FLORHAM PARK — Ten skaters from the Florham Park Figure Skating Club competed at the USA Roller Sports United States National Championships, held in Lincoln, Nebraska. Seven skaters earned a combined 14 medals, with two athletes qualifying for Team USA.
Lydia Castelblanco, 18, of Chatham, captured the Senior Ladies Figures national title in her 10th and final U.S. Nationals appearance. The victory secured her fourth consecutive Team USA qualification, which she has deferred as she prepares to begin college.
Over her career, which began more than a decade ago, Castelblanco earned 22 national placements across figures, loops and free skating. She also placed in the top 10 in all three of her appearances at the World Skate World Figure Cup and has competed internationally in Germany, Italy, Argentina, China and Colombia.
In addition to her gold medal, Castelblanco received the USA Roller Sports Elmer Ringeisen Sportsmanship Award, recognizing exemplary character, humility and respect in competition. She served as club team captain for four seasons and was co-captain of Team USA at the World Figure Cup in Buenos Aires.
Iris Acuña Salazar, 14, of Newark, earned a silver medal in Cadet Ladies Figures qualifying for Team USA for the first time. She will compete at the World Skate World Figure Cup in Lynwood, Illinois, this September. Acuña Salazar went on to earn three additional silver medals in figures, loops and combined events, finishing the championships with four total medals. During Nationals, she also succeeded Castelblanco as club team captain.
Aadhira Venugopal, 9, of Parsippany, defended her national titles from the previous year by earning a gold medal in Primary A Girls Figures, a bronze medal in Primary A Girls Loops, and a gold medal in Primary A Girls Figures/Loops Combined.
Also in the Primary A division, Samhita Aniruddh, 7, of Livingston, earned a silver medal in Primary A Girls Figures. Adya Poddar, 10, of Morris Plains, earned a silver medal in Juvenile A Girls Figures and a bronze medal in Juvenile B Girls Loops. Shrinidhi Bingi, 12, of Parsippany, earned a silver medal in Elementary A Girls Figures and was also a finalist in the Elementary B Girls Free Skating event.
Srinika Janardhanan, 10, of Randolph, earned her first national title placing first in Juvenile B Girls Figures. She also placed third in the Juvenile B Girls Figures/Loops Combined event.
All of the athletes represent the Florham Park Figure Skating Club, based at the Florham Park Roller Rink, which has operated continuously since 1937. Skaters train under coach Scott Bartell in figures and loops. Also coaching at the club is current Team USA member Courtney Kennedy and former club competitor and 2021 Team USA member Gillian Muldoon.
Bartell, a lifelong resident of Hanover Township, has coached at Florham Park Roller Rink for nearly 30 years and currently serves as head coach and director of competitive skating at the rink. Since 2023, he has served annually as Team USA coach for USA Roller Sports at the World Figure Cup and also serves as chairman of the board of directors for USA Roller Sports.
Roller figure skating demands that skaters combine precision, strength and artistry into a single performance. Figure skating requires tracing accuracy, body control and concentration, as each skater retraces a series of figure patterns on a set of circles painted on the skating surface. Free skating requires creativity, technical agility and virtuosity, blending jumps, spins and footwork with music.
Several Olympic figure skaters began their careers in roller skating, including 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski and 2010 Olympian Caydee Denney, both of whom competed at national roller skating events early in their careers.
