(October 22, 2005)
It was a busy day for Canadian skaters on the second day of competition at the 2005 Smart Ones Skate America.
The ladies, men and ice dancers took to the ice for competition on Friday, with the ladies skating the short program, the men finishing up their event with the free skate and the ice dancers continuing their competition with the original dance.
In her second season on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, Vancouver's Mira Leung, the bronze medallist in the senior women's event at last year's national championships, placed fifth in the short program with 47.48 points, a personal best in the short program.
Russia's Elena Sokolova performed well and stands in first-place with 57.94 points.
In the men's event, Tillsonburg, Ont.'s Christopher Mabee moved up from 11th after the short program to place fifth in the free skate. Mabee skated a strong free program that earned him a total of 104.60 points. His combined points total from the short program and free skate was 147.00, placing him ninth overall.
Japan's Daisuke Takahashi won the gold medal with a total of 218.54 points.
The original dance was a well-skated event, with Vancouver's Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe placing fifth with 48.12 points. Combined with their results from the compulsory dance, Wing and Lowe, who skated a mambo, rhumba, mambo rhythm, currently stand fourth with a total of 79.61 points.
Lauren Senft, of West Vancouver, and Leif Gislason, of Winnipeg, were awarded 40.21 points for their original dance, placing them ninth in that portion of the event and eighth overall. They have a combined total of 65.80 points.
Ottawa's Siobhan Karam and Joshua McGrath were 11th in the original dance with 39.55 points. Combined with the compulsory dance, Karam and McGrath have 63.59 points and stand 11th overall.
It is the first ISU Grand Prix event for both Senft and Gislason and Karam and McGrath.
Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto were first in the original dance with 58.37 points, and have a combined points total of 95.10, placing them first overall heading into the free dance.