The Dream Begins for Castile and Okolski
by Troy Schwindt

The Michigan-based pairs team had finished eighth last year at the U.S. Championships in St. Louis and placed second in their qualifying sectional for this year’s event in Spokane, Wash.

Defending champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin had understandably grabbed all the pre-event press.

But when it was over, it was Castile, 20, and Okolski, 22, standing on top of the podium. Their solid free skate to the “Requeim for a Dream” soundtrack vaulted them from third after the short program to first place with a personal-best score of 178.40. Their previous best mark was 145.16, which came at the 2007 Midwestern Sectional.

Inoue, 30, and Baldwin, 33, each had a fall in their free skate. Leaders after the short program, they finished second with a score of 178.15. Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris, who also experienced falls in their free skate, earned the bronze medal with a score of 168.49.

Castile and Okolski, and Inoue and Baldwin will represent the United States at the World Championships in March in Tokyo, Japan.

“This is unbelievable,” Castile said. “It feels great.”

“It still hasn’t sunk in” Okolski said.

The champions set the tone early in their free skate by nailing their split triple twist. The only negative grade of execution came on their level four combination spin.

“It was everything we wanted to do today, and we skated nice and strong,” Castile said. “It felt great to skate like that at nationals. It’s like my dream, it felt really good.”

Okolski said it was the best the duo skated all season.

“It’s kind of hard to describe because you hope to skate well but it all goes by so fast that you don’t pay attention,” Okolski said. “It just happens and you feel good afterward.”

Their coach, Johnny Johns, said he was in shock after the final scores were posted. Johns, who coached Danielle Hartsell and Steve Hartsell to the U.S. pairs title in 1999, began coaching the young tandem last spring.

“We were obviously extremely pleased with how they skated,” said Johns, who works with choreographer Marina Zoueva. “We figured this was good enough to get a medal. We weren’t expecting to get this at all. I am still in shock. Usually this is a two or three year project when you prepare a senior team. We were just trying to lay some groundwork, but they laid it pretty quick.”

Johns said he developed a game plan last spring. and Castile and Okolski followed it perfectly.

“They believed in me and I believed in them, and this is like crazy,” Johns said. “They were coming here just trying to get a medal and set the groundwork for next year. They were focused all week. We talked about it last week, just to stay focused that anything can happen, especially with the new system. This is just the beginning for them.”

Inoue and Baldwin followed Castile and Okolski with their free skate to a selection by G. Puccini. Things started badly when Baldwin fell attempting a triple toe.

They regrouped until Inoue failed to land the team’s signature throw triple Axel.

“After a fall at the very beginning of the program it’s a bit of a letdown, but instead Rena and I were really determined to do the rest of our elements really well,” Baldwin said. “I think we did. Even the triple Axel was good; she just slipped off her heel a little bit. It’s no problem, it’s very consistent for us.”

Baldwin said he may have been too confident before attempting his triple toe.

“I didn’t check out hard enough and I slipped off my heel,” he said.

Despite not repeating at U.S. titlists, Baldwin said he was proud of the way they competed in Spokane.

“We skated well,” he said. “We just missed a couple of our elements and that was the key to winning tonight, but I’m actually pretty happy with the performance considering what we have been through.”

Baldwin said that the victory by Castile and Okolski is a good sign that U.S. Figure Skating pairs is on the rise.

“They are a great team and I think the U.S. is looking really strong,” he said.

After Inoue and Baldwin skated, the door was left open for Nam, 21, and Leftheris, 25, and their free skate to the music “Caravan.”

They busted out by landing their triple toe-triple toe sequence and triple twist. But moments later Nam fell on their throw triple Salchow and throw triple loop.

“We had a great opening and I just think from experience we need to stay focused throughout the whole thing,” said Nam, who with Leftheris placed fifth at last year’s U.S. Championships. “It’s just another lesson learned, and we’ll take it all in and be back next year.”

Leftheris agreed. He said they have been skating clean programs in practice and just lost some focus. He added that they are still learning and gaining experience with each program and event.

“They usually obviously skate a lot better than that, but it’s nationals and you have to do it when they say your name, so sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Karen Kwan-Oppegard, who with her husband, Peter, coach Inoue and Baldwin and Nam and Leftheris. “It’s all a learning process. You take what you learn today and make it work for you tomorrow. That’s the name of the sport. It’s all a process.”

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig placed fourth with a score of 158.66. They landed a throw triple Lutz, triple twist and throw triple loop to music from “West Side Story.”

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