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The Shadows, an Open Juvenile team, won a gold medal. The Shimmers, a prejuvenile team, took a silver, and the Sprites, a beginner 2 team, also won won silver. The teams are based in Stamford and Darien.
The Shadows skated to “One Night Only” from "Dreamgirls." “Entering the ice I felt a bit shaky,’’ said Stamford’s Rachel Bellantoni, a skater on the team. “But following the program we were convinced we had a great skate.”
Isabela Malone, Kathryn Berger and Annie Gong, Stamford girls who attend St. Cecilia School, said they were thrilled to come away with medals. Malone and Berger compete for the Shimmers, and Gong for the Sprite.
Girls from Stamford, Norwalk, Darien, Greenwich, Riverside, New Canaan, Westport in Connecticut and and from Old Bethpage, Scarsdale and Rye Brook in New York skate for the teams.
The Shadows are Candace Wright, Katrina Vassell, Emily Merole, Alexis Hartigan, Ariel Goldman, Rebecca Kniffin, Katrine Ryan, Amanda Brea, Rachel Bellantoni, Klara Hoherchak, Sami Scordo, Emilly Hernandez and Katie Marciano.
Members of the Shimmers are Stephanie Tancs, Natalie Hernandez, Danielle Nugent, Kathryn Berger, Brooke Ferris, Haley Fuller, Isabela Malone, Michelle Han, Lily Fine, Rachel Mensah, Margot Sosa, Rhea Munjal, Kalaudia Auz, Sydney Willis and Alyssa Fish.
The Sprite consists of Olivia Linnartz, Kelly Fox, Julia Brown, Tessa Kurtz, Annie Gong, Zoe Kassapidis, Rachel Iannazzo , Natalia Paluchniak, Michelle Paluchniak, Chloe Gerace and Athena Hartigan.
The teams are coached by Stamford residents Gina Valenzano-Gomez, who is head coach, and Val Legutko and Kari Pace, assistant coaches. The coaches choreograph the programs to music and are involved in all aspects of training and developing the skaters
All three teams are expected to compete in January at the Colonial Classic Competition in Lowell, Mass.
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