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• What: U.S. Figure Skating Championships, junior pairs
• When: Thursday and Friday
Three reasons Guillen and Curzon could win the national title
1. They know what to expect.
The pair finished eighth at the 2007 U.S. Championships. "Last year, we had no expectations, because it was my first year ever going to nationals. My first year with Danny," Guillen said. "We feel really prepared this time. We feel like we can go and do great programs. … We know that what we're really going there for is to medal."
2. They do impressive tricks.
Over rotating on the throw triple toe loop — a difficult element that most competitors do not attempt — is how Guillen injured her knee.
3. They want to take on the world.
Three teams will advance to the World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. "It's one of our biggest goals," Guillen said. "We have a really good shot at making the team. … It would be the icing on our season."

Sports

U.S. Figure Skating

Tucson native figures to win junior pairs title

By Jamie M. Blanchard
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.23.2008
A torn posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and two top-10 finishes in world figure skating competition in the last year have helped prepare Tucson native Chelsi Guillen for this week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Guillen, 14, and her partner Danny Curzon, 20, will compete Thursday and Friday in the junior pairs event in St. Paul, Minn.
Guillen, who now lives in Scottsdale and attends Desert Mountain High School, worked with Curzon four hours a day leading up to the competition.
"I think we can definitely take the junior event," she said
The pair has momentum after making their international debut in the fall.
"It really prepared me, because it showed me what else is out there," she said. "It made me think, 'Nationals is easy compared to this.'"
Despite the injured knee, the pair won November's Pacific Coast Sectional Championships to qualify for nationals. They also finished ninth at the Junior Grand Prix in Tallinn, Estonia, and later placed 10th in Junior Grand Prix in Sheffield, Great Britain.
"We had to take out a lot of jumps from our programs and eliminate jumping in practices," because of her knee, Guillen said.
After four months of physical therapy, she said her knee is almost back to normal.
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