HOUSTON -- Cindy Bortz is no longer the little kid.
Sure, she's still only 4-foot-8 and weighs 85 pounds, making her among the tiniest competitors at the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival. But her showing at the Festival has put her among the big girls.
Earlier this year, Bortz won the U.S. National Junior Ladies title and has moved up to senior competition by appearing at the Festival.
Bortz of Tarzana, Calif., was a stunning first after the women's compulsory figures last Friday (four days short of her 15th birthday) and eventually finished second in the overall individual competition to Jill Trenary.
'When I came in here and won the figures, it kind of made me nervous,' she said, 'But to me it meant the judges didn't think of me as the little one any more.
'I really was not expecting to win figures, but I would have liked to have skated better in the short program (in which she finished fourth). I don't think I skated well at all.'
She followed with a third-place showing in the long program, good enough to win the overall silver medal.
Bortz has been skating since she was 8 years old, entering her first competition a year later. She said her mother didn't believe she had the discipline to excel in skating. Now her mother is watching Bortz compete with the country's best.
'I didn't expect this,' Bortz said. 'Everyone was real nice. Then I won the figures. Now everyone is in shock, including me.
'It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year, especially since this is my first major senior competition.'
The other skaters know she is a factor.
'I didn't expect that (Bortz winning figures),' said Trenary, who was Bortz' predecessor as national junior champion. 'But I knew I had to do my best and had to skate a clean program just to catch her.'
Bortz will return to the junior level in December when the World Championships are decided in Canada. She will go as one of the favorites.
'I'll just get lots of rest and just continue being positive about myself,' she said.
But as if in warning to her more experienced competitors, Bortz said: 'I know tomorrow is going to be better.'
