake, it’s about how you deal with the first mistake, and not making a second, or a third or a fourth,” said Buttenham. “Almost nobody gets through unscathed for a free program. It’s three minutes, six different jump elements, three spin elements. Just about everybody is going to make a mistake. It’s how they deal with it that really defines where they end up. I think she did a really good job of that.”

Next up for the club are the Okanagan Interclub Competition Nov. 28-30 in West Kelowna. Buttenham will have skaters competing in all 38 events, but anticipates about 26 are going.