Kate Finster

Kate Finster (born December 14, 2003) is an American pair skater. With her skating partner, Balazs Nagy, she is the 2020 U.S. national junior champion, the 2019 U.S. national junior silver medalist, and the 2019 JGP Poland silver medalist.

Kate Finster
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born (2003-12-14) December 14, 2003
Louisville, Kentucky
Home townProspect, Kentucky
ResidenceColorado Springs, Colorado
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
PartnerBalazs Nagy
Former partnerBrandon Kozlowski, Eric Hartley, Joseph Goodpaster
CoachDalilah Sappenfield, Larry Ibarra
Former coachJessica Miller, Stephanie Miller, John Coughlin, Jessica Mills Kincade
ChoreographerDalilah Sappenfield
Former choreographerRobert Mauti
Skating clubNorthern Kentucky SC
Training locationsColorado Springs, Colorado
Former training locationsLouisville, Kentucky
Cincinnati, Ohio
Began skating2008
ISU personal best scores
Combined total166.22
2019 JGP Poland
Short program60.91
2019 JGP Poland
Free skate105.31
2019 JGP Poland

Personal life

Kate Finster was born on December 14, 2003 in Louisville, Kentucky to Jay and Stacey Finster.[1] She has four siblings named Cameron, Chase, Maddie, and Caroline, and her older brother Chase also competes nationally in figure skating.[2] Kate and Chase live together while training in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[2] Finster's family owns three cats and three dogs.[1] She enjoys playing water sports, long boarding, baking, cooking, spending time with friends, and going to the beach.[1] Finster is an honor roll student who studies through Connections Academy.[2]

Finster looks up to Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim and, when she was younger, Madeline Aaron / Max Settlage.[3]

Career

Early career

Finster began skating in 2008.[4] She trained in singles with Jessica Mills Kincade in Louisville, Kentucky and in pairs with Delilah Sappenfield and John Coughlin in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[3]

Finster teamed up with her first pairs partner, Joseph Goodpaster, at the age of 10.[2] Together, they placed eighth at the 2014 U.S. Championships on the intermediate level.[5] Finster paired with Eric Hartley for the next two seasons and won the 2015 U.S. national novice pairs title.[6] She is the youngest skater to win the national novice pairs title.[3] Finster then competed one season with Brandon Kozlowski, finishing tenth in the junior division at the 2017 U.S. Championships.[7] She did not compete during the 2017–18 season.

Finster tried out with Balazs Nagy in the fall of 2017, around Thanksgiving, and they officially teamed up in early 2018.[2] The pair relocated from training with Jessica Miller and Stephanie Miller in Northern Kentucky to work full-time with Sappenfield and Larry Ibarra in Colorado Springs.[2][1]

2018–2019 season

In their first season as a team, Finster / Nagy were assigned to 2018 JGP Czech Republic, where they finished ninth. They then won silver at Midwestern Sectionals. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Finster / Nagy won the junior silver medal behind Laiken Lockley / Keenan Prochnow. As a result, they were named to the 2019 World Junior Championships team. At Junior Worlds, they were tenth after the short program and thirteenth in the free skating, to finish eleventh overall. Nagy called the experience "humbling" and motivation for the next season.[2]

2019–2020 season

Finster / Nagy opened the season with a sixth-place finish at 2019 JGP United States. They then won their first international medal at 2019 JGP Poland, earning the silver medal, behind Apollinariia Panfilova / Dmitry Rylov of Russia and ahead of Germany's Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel.[8] Their results qualified them as first alternates to the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Finster / Nagy won the inaugural U.S. Pairs Final to qualify to the 2020 U.S. Championships. They won their first junior pairs title at the 2020 U.S. Championships, ahead of Anastasiia Smirnova / Danil Siianytsia and Winter Deardorff / Mikhail Johnson. Their result earned them a berth on the 2020 World Junior Championships team.[9]

Programs

With Nagy
Season Short program Free skating
2019–2020
[4]
2018–2019
[10]

Competitive highlights

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Nagy
International: Junior[11]
Event 2018–19 2019–20
Junior Worlds11th6th
JGP Czech Republic9th
JGP Poland2nd
JGP United States6th
National[11]
U.S. Champ.2nd J1st J
U.S. Pairs Final1st J
Midwestern Sect.2nd J
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew
Levels: J = Junior

With Kozlowski
National[7]
Event 2016–17
U.S. Championships10th J
Eastern Sectionals4th J
Levels: J = Junior

With Hartley
National[12]
Event 2014–15 2015–16
U.S. Championships1st N
Midwestern Sectionals1st N5th J
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

With Goodpaster
National[5]
Event 2013–14
U.S. Championships8th I
Eastern Sectionals3rd I
Levels: I = Intermediate

Detailed results

With Nagy

Junior results
2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
March 2–8, 2020 2020 World Junior Championships 5
58.33		 7
97.93		 6
156.26
January 20–26, 2020 2020 U.S. Championships 1
63.89		 2
105.48		 1
163.04
November 12–16, 2019 2019–20 U.S. Pairs Final 1
55.60		 1
92.48		 1
148.08
September 18–21, 2019 2019 JGP Poland 2
60.91		 2
105.31		 2
166.22
August 28–31, 2019 2019 JGP United States 5
54.33		 9
78.76		 6
133.09
2018–19 season
March 4–10, 2019 2019 World Junior Championships 10
50.30		 13
81.99		 11
132.29
January 18–27, 2019 2019 U.S. Championships 2
59.65		 2
89.83		 2
149.48
November 15–17, 2018 2018–19 Midwestern Sectionals 2
48.17		 2
83.32		 2
131.49
September 26–29, 2019 2019 JGP Czech Republic 7
50.29		 9
78.02		 9
128.31
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References
  1. "Kate Finster and Balazs Nagy". U.S. Figure Skating.
  2. Cloutier, Claire (August 28, 2019). "Finster/Nagy: Young Team on the Rise". A Divine Sport.
  3. Lintner, Jonathan (January 22, 2015). "Louisville skater wins U.S. gold". The Courier-Journal.
  4. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY". International Skating Union.
  5. "Kate Finster & Joseph Goodpaster". Stats on Ice.
  6. Elgazzar, Kareem (January 27, 2015). "Skaters celebrated for gold medal performance". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  7. "Kate Finster & Brandon Kozlowski". Stats on Ice.
  8. "Team USA collects four medals at two international competitions" (Press release). U.S. Figure Skating. September 21, 2019.
  9. "U.S Figure Skating Announces Selections for World Junior Team" (Press release). U.S. Figure Skating. January 29, 2020.
  10. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019.
  11. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  12. "Kate Finster & Eric Hartley". Stats on Ice.
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