Decisive women’s junior win for Aurora Cotop at 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

OTTAWA – Aurora Cotop of Richmond Hill, Ont., won the women’s junior gold medal on Thursday at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Cotop, the national novice champion last year, tabulated 163.11 points for the victory. Emily Bausback of Vancouver took the silver at 151.52 and Alison Schumacher of Windsor, Ont., was third at 150.17.

‘’Unbelievable,’’ said Cotop after her win. ‘’This season has been difficult for me with my performances. I have had trouble finding my knees. However, tonight I just didn’t worry about the placement and just showed everyone what I could do.’’

In men’s junior competition, Stephen Gogolev of Toronto won the gold medal with Conrad Orzel of Woodridge, Ont., second and Samuel Turcotte of Varennes, Que., third.

“In the beginning, it was a bit shaky,” said Gogolev, who fell on a triple during the first minute of his program. “Then, as I went through the first three jumps, I kind of got used to it and it got much easier later in the program.”

In junior pairs, Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were the winners with 155.73. Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Lévis, Que., followed at 141.33 and Olivia Boys-Eddy and Mackenzie Boys-Eddy of Brampton, Ont., were third at 122.53.

‘’We still have things to work on but it feels pretty great to get the win,’’ said Walsh. ‘’We worked as a team and kept the performance sharp. We still have our sights on landing a triple twist in both the short and long programs and cracking 100 points for the free skate.’’

Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., won the junior ice dance title on Tuesday.

In novice competition, the champions were: Corey Circelli of Toronto in men’s singles, Catherine Carle of Milton, Ont., in women’s singles, Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto in ice dancing and Chloé Panetta of Acton Vale, Que., and Steven Lapointe of Laval in pairs.

Senior competition gets underway Friday with the short programs in all four events.

Full results: 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships Results