3 Weber County skaters to compete at US Figure Skating National Championship
Lauren Johnson, Weber County
In this undated photo, skaters Kai Kovar, first from left, Mitchell Friess, third from left, and Abigail Ross, fourth from left, pose with coaches Amanda Kovar, second, and Karel Kovar, last, at the Weber County Ice Sheet. Kai, Mitchell and Abigail train at the facility and qualified for the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship.OGDEN — Three skaters who train at the Weber County Ice Sheet will compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mitchell Friess competes at the senior level as a professional skater and, in an Olympic year, a return to the U.S. championship comes with high stakes. Now 24, Friess began skating at The Ice Sheet’s Learn to Skate program at age 7. He’s a recent biomedical engineering graduate from the University of Utah and works at the Weber County Sports Complex.
According to the event’s online schedule, Friess should compete Saturday and Sunday.
At 15, Ogden native Kai Kovar returns to the national event at the junior level after placing fourth at the intermediate level in 2019 as a 12-year-old and competing in 2020 at 13. Kovar’s mother, Amanda, directs the training for all three skaters. His father, Karel, runs Weber County’s Learn to Skate program and coaches competitive skaters.
Abigail Ross, 17, is the third from the Ice Sheet to compete. Ross is currently a senior at Alta High School in Draper. This is her first time qualifying for the national competition.
Ross and Kai Kovar compete Tuesday through Thursday.