Hit or Miss: Jen Blanco

I spent nearly two hours glued to the TV watching the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Jan. 23 eagerly waiting to see Ellenton pairs skaters Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea take the ice in St. Paul, Minn. 

It wasn’t until the broadcast was drawing to a close that I discovered Kayne and O’Shea had taken the ice very early in the televised program. On top of that, the two put together a gold-winning performance while posting a new record pairs score of 211.65, crushing defending champions Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim, who had a 196.80. 

You can imagine my utter disappointment. So much for the watch party I had planned. 

Luckily, I love figure skating, so it wasn’t hard for me to watch the United States’ next wave of Olympic hopefuls even though I missed Kayne and O'Shea. It would have been fun to watch skaters I know personally, especially when they were crowned U.S. national champions for the first time. 

I met Kayne and O’Shea last October and, believe me, they deserved this moment. It was three years in the making and their hopes couldn't even be derailed by Kayne's hip surgery in July of 2014 that kept them off the ice four months.

If you've ever watched one of their practices or discussed with them their passion for the sport, it's not surprising they came out on top. The two live and breathe figure skating. 

I've since watched their championship performance on YouTube, and they were the epitome of calm. 

"Heading into the long program, we knew that we still had to fight for a win because we knew the teams we were skating against were not going to give up," O'Shea said. 

Their performance was flawless. With their hardest elements behind them, Kayne and O'Shea made the most of their moment. They earned it and no one could take that away from them. 

It wasn't until the final notes of "The Music of the Night" from "The Phantom of the Opera" drifted into silence that the two could fully appreciate what they had done. 

"We did it," O'Shea whispered to Kayne as the two skated over to their coach Jim Peterson. Team Florida was at it's best. 

"The week at nationals was surreal and we had so much fun skating for the crowd and receiving our first standing ovations," Kayne said. 

I only wish I had been the photographer on hand to capture that life-changing moment — one that’s now etched in their mind forever. 

The two wrapped up a gold medal sweep for Ellenton skaters, who also won gold medals in novice pairs (Elli Kopmar and Jonah Barrett) and junior pairs (Joy Weinberg and Max Fernandez). 

Kayne and O'Shea will spend the next two weeks training in Ellenton before heading to Taipai City, Taiwan, for the 2016 Four Continents Championships where the pair finished second two years ago. 

"The experience of winning our first national title has been really exciting for us and has also really inspired us to improve upon our winning performances, so we can climb the world rankings," Kayne said. 

"We are excited to move forward and continue to improve," O'Shea added. 

All I know, is when the two take the ice at the World Figure Skating Championships April 1 and April 2, in Boston, I’ll be sure to have my TiVo set well in advance.

If you can't wait until then to see Kayne and O'Shea in action, the rink is open to the public on Fridays at 1:10 p.m. 

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I’m always amazed by the amount of weight some people can lift, especially girls. 

Ten-pound dumb bells anyone? Yes, that’s me — on a good day. A few reps and my biceps and triceps are ready to call it a day. 

So the thought of bench pressing more than my body weight? It doesn’t even cross my mind. It’s totally out of the realm of possibility. Well, at least for me. 

Apparently it can be done. Braden River junior Sierra Rawley will attempt to do just that at the Class 2A Girls Weightlifting Finals Feb. 6, in Kissimmee. Rawley, who will compete in the 183-pound weight class, is the lone East County area weightlifter to qualify for this year’s tournament. 

After picking up weights for the first time in competition last winter, Rawley was five pounds away from qualifying for last year's regional tournament. She was devastated by the outcome and made it a personal goal to qualify for this year's state tournament. 

"I never thought I would make it this far," Rawley said. "I was in shock. I am beyond proud of myself." 

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Congratulations to Tim Sheredy, who runs the Tim Sheredy Golf Institute out of the River Club Golf Course, for being named one of the Top 25 elite junior golf coaches in the country. Sheredy was honored for his work in helping players, ages 13-18, move from the junior ranks to the college ranks. 

Lakewood Ranch sophomore Sophia Warren, who helped lead the Mustangs to the state tournament for the first time since 2008, is one of the more than 30 students Sheredy trains on a routine basis. Since he started coaching nearly 20 years ago, Sheredy has coached a pair of American Junior Golf Association Players of the Year and 43 AJGA All-Americans, among numerous others.  

“I was extremely proud,” Sheredy said. “All of the hard work and students’ successes was acknowledged.”