Traveling Pair MeeRan Trombley and Laureano Ibarra

April 23, 2008
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan

For U. S. pairs skaters MeeRan Trombley and Laureano Ibarra, traveling is not a novelty. Trombley, who was born in South Korea, was adopted as an infant by an American couple and lived in Peru, New York for several years before moving to Canada to train and compete. Ibarra was born in Miami, Florida, but moved to Venezuela with his family when he was a child and stayed there for several years. Now they are both competing for the United States, finishing 11th in senior pairs at Nationals in 2007 and tenth in 2008.

Ibarra didn't begin skating when he was eleven. "I saw skating on television and there was a new skating rink in a giant parking lot near my home so I thought it would be a fun thing to do," he recalled. He started in freestyle, landing his first triple salchow within four years. Eventually he reached Sectionals in novice men at 18, and then stopped to concentrate on pairs.

The 24-year-old actually started skating while his family was living in Venezuela. When he moved back to Miami at the age of 12, he began skating pairs in addition to freestyle. "My coach had the idea of teaming me up with my first partner, Yesenia Camero," Ibarra explained. "We went to the Junior Olympics in 1997 in Anaheim and won the juvenile pairs. Then we went to Junior Nationals in 1998 in Texas and placed ninth in intermediate pairs."

"Then I stopped skating pairs in 1999 to concentrate on singles until we moved to Colorado Springs," Ibarra continued. "I went to Junior Nationals in Buffalo, New York with Veronica Hill in 2000 in intermediate pairs. We were eighth and got to do a North American Challenge where we won a bronze. Then I skated with Tiffany Vise for two years after Veronica retired. We were third in junior pairs in Dallas in 2002 and went to Junior Worlds in Norway. We were sixth there."

"Then I skated with Brandilyn Stoval for a year," he said. "We did some Junior Grand Prixs and finished 16th at Nationals in seniors in 2004 before she quit. After that, I skated with Stephanie Kuban for two years. We were 12th at Nationals in 2005 and 13th in 2006."

He does not plan to return to singles. "I like pairs because pairs has more elements than singles," Ibarra stated. "It's not just variations of jumping and spinning. There's a lot more variety."

Trombley, now 20, started skating when she was seven. "I lived in a small town and there was nothing else to do," she said. She landed her first triple salchow at the age of 13 and continued to compete in singles for several years. "I like the interaction between the partners and the big tricks, like lifts and throws," she said.

She started skating in pairs with Ian Moram in Canada, placing fourth in novice in 1999 and sixth in juniors in 2000. She then skated with Jesse Sturdy, winning the silver in junior pairs in 2002. In 2003, she moved up to senior pairs with Ryan Shollert, placing tenth. She then teamed with Jordan Frenette, returning to junior pairs and finishing fourth at Canadian Nationals in 2004.

"Jordan quit before the 2005 Nationals so I wanted to come home," Trombley stated. "So I left Toronto and tried skating with Nathan Hess for a year, but it didn't work out well. Then Dalilah Sappenfield asked me to try out with her son (Ibarra) and the tryout went really well. I was able to get a quick release from Canada and we started training together in March 2006."

Sappenfield coaches the couple, who train at the World Arena in Colorado Springs. Lei Ina McLaughlin assists in their training. The duo trains for about three hours a day, six days a week, on the ice. Each does their own off ice exercises. "We're always training hard," Ibarra said. "We each know how to train efficiently."

Trombley and Ibarra include side-by-side double axels and a throw triple salchow in their short program. In the long program, they add a side-by-side double toe-double toe sequence and a throw triple loop. "We're not working on side by side triples yet," Trombley said. "We're concentrating on perfecting our throw triple loop and triple salchow. Our triple twist is already really good."

"We've really focused more on improving our program components and expression rather than on making our elements harder this year," Trombley said. "We want to step it up and make it so we look more like a team. Most of our changes in elements have been because of changes in rules." "They have grown in their expression and consistency this season," McLaughlin added. "It's been fun for me because I focus on expression in their training."

Sappenfield chooses the music for the couple's programs. Their short program, new for the 2007-08 season, is from "The Mask of Zorro" soundtrack by James Horner, choreographed by Damon Allen. "Dalilah thought they could bring out the characters in 'Zorro', especially with his Spanish background," McLaughlin noted." Catarina Lindgren choreographed their long program, which they also used last season, to music from the soundtracks of "Speed" by Mark Mancini and "The Usual Suspects" by John Ottman. "I like it because it's stark and mysterious," Ibarra said. "I'm into that dark kind of feeling."

Off ice, Trombley said, "I'll listen to anything but rap and country. When I'm skating, I'll try anything. I've never had a particular preference." "I'm about the same," Ibarra said, "but I really like industrial, rockabilly and techno." Trombley plays the piano, but Ibarra doesn't play any instruments himself.

Both skaters are into unusual sports during their off ice hours. Trombley likes rock climbing while Ibarra participates in mixed martial arts. "I watched the Ultimate Fighting Championships on television and wanted to compete," Ibarra explained. "I've been doing it for a while now. I train with friends or go to other gyms and every blue moon I actually spar with someone. I like to work out a lot. It's a lot of fun."

Ibarra also likes to read. "I like to read everything from metaphysics and philosophy to biographies." "He quotes philosophers all the time," Trombley noted. She also likes to read, write poetry and visit with friends.

Trombley, an Ontario High Scholar, graduated two years early from public high school. She is in her second year studying chemistry at Pikes Peak Community College, where she maintains an almost perfect grade average, having received only one grade below an A in her first year and a half. She serves as treasurer for her school's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a national honors sorority, and coordinates the group's charity work. In addition, she volunteers at a local hospital. Originally, she had planned to be a doctor, but is undecided now. "I like that more than biology," she said.

To help fund her skating, Trombley works as a waitress at Macaroni Grill for 20-25 hours a week. Ibarra, a high school graduate, works in a retail business and plans to be a skating coach. He teaches other pairs skaters lifts and strengthening exercises on weekends or whenever he has spare time.

"Our goal for the season was to skate well and make the top eight at Nationals," Trombley said. "We had hoped to get an international like Finlandia or the Nebelhorn this fall, but we were lucky and got assigned to Skate Canada in September." They finished fifth there. "It was a great opportunity for them," McLaughlin said.