Mercer maximizes trip to States
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Dee-Ann Wagner-Mercer
Kayla-Ann Mercer didn’t show any signs of rust or poor technique in her first roller skating competition of the season, as she brought home five gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
Considering that she has been scrambling to find open floors for practices after Lloyd’s closed earlier this winter, it’s quite the haul for the hometown kid.
“I was very surprised to see how I did. I’ve never won this much in a weekend before,” said Mercer.
Making the 13-hour trek to the Spring Invitational Skate Connection in Auburn, Wash. was Mercer and her family. Her coach, Lloyd Williams, wasn’t cleared medically to make the trip, but his daughter Kim helped Mercer find an American coach for the weekend.
The event started April 6 and finished the following afternoon, with Mercer’s first skate kicking off at 5 a.m. local time.
Mercer started with her longest routine of the event, the Women Figures, and crushed it with an average score of 143.3 from three judges.
Her only silver medal came next, in the B Women Figures, when she chalked up an average score of 206.3, the highest average score of her career.
Later on, she picked up back-to-back golds in the C Women Circle Loops (137.3) and in the B Women Circle Loops (134.6).
Her lone bronze in the season-opening event took place in the B Solo Dance, after recording an average score of 201.3.
Rounding out the weekend, Mercer sniped a pair of golds in the shorter dance events.
In the Solo Dance C, she pulled a 135.4 average from five different judges and a 128.6 in the Creative Solo Dance from another five judges.
While these medals are nice and shiny, Mercer has her eyes set on a bigger prize: a trip to nationals and even worlds later this summer.
The events that carry weight begin later this summer when the regionals start June 15 in Portland, Ore. A top-three finish would qualify Mercer for nationals.