Recently Keauna McLaughlin and University of Colorado student Rockne Brubaker have been making headlines for their figure skating victories. The American team is coached by Dalilah Sappenfield and MCLaughlin’s mom Lei’lna. Mostly recently, they garnered attention for their performance at Skate Canada, for which they won silver medals.

According to The Olympian:

Brubaker and McLaughlin delighted the crowd with an energetic performance to "West Side Story" and scored 172.69 points to edge a favored Russian team for the silver medal.

Brubaker said he realized the routine was special as soon it was over.
"It was our best performance this year," he said.

Brubaker, 22, and McLaughlin, 16, the defending national champs, finished behind world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany who scored 180.77 points.

One reason that the team has been so successful is Keauna McLaughlin’s amazing flexibility and technical ability. She is particularly well suited to pair skating because of her small size— 4’11’’— making her perfect for lifting. Best of luck to the team at the Grand Prix Finals.