St. Albert figure skater Chris Mostert is jumping for joy after a satisfying performance at nationals.
Mostert teamed up with Taylor LeClaire of Tofield to win bronze in novice pairs last week in Mississauga, Ont.
The Grade 12 Paul Kane High School student also placed 10th out of 18 competitors in junior men’s singles.
“I was probably more happier with the bronze because I’m leaving with something but I was still very happy with myself in what I had accomplished with my 10th place,” Mostert said. “I was definitely expecting not to get 10th. I thought the best I could probably do was 12th so I was blown away when I got 10th.”
The accomplishments made all the long hours of training worthwhile.
“It feels amazing knowing that all this work I do – the 25 hours a week of training, the run-throughs of programs, my muscles dying at least once a week where I feel like I can’t walk – really pays off.”
Last year Mostert placed 10th in novice men and was ninth in novice dance with his former long-time partner, Christina Penkov. They were bronze medallists at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in pre-novice dance.
“Nationals is harder to get a bronze medal because there are multiple teams from every province, whereas at the Canada Winter Games only the best team from every province went,” Mostert said. “I know going into the Canada Winter Games that Ontario had two teams that were better than my partner and I at the time, but they could only send one so if they had sent both we would’ve been fourth.”
The Ice Palace Figure Skating Club duo of Mostert and LeClaire finished with 92.60 points from their short (30.33) and free (62.27) programs for bronze, out of eight pairs and 8.12 less than the gold medallists.
“I was extremely excited by the scores, like overjoyed,” Mostert said. “We did very well. We had to skate clean to get it. It went almost perfectly, we just missed one element in the short program but besides that everything else was executed the way it was supposed to be.”
The first-year tandem was coming off a fourth-place result at the Skate Canada Challenge last year in Regina for a berth at nationals.
“I don’t know about her, I would imagine she was a little nervous, but I was fairly nervous,” said Mostert of performing at nationals.
LeClaire, 15, the Alberta sectional novice female champion and seventh-place finisher at the Skate Canada Challenge, also placed fifth at nationals in novice singles.
Mostert, 17, skated into nationals as the Alberta sectional junior men’s champion who placed 16th at the Skate Canada Challenge. He was the highest finisher from Alberta at nationals with 130.28 points.
“I skated the best I could have. I only messed up on a few elements but I know that other skaters didn’t have that luck, like some that are usually in the top five completely bombed and finished below me so it was out of my control that I got 10th, I guess,” said Mostert of his efforts in the short (46.92) and free (83.36) programs.
Having experienced nationals last year gave the former Fort Nelson, B.C. resident an extra edge this time.
“It certainly helped with the scene because I knew what to expect and I knew exactly what I had to do going into it. I knew there was going to be a big screen that would be visible to me while I’m skating. I had practiced with that last year so I wouldn’t get distracted by it.”
The improved showing at nationals was reflected in his point totals.
“I got the marks I deserved. I got a personal best in singles by about four points and then in pairs I had a personal best by 12 points.”
After a brief break from training, Mostert starts working Thursday on the choreography for new programs at the 2014 nationals. He will stay in the same division in singles but will move up to junior pairs with LeClaire.
“In solo I’m getting a new short one and in pairs we don’t know quite yet what we’re doing but we’re getting a new program for sure.”
