January 11, 2024
Linda Blaser
Skater's big win featured on Chicago TV news
Michael Chapa ’26 won the 2022 US Figure Skating Junior Men’s National Collegiate Championship.
Texas native Michael Chapa ’26 was featured on Fox32 News Chicago on January 3 as he and his pairs figure skating partner prepare to compete in the 2024 Prevagen US Figure Skating Championships, January 22-28, in Ohio.
Chapa and Baylen Taich, of Wilmettte, Illinois won the Novice Pair Championship in Washington in November even though they’ve been skating together only 11 months.
“We’ll hopefully win again,” Chapa says in the FOX32 News story.
A win later this month would not be the first for Chapa: He was named the 2022 US Figure Skating Junior Men’s National Collegiate Champion in August 2022.
Chapa and Taich were introduced at the Oakton Ice Arena in Park Ridge, Illinois by their coaches, Chris and Alexa Knierim, who won an Olympic bronze medal in pairs figure skating in 2018.
Skating since he was 4-years-old, Chapa has his sights set on competing in the 2026 Olympics.
“The Olympics have always been the top goal for my skating career and I’m hoping that this new chapter with pairs will help me get there, Chapa said.
A double major in computer science and neuroscience, Chapa chose Lake Forest College because of its “supportive community, accessibility to Chicago, and the great coaches around the area,” he said.