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Show By Tom Haraldsen Holly did us all proud It was Saturday afternoon at 3:45 Mountain Time when Holly Cook gracefully slid onto the iceof the Baltimore Arena. In the stands, her ' friends and teammates of the Utah Figure SkatingXlub, all of whom had completed successful competitions at various levelsof the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, looked on. ( Perched above in their ABC broadcast boom, announcers Jim McKay, Peggy Fleming and Dick Button were poised to analyze Holly's every move. Brian Boitano's video-taped critique of Holly had been aired, where he described her Vast improvement, her superb athleticism, and her relative inexperience at skating in front of national audiences, in this, the senior ' ladies' final. ''''.;;;:'.-L.v-;.-'-:-,--' :- V But the young Holly, the Viewmont High senior who had dedicated her life to this .sport, was unabashed. She had only to deal with her own per-; per-; formance now. Those of competitors Jill Trenary, Kristi Yamaguchi and , Tonya Harding were behind her. Jhe echoes of applause their flawless per- i formances had brought were faded away. This was Holly's moment, and ' she was determined to make the best of it .. : t I ': For the next five minutes or so, she glided across the ice, hitting double ' ; and triple jumps, adding a provocative jump spin that delighted the crowd. ' Her only small flaw, the landing of her last triple jump in which her power- : . ful right leg snapped her body back to its rightful position, was hardly noticeable, no-ticeable, and even drew a praise from Button, the renowned figure skating -analyst that's been a part of ABC's team for decades. v When she finished, she received a standing-o from 13,000 figure skating fans who were favorably impressed. It was at 3:52 that the judges rendered their subjective and somewhat controversial scc,.lotals that placed Holly fourth, still her highest finish ever at nationals. , ' ; It was Tuesday morning at 7:20. Holly Cook was preparing to leave for classes at Viewmont High, the first time she'd seen the school in nearly . two weeks. Her figure skates were packed away, not to be used the rest of this week as she rests and catches up on her studies. She returned rightfully proud of her performance in Baltimore, a week that proved outstanding for members of the Bountiful-based Utah Figure Skating Club. ' "I'm happy with the way I skated," Holly said. "I knew I was in a hard group at the end, but I talked things over with my coach (Kris Sherard), and we decided we'd do what we had to do." ' . ' : The fourth-place finish left her with some mixed feelings. Her three competitors each had one more triple jump than she did, and Holly, who is by far the most athletic of the top women in the country, feels she heeds more work now on the artistic nature of her routines. n'-,;-..";C' Figure skating is a sport where opinion often takes the place of good judgment Unlike those sports where scores are automatically generated by hitting a ball, kicking a ball, shooting a ball or slapping a puck, skating is I subjective, and certainly those who watched Holly on Saturday felt she de-, de-, served better marks than she got In this reporter's opinion, judges have fal-? fal-? len into a trap of picking favorites in figure skating, as has been done in ( other sports for years. Certainly little Kristi Yamaguchi has become this i year's media darling. She also happens to be ofle of Holly's closest friends off the ice. Objectivity is an ingredient more judges could stand to gain. ' f ' But Holly, for one, doesn't complain. Baltimore proved she is at the top r of the hill in women's figure skating, and it whetted her appetite for more. . "Before I left for Nationals, I hadn't been skating well," she said. "I went back there with a goal to finish in the top four, and I made it. Now, it's time for me to work on adding another triple and make my program a bit more artistic, I feel good about how I performed." : J And well she should. Certainly the hundreds of friends and family members mem-bers crowded in front of television sets Saturday afternoon were left feeling good about Holly, both as a competitor and as one of our own. o And if you missed Holly's performance on Saturday, you'll get another chance next year right here at home. The 1990 Nationals will be held in the " Salt Palace, as they were in 1984. . ' . - - - ' "The hometown crowd will be important, but it might also put some added pressure on me, as I'll be wanting to do my best in front of my friends," she said. The truth is, Holly r that now the nation is your friend. Those of us who watched you Saturday, and who will watch you in the years to come, are very proud of what you've done. And we'll be behind you in the future, in a very objective way., " " - - |