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Redding's Han Skates To Silver At Australian Nationals

REDDING, Conn. -- Brooklee Han, a teenager from Redding, skated to a second-place finish and a silver medal at the recent Australian National Figure Skating championships.  

Redding skater Brooklee Han and her coach Serhii Vaypan celebrate her new personal best score in the Kiss and Cry at Skate America earlier this fall.

Redding skater Brooklee Han and her coach Serhii Vaypan celebrate her new personal best score in the Kiss and Cry at Skate America earlier this fall.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Han, 19, scored a total of 152.19 points in the national competition, coming in just over 2 points behind gold medalist Kailani Craine, whose total score was 154.37 points.

The competition began strong for Han, who was first in the short program with 58.80 points. But in the long program she scored only 93.39 points with two falls, falling behind Craine, who scored 101.02 points in her long program. The event was held in Brisbane. 

The next possible stops for Han this skating season include the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in South Korea in February and the World Figure Skating Championships in China in March.  

Han, who is an Australian citizen, was the 2013 national champion and competed for Australia in the Sochi Olympics, where she came in 20th place. 

She is now a freshman at Wesleyan University, near her training rink of Newington Arena. She is a 2013 graduate of Joel Barlow High School. 

Earlier this skating season, Han set a new personal best score as she made her Grand Prix debut at Skate America in suburban Chicago in October. She broke 100 points for her long program for the first time in the elite event, coming in with a total of 102.99 points.

Her overall total of the short program and long program combined of 150.37 points was also a new personal best for Han. The scores were good enough for eighth place in the long program and 10th place overall. 

Not one to rest on her laurels, Han then headed to compete in Skate Canada in Kelowna, British Columbia, where she placed eighth overall.

Han has had a busy skating season. She also competed in two warm-up events this fall -- the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City, where she came in sixth, and the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany, where she just missed the podium by coming fourth.

Han finished 20th at the Sochi Olympics in February and 19th at the 2014 World Championships. She has said she hopes to compete at the next Winter Olympics in Korea in 2018. 

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