Miami synchronized skating awaits national championship in Salt Lake City

In head coach Katey Nyquist’s second year, the Miami University synchronized skating program is looking to capture another title at the United States Synchronized Skating National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 6-7.

Last season, the senior and collegiate teams took the silver and gold medals, respectively, at the national championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The collegiate team earned its fourth consecutive title and 23rd for the program overall.

With one year and one title on her resume at Miami, Nyquist said she prepared for the 2025-26 season after reflecting on the previous year, deciding what worked best and what needed to be changed with the team’s practices, preparation and choreographies. She said this helped the team start out stronger than last year, but that the RedHawks still grew as this season progressed.

The RedHawks opened the year with an introductory skate during the hockey game against Arizona State University on Oct. 31 and an exhibition on Nov. 1. The senior team headed west to compete at the Fall Classic in Irvine, California, on Nov. 7, placing fourth out of six teams.

Both teams competed around the country through November and December, with the collegiate team taking first place at the Kalamazoo Kickoff on Nov. 22 and second at the Dr. Porter Classic on Dec. 6. The senior team captured third place at the Boston Classic on Nov. 23.

After the first couple weeks of competition, Miami took a drastic improvement over winter break. Skater Alessandra Iarriccio, who skates for the senior team, said the RedHawks competed at a higher level going into their first international competition at the start of the new year.

“During J-Term, we had a really great growth spurt,” Iarriccio said. “We were able to get more comfortable with these programs and skating at our internationals just recently. It was a really great experience because we went out there and didn’t care about any score. We just went and did it for ourselves.”

Miami’s growth became apparent to Nyquist at the Britannia cup in Nottingham, England, on Jan. 9-10. The senior team’s program required an angled intersection, where two lines of skaters approach each other at an angle.

“The reason why it gets so difficult is you obviously have to make it very complex going into it to get more points,” Iarriccio said. “You have these two lines coming at each other, the skates are rotating through, and for a split second, you’re very much blind and [don’t have] much vision of where you’re going. You have to really put all your trust into your teammates that they’re going to do exactly what they have to do.”

It was something the team had struggled with previously, but Nyquist said the RedHawks accomplished the move perfectly in Nottingham. While they’re usually quiet throughout a program, the skaters couldn’t help but let out a scream of excitement at the end of their performance. Miami placed fourth out of 10 teams overall in its first international competition of the season.

“I could tell that it was going to be a great intersection,” Nyquist said. “They made it out, and they were so excited that they made it through. It was such a great, strong element … That was their highest scoring element in that program.”

The senior team competed again in Gdansk, Poland, one week later, placing at the bottom of five teams in the Hevelius Cup. The collegiate team finished its competition slate with gold and silver medals at the Midwestern Championships and the Tri-State Competition, respectively.

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This year, the collegiate team is skating to the song “Thriller,” which Nyquist said was inspired by the skaters’ personalities off the ice. The senior team showcases a short program to “What a Wonderful World” and a long program to “Le Freak.”

“With the [senior team], I really wanted them to have a slow, beautiful short program, and then a high energy long program strategically,” Nyquist said. “The short program is really based on skating skills and technique, and I wanted to be able to highlight that. The long program, there’s a lot of lifts and tricks, and I feel like physical strength is one of our biggest strengths as a team. To have a fun piece of music to showcase their strength is super important.”

With three weeks until the national competition, Nyquist said she’s training the teams hard until the weekend gets closer, when she will taper off the intensity one week before. Iarricio said this helps the skaters by having them perform under multiple circumstances, giving them confidence ahead of their biggest competition of the year.

The senior team will skate at an intermission during the hockey game against the University of Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 20. Both teams will hold a send-off exhibition on Feb. 28 before traveling to Salt Lake City.

For Nyquist, the next two weeks will see the team training as intense as ever in preparation for the biggest competition of the year. The RedHawks will taper off the intensity in the week leading up to the competition, and she said this will give the skaters the confidence they need.

“The big thing for both teams is showing up, being consistent and being intentional in their training,” Nyquist said. “It’s something we talk to them a lot about so that when they go to nationals under a high pressure environment, they know that they can fall back on their training and can trust in all the work that they’ve put in to know that they can go out and skate no matter what.”

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu