Source: U.S. Figure Skating

Source: 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

By John Henry – Special to the Star-Telegram

The most elite figure skaters in this country have convened in the Midwest this week for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Among them is a female athlete from Dallas-Fort Worth known on the Twitterscape as Icegirlash, who will perform her long program to Ave Maria.

"Faith," the young woman wrote on Monday, recalling the late Martin Luther King Jr. as saying, "is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."

The national championships aren't exactly Ashley Cain's first steps in the imposing world of figure skating, but the trip to Omaha, Neb., is her biggest, her debut at this level in the senior ladies singles division.

Cain, 17, a Coppell resident who skates out of Stars Figure Skating Club of Texas in Euless, will face off with defending national champion Ashley Wagner and skating's most recent darling, Gracie Gold, both favorites to qualify for two spots to the world championships on the line this week and eventually the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.

"It'll be absolutely incredible to skate against them and put into a class with them," said Cain, a poised, elegant and pretty skater while seemingly relaxed in advance of taking her biggest stage.

"Obviously, there will be a lot of hype about them being there, but I'm looking to focus on myself and take it one element at a time."

Cain's participation in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships begins with the short program at 7 tonight at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.

The ladies free skate begins at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, though it will be televised on KXAS/Ch. 5 at 7 p.m. that evening.

The event is being broadcast in its entirety on icenetwork.com.

Read More: Star-Telegram

By Amber Lewis, Ice Musings

Ashley Cain has long been known for her ability to balance a single and pairs career from claiming medals at both events as a novice skater and balancing a singles Junior Grand Prix schedule and a pairs Grand Prix season. This year, she's taking the time to focus on her own skating and is putting the extra energy into the finishing details. This 17 year old who skates for the Stars Figure Skating Club of Texas and is coached by her parents finished 5th at JGP France. She won the silver medal at nationals as a junior last season and is making the jump to senior ladies. She won gold at Southwestern Regionals and gold at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. She talked to me about winning her medal last season, her volunteer work at the rink and her goals for nationals.

Tell me about yourself outside of skating.

I have been doing online courses through Texas Tech University's K-12 program. I have been enrolled in this program since 9th grade and I am currently in 12th grade now. I have an 18 year old brother, Brenden, who is a hockey player. He and his team won nationals last year. I also have two cats, a hamster, two gerbils, a turtle, and a rabbit.

Watch the Interview NOW!

Crull Fitness is proud to present the second in a series of interviews with World Class Figure Skater Ashley Cain w ho is headed to Nationals in January 2013! Ashley Cain is a member of the USA Figure Skating Team, a silver medalist in the 2012 National Juniors Ladies Singles, a 2010 silver medalist in Novice in Ladies Singles and plans to compete for a spot on both the 2014 and 2018 USA Winter Olympic Teams! Ashley Cain trains at the Euless Dr Pepper StarCenter and is coached by her parents Darlene and Peter Cain. Ashley trains with Casey Smith at the Crull Fitness facility at the Euless Dr Pepper StarCenter! Watch for more interviews with Ashley over the next few months!

Source: Crull Fitness

Watch the Interview with Ashley on the Crull Fitness Facebook fanpage and YouTube. (Originally introduced in the Crull Fitness Newsletter, November 2012)

Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade

US Figure Skating team member, Ashley Cain was featured on the Winter Wonderland Float for the Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade in downtown Dallas, Saturday, December 1, 2012. The parade will be televised again on WFAA channel 8 at noon on Christmas Day. The parade was followed by a luncheon and autograph session for sponsors, families and VIP's. A meet and greet was held prior to the parade to meet some of the hospital patients that were participating on the parade floats. All proceeds benefit the Children's Medical Center patients.

Ashley Cain takes home multiple awards never before won by a skater from Dallas

Story by Greg Fernandez, DallasStars.com

Over the past four weeks, Ashley Cain reached a plateau that no other Dallas figure skater had ever accomplished – qualifying for the National Figure Skating Championships in Senior Ladies.

After placing first in both the 2013 US Southwestern Regional Senior Ladies Championship and the 2013 US Midwestern Sectional Senior Ladies Figure Skating Championship, Cain automatically qualified for the National Figure Skating Championships in January, where she will be competing against some of the best figure skaters – like 2012 world competitor and national champion Ashley Wagner.

"This was a big event for her. She was up against some girls that had been the senior level for four or five years," her mother and one of her coaches Darlene Cain said. "She was nervous but she said 'I kept telling myself I do this every day, I can do it.' And she went out there and skated great. "

"Ashley Cain USA - Cain made the decision to focus on singles skating full-time after leaving Joshua Reagan, with whom she won the U.S. junior pairs title in 2011. Her second-place finish in the junior ladies' event at the 2012 Nationals solidified her status as one of the promising singles skaters in the country. She took sixth at Volvo Cup last year."

By CHRISTIE SAUSA - For the News , Lake Placid News

LAKE PLACID - Skating to "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato and "Backwards" by Rascal Flatts, Ashley Cain displayed grace and agility at the Saturday Night Ice Show on Aug. 4 in the 1932 Rink at the Olympic Center.

When we spoke to Cain last summer, she and her partner Josh Reagan were looking forward to another good season. The pairs team had performed well on the junior circuit. They won the Junior division at the 2011 national championships and competed at the 2011 Junior World Championships in South Korea, where they placed fourth.

Last year, they had a promising senior debut, placing within the top 10 at two international competitions and placing sixth at the 2012 National Figure Skating Championships.

But now Cain is skating solo, after her partnership with Reagan ended in February.

"It was really complicated my partner just came in one day and said, 'I don't want to do this anymore,'" Cain said. "I just kind of picked myself back up I knew I could always rely on myself for singles, so I just took that and I've been going ever since."

Cain certainly has the track record of being competitive in singles skating. In 2010, she placed second in the Novice division at the US National Championships, while earning the same placement in the Junior division at the this year's National Championships. She also competed in two Junior Grand Prix events last season and placed in the top 10.