South Florida Skater headed to her fourth U.S. National Championship in Kansas City, MO

For Immediate Release

November 20, 2016

Indian Trail, NC, Senior Ladies skater Franchesca Chiera scored a season high 166.60 at U.S. Figure Skating’s Eastern Sectional this past weekend to qualify for her fourth U.S. National Championship. Besting a field of 14 skaters from three regions, she had the highest short and long program scores of the competition. “We are so proud of Franchesca and all of the Panther’s Figure Skaters who have qualified for Nationals. For Franchesca to win Sectionals and qualify for her fourth U.S. National at the Senior level is quite an accomplishment”, said her coach and choreographer Ilona Melnichenko. This is the third time Chiera won gold at the Eastern Sectional and her fourth time making it to U.S. Nationals. As a 16 year old, she qualified for her first U.S. Nationals which were also the Olympic Trials at the TD Garden in Boston, Ma. Chiera, was recently named to Team USA. Back in October she finished in 8th at the Autumn Classic in Montreal, Canada, her first International competition representing the United States.

Both Ice Network and NBC Sports will be covering the 2017 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kanas City. The U.S. Championships, held since 1914, is the nation’s most prestigious figure skating event involving over 350 of the country’s top figure skaters. This year’s event will take place from January 14-22, 2017 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.