Although the Minnesota State High School League offers many different sports, figure skating is not one of them. Last December, Joanna Liu, 12, and Diana Zhu, 9, decided to form a skating club for Mounds View students to compete in national competitions.

From April 22-24, the girls represented Mounds View at the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating High School Final Competition held at the OBM arena in Strongsville, Ohio.

Zhu took the initiative to involve Mounds View in the competition. “During the school year, there [aren’t] many competitions, and after searching through the U.S. Figure Skating website, I found the High School Final and thought it would be a great opportunity to get a head start on the season,” said Zhu.

The girls finished strong in all their events, winning a combined six golds and one silver. “I was honestly really surprised,” said Liu. “I knew we were really strong [skaters], but it was our first time competing as a team, so I didn’t have very high expectations.”

Competition is not the only reason they participate in skating. Both girls also have a love and admiration for the sport. “My favorite part about skating is definitely jumping. Jumps come to me much easier than some of the other aspects of skating, and I love the feeling of launching myself into the air,” said Zhu.

Liu also loves the feeling of being on the ice. “I love the rush I get from skating. You can’t really get the feeling of flying or spinning really fast from any other sport,” said Liu.

Both Zhu and Liu have high hopes for their futures in skating, and Liu will be continuing her career in college. “I just tried out for University of Minnesota’s Gopher Hockey Cheer Team, and I made it so I will be continuing skating in college next year,” said Liu.

With three years left in her high school career, Zhu has set goals for the rest of her competition seasons and aims for improvement. “This upcoming season I hope to earn a third consecutive state title and set new personal bests,” she said. “I want to improve my presentation skills and skating quality so I can give a complete performance.”