Girdwood figure skater finishes
7th at nationals
Girdwood’s Keegan Messing wrapped up the figure skating season with a seventh place finish at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif.
In the freeskate competition held Sunday, Jan. 29, Messing performed an exciting routine, but the judges discounted points for technical lapses, which cost him ending with 135.81 points, good for 12th place.
“He was one of only three skaters that got a standing ovation,” said his mother, Sally, who spoke on the phone two days after the event. “He got a partial standing ovation after his short program Friday, and a pretty decent one for the freeskate.”
The crowd booed when they heard his score for the freeskate, she said. “He made technical errors but he performed his program amazingly.”
Messing, who just turned 20, was in fifth place after the short program and finished with 212.47 points in the final standings.
Messing is performing this week in Klamath Falls, Ore. in a show then he’ll be at Fur Rondy on Ice at the end of February at UAA.
“Then it’s time to regroup and get some new programs for next year,” his mother said.
