First-year partners Andrew and Daleman win junior pairs at 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Patricia Andrew of London, Ont., and Zachary Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., took the gold medal in pairs on Thursday at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

The first-year partners totalled 148.28 points placing first in both programs. Gabrielle Levesque and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of Montreal, third at the last two junior nationals, followed for silver at 140.91 and Kelly-Ann Laurin St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., were third at 138.12.

In the last novice final of the competition, Lily Wilberforce and Aidan Wright of Kitchener, Ont., won the pairs competition with 112.88. Ashlyn Schmitz and Tristan Taylor of Shellbrook, Sask., were second at 104.40 and Rafaëlle Nadeau and David Riccio of Ste-Agathe, Que., were third at 86.25.

“We changed our mindset for this competition,” said Wright. “We got rid of the negative and kept positive and skated to the best of our abilities.”

The men’s and women’s junior events concluded on Wednesday night.

Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary took the women’s crown decisively with 174.83 points. Emily Millard of North Vancouver won silver with 143.31 and Kristina Ivanova of Toronto snared the bronze with 142.73.

“It was exciting,” said Ruiter, who learned to skate on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa where she grew up. “I wanted to put on a show. It’s been an incredible journey so far.”

In men’s junior, Corey Circelli of Toronto won the gold medal despite an injury with 203.13 points. Wesley Chiu of Richond, B.C., took the silver at 198.44 and Alec Guinzbourg of Aurora, Ont., took the bronze at 189.42.

“I was in pain,” admitted Circelli. “But my coaches made a thorough plan of what I was going to do. It was really challenging to fit everything into the session.”

Full results: 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships – Skate Canada