(04/13/2013) - Before a full house and a lively crowd, Michael Rubke (Los Angeles FSC) edged out veteran Burton Powley (Hawkeye SC) by less than one point to win the championship masters intermediate-novice men's event at the 2013 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Burton Powley claimed the championships masters intermediate-novice men's
title with 37.47 points, a slight margin over silver medalist Christopher
Williams, who collected 37.30 points. The bronze medal went to John Weinstein,
who generated 36.07 points.


Skating an Avatar-themed free skate, Powley had some trouble during his
five-minute warm-up, in which he was slipping on his takeoffs, but said "pure
determination" got him through the routine.


He landed 10 jumps with minimal mistakes, including five doubles and an Axel,
but felt most relieved after his first jump – a clean double loop. All of his
spins were level one, and his 20.40-point program component mark was the field
second highest.