ICING DOWN NOTHING BUT WINS

Gliding and twirling around the ice, clad in a costume worthy of the Olympics, 10-year-old Corrie Gerecke looks a little like Tara Lipinski.

But like Lipinski, the Olympic champion, Corrie is a kid. And kids sometimes do funny things when they travel to ice skating competitions.

"At 5 o'clock in the morning, I go downstairs, and (Corrie) and one of the other girls are sitting there," said Corrie's coach, Ashlee Hale. "They stayed up all night in the hotel, and they had to skate the next day."

Apparently Corrie doesn't need to sleep. Like she always does, Corrie won the competition.

In four years of skating, Corrie, a member of The Ice, an ice skating team that practices at Plaza Galleria, never has lost. "She always wins," Hale said.

Corrie competes at the Freestyle 5 level. Most skaters at that level are 12 or 13 years old. Performing to R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," she does maneuvers such as lay back spins, jumps with axels and double Sal-Chows. "To be such a dainty girl, she is so powerful," Hale said. "She's probably above average as far as being 10 years old."

Corrie performs in nine events: freestyle, pairs, couples, drill team, footwork, showtime, artistic, dramatic and compulsory. Her pairs partner is Ryan Johnston and her couples partner is Casey Bauer.

"I think that Corrie in particular is an exemplary skater because she competes in various events," Hale said.

Hale added that while most Freestyle 5 skaters can perform the required maneuvers, Corrie wins because she excels in the artistic aspect. "She looks like she should be where she's at," Hale said. "Her arms are up, her posture's good, she skates with her chin up."

Like boys who dream of wearing a St. Louis Cardinals uniform, the skaters' costumes Corrie saw on television captivated her and helped draw her to the sport.

"I was watching television and I saw that I wanted to be able to move gracefully and be able to wear a costume like they wear," Corrie said. "I like the moves that I do and I like my outfit that I wear. I get to make new friends and travel."

She added that winning competitions has made her more confident.

"I know that I can put my mind to anything that I want I want to do and I can accomplish it."

While she doesn't know how long she will continue skating, she hinted that, like many girls who saw the 15-year-old Lipinski captivate the world in the Winter Olympics this year, she would like to be an Olympian.

And if that doesn't pan out? She'd like to teach skating just like Hale.