The 1985 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was held in early 1985 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice.
| 1985 U.S. Figure Skating Championships | |
|---|---|
| Type: | National Championship |
| Season: | 1984–85 |
| Location: | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions | |
| Men's singles: Brian Boitano | |
| Ladies' singles: Tiffany Chin | |
| Pairs: Jill Watson / Peter Oppegard | |
| Ice dance: Judy Blumberg / Michael Seibert | |
| Previous: 1984 U.S. Championships | |
| Next: 1986 U.S. Championships | |
The event was one of the criteria used to select the U.S. teams for the 1985 World Championships.
Senior results
Men
Following the retirement of Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano landed seven triple jumps in the free skating to capture his first national title.[1][2] Mark Cockerell, appearing in his ninth nationals, finished a career-best second, and Christopher Bowman moved up from eighth to fourth with an outstanding free skating.[3]
Boitano would go on to capture the bronze medal at the 1985 World Championships.
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name | CF | SP | FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Boitano | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Mark Cockerell | 2 | 2 | |
| 3 | Scott Williams | 3 | ||
| 4 | Christopher Bowman | 10 | ||
| 5 | Paul Wylie |
Ladies
Coming off a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Winter Olympics, Tiffany Chin was the heavy favorite and won all three phases of the competition to capture the crown.[4][5][6] Second place finisher Debi Thomas became the first black American singles skater to qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships.[7]
Chin would go on to win the bronze medal at the 1985 World Championships, while Thomas finished fifth in her World debut.
| Rank | Name | CF | SP | FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiffany Chin | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Debi Thomas | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Caryn Kadavy | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Kathryn Adams | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Jill Frost | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 6 | Leslie Sikes | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 7 | Jana Marie Sjodin | 4 | 12 | 8 |
| 8 | Yvonne Gomez | 5 | ||
| 9 | Sara MacInnes | 6 | 5 | 14 |
| 10 | Tracy Ernst | 14 | 6 | 9 |
| 11 | Staci McMullin | 11 | ||
| 12 | Maradith Feinberg | 13 | ||
| 13 | Debbie Walls | 12 | ||
| 14 | Leslie Friedman | 15 | ||
| 15 | Debbie Tucker | 10 | ||
| 16 | Cynthia Romano | 16 |
Pairs
After her previous partner, Burt Lancon, turned professional, 1984 Olympian Jill Watson teamed with Peter Oppegard to take the pairs crown. They were followed in second place by siblings Natalie and Wayne Seybold.[8]
Watson and Oppegard would finish fourth in the 1985 World Championships.
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name | SP | FP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jill Watson / Peter Oppegard | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Natalie Seybold / Wayne Seybold | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Gillian Wachsman / Todd Waggoner | ||
| 4 | Susan Dungjen / Jason Dungjen | ||
| 5 | Katy Keeley / Joseph Mero | ||
| 6 | Sandy Hurtubise / Craig Maurizi | ||
| 7 | Maria Lako / Michael Blicharski | ||
| 8 | Karen Courtland / Robert Daw | ||
| 9 | Tammy Crowson / Jay Freeman | ||
| 10 | Ginger Tse / Archie Tse |
Ice dancing
Judy Blumberg / Michael Seibert won their fifth consecutive national title and would go on to earn the bronze medal at the 1985 World Championships.
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Judy Blumberg / Michael Seibert |
| 2 | Renée Roca / Donald Adair |
| 3 | Suzanne Semanick / Scott Gregory |
| 4 | Lois Luciani / Russ Witherby |
| 5 | Susan Wynne / Joseph Druar |
| 6 | Susan Jorgensen / Robert Yokabaskas |
| 7 | Eva Hunyardi / Jay Pinkerton |
| 8 | Kristan Lowry / Chip Rossbach |
| 9 | Kandi Amelon / Alex Binnie |
| 11 | Ann Hensel / John Stackhouse |
Junior results
Men
| Rank | Name | CF | SP | FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doug Mattis | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Erik Larson | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Rudy Galindo | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Scott Kurttila | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | John Saitta | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Patrick Brault | 6 | ||
| 7 | Jeff Carstensen | 8 | ||
| 8 | Brian Grant | 9 | ||
| 9 | Jeff Freedman | 11 | ||
| 10 | Eddie Shipstad | 10 | ||
| 11 | Mark Mitchell | 7 | ||
| 12 | Todd Reynolds | 13 | ||
| 13 | Steven Rice | 12 | ||
| 14 | Jon De Paz | 14 |
Ladies
| Rank | Name | CF | SP | FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jill Trenary | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | Tracey Damigella | 3 (tie) | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Holly Cook | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Dedie Richards | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Tracey Seliga | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 6 | Sharon Barker | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| 7 | Jeri Campbell | 9 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Laura Edmunds | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| 9 | Micki McMahon | 13 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | Kimberly Drenser | 3 (tie) | 13 | 11 |
| 11 | Lisa Cornelius | 10 | ||
| 12 | Kristin Kriwanek | 12 | ||
| WD | Julie Wasserman |
Pairs
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Deveny Deck / Luke Hohmann |
| 2 | Shelly Propson / Jerod Swallow |
| 3 | Lori Blasko / Todd Sand |
| 4 | Shanda Smith / Brandon Smith |
| 5 | Kristi Yamaguchi / Rudy Galindo |
| 6 | Bridgit Drenser / David McGovern |
| 7 | Ashley Stevenson / Robert Pellaton |
| 8 | Jennifer Newman / Scott Wedland |
| 9 | Jill Kombeitz / Joel McKeever |
| 10 | Sara Powell / Robert Powell |
| 11 | Nancy Kerrigan / Bobby Martin |
| 12 | Nancy Schwarz / David Aboyoun |
| 13 | Deirdre Roach / Mike Beltch |
| 14 | Pam Warters / Jeff Warters |
Ice dancing
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jodie Balogh / Jerod Swallow |
| 2 | Tonia Kleinsasser / Daniel Stahl |
| 3 | Jill Helser / Michael Verlich |
| 4 | Tracy Sniadach / Charles Sinek |
| 5 | SKimberly Barget / James Schilling |
| 6 | Jeanne Miley / Christopher Macri |
| 7 | Amy Webster / John Millier |
| 8 | Colette Huber / Ron Kravette |
| 9 | Colleen Bowman / Doug Murray |
| 10 | Suzanne Murphy / Andrew Niebler |
| 11 | Jennifer Benz / Jeffrey Benz |
| 12 | Lisa Grove / Daniel Smith |
| 13 | Megan O'Donnell / David Shirt |
| 14 | Kelli Haveman / Shawn Rettstatt |
Novice results
Todd Eldredge and Katie Wood took gold in the novice men's and ladies' categories, respectively.[9]
Men
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Eldredge |
| 2 | Aren Nielsen |
| 3 | Alex Chang |
| 4 | Cameron Birky |
| 5 | Colin Vander Veen |
| 6 | Brian Rabin |
| 7 | Grant Noroyan |
| 8 | Shepherd Clark |
| 9 | Tim Dever |
| 10 | Doug Webster |
Ladies
(incomplete standings)
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Katie Wood |
| 2 | Cindy Bortz |
| 3 | Kyoko Ina |
| 4 | Kristi Yamaguchi |
| 5 | Kenna Bailey |
| 6 | Dena Galech |
| 7 | Dawn Latona |
| 8 | Shenon Badre |
| 9 | Nancy Kerrigan |
| 10 | Jill Weisenstein |