Richards repeats as U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating champion in Minnesota

Supported locally by family and friends and remotely by her Liberty University teammates and coaches, Emma Richards, a rising senior on the Lady Flames' figure skating team, landed in first place for the second time in three years in the Intermediate Excel division at the U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships. The event was held in the Richfield Ice Arena, located 15 minutes from her home in Edina, Minn.

"I competed there growing up as a kid, so it definitely had that sense of nostalgia," Richards said. "Coming home was a sweet thing, to have coaches from my home and friends from my church and family members who came into town to watch me was definitely a great way to start what will be my last year of competitive skating at Liberty."

She said many of her coaches and fellow Lady Flames skaters connected with her before and after the competition.

"It was great to have the support from the team over the weekend," Richards said. "They were texting me and following along with the live results, tracking the scores. Even though they couldn't be in the stands cheering, I know that they were supporting me from afar. It's a really great group of girls and I'm really thankful to be a part of a team like that."

Richards scored 40.91 in her freeskate long program, more than six points higher than her previous winning mark from the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Collegiate National Championships (34.26).

Gabrielle Hart (35.55) the second-place skater from Kent State University, Karen Hotz (32.58) from the University of Michigan, Sophia Perepelitsyn (32.44) from the University of California San Diego, and Mary Patterson (20.70) from the University of Minnesota rounded out the top five.

"This was the same routine I skated at the U.S. National Intercollegiate Final in Lake Placid, N.Y., which served me well," Richards said. "It was a more difficult program than my winning routine (at Collegiate Nationals) in 2022."

She said the routine featured a double sal toeloop loop, and concluded with a series of spins.

"That's definitely one of my highest-scoring jumping passes," Richards said. "I'm a spinner at heart. I do the jumps, but the highlights of my routine are definitely the spins."

She said her performance wasn't flawless in execution, but stood out among the other competitors for its degree of technical difficulty and artistic impression.

"I had a few bobbles, and it was definitely not my most perfect program, but it was great to have friends and family cheering me on," Richards said. "That definitely kept me going through (the miscues)."

She said due to her work schedule for her summer accounting internship with Ernst & Young in Minneapolis, she had to practice at 5:30 a.m. daily to prepare for the competition.

"Juggling my accounting internship and skating this summer has definitely been putting my student-athlete balance to the test," said Richards, who is pursuing a B.S. in Accounting and Data Analytics. "But this was definitely one of the performances that I am most proud of. It was a good opportunity to get out there early on in the season, to shake some of the rust off from the beginning of the summer and start to get ready for tryouts in early September."

Richards, who also competes in Intermediate Team Maneuvers at Liberty, plans to continue skating the same long program through her senior season while introducing a new short program this fall.
After serving as one of the Lady Flames' spiritual leaders over the past two seasons, which she said has been a catalyst for her faith, Richards said she had opportunities over the weekend to witness to and share her testimony with other skaters at the competition, integrating her faith and sport.

"I had a few great conversations with skaters from other schools in our region, other Christian skaters who I tried to encourage to be outspoken in their faith," she said. "I tried to be a light, and it was a really neat opportunity to share my faith and to be an encouragement to others to share theirs. It was a reminder to me to not get so caught up in the skating, that there are other reasons God wants me to be in the skating world."

She noted that the Lady Flames will have a new spiritual leadership group this season, with junior Anna Holloway the only one returning, complemented by senior Shaeleigh Stewart and sophomore Rachel Duncan. She will join fellow senior Rachel Berger to serve as a co-captain.

"We have a solid group returning, with a pivotal group of seniors in my class this year, and we are excited about the recruits coming in from various levels all around the country," Richards said. "We are hoping to qualify for nationals again this coming spring, somewhere in the Midwest."

The Lady Flames must finish in the top four in their Southeastern Section based on their three regular-season competitions at South Florida in November and Delaware and Pennsylvania in February and March.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Emma-Richards-action-skate — Richards showcased some of her spins during a PraiseFest performance in April at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Aziz Ibrahim)

Richards repeats as U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating champion in Minnesota

Players Mentioned

Rachel Berger

Rachel Duncan

Anna Holloway

Emma Richards

Shaeleigh Stewart

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