KC’s Coughlin, partner Denney fourth in pairs at U.S. Figure Skating Championships

The hopes of John Coughlin and Caydee Denney making the U.S. Olympic team in pairs figure skating took a hit Thursday.

Coughlin, who is from Kansas City, and Denney were in fourth place after the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Boston.

Denney did a double toeloop instead of a planned triple on their side-by-side jumps, and her hand touched on her throw triple flip. The mistakes left the Coughlin and Denney one-point out of third place.

Coughlin and Denney are making a comeback after not competing in this event last year because of Couhglin’s hip injury. They won the U.S. pairs title in 2012.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, who won the the title last year, were in first place Thursday with a score of 73.13 points. They are 6.63 points ahead of Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay, while DeeDee Leng and Timothy LeDuc were another tenth of a point back in third.

The top two teams after Saturday’s free skate will be on the Olympic team next month in Sochi, Russia.

Castelli and Shnapir are from Boston, and they soared on the support of the friends and family who were watching them.

Castelli’s jaw dropped when their score was announced.

“I was in shock at first; I was not expecting that,” she said. “I like to try to calculate it in my head. I would have been happy with 66 or 67, so it was just insane.”

| Star news services

This story was originally published January 9, 2014 at 8:30 PM with the headline "KC’s Coughlin, partner Denney fourth in pairs at U.S. Figure Skating Championships."