By Gina Capellazzi, Team FSO website administrator
Photos courtesy Elizabeth Yun, Mitchell Castelletti and Trudy Oltmanns

Figure Skaters Online has started a new series to introduce fans to the new pairs teams who will be making their debut during the 2025-26 season. For this series, we recently chatted with Elizabeth (Liza) Yun and Mitchell Castelletti, who are a new junior team. They teamed up in summer of 2025 and are getting ready for the U.S. Pairs Final in Lansing, Michigan, Nov. 17-21.

Tell us about your individual skating journeys, including any early special memories.

Liza: I first stepped onto the ice at a birthday party when I was about five or six years old, and from the moment my skates touched the ice, I was hooked! Something about the feeling of gliding through the rink captured me. Since then, skating has become so much more than just an activity; it’s been a source of joy and motivation on and off the ice.

Mitchell: I started in hockey when I was three years old. As I grew up, I realized that I enjoyed skating but not much of the other aspects of the sport. When I was around seven, I tried on figure skates for the first time. It was an adjustment at first, but my passion quickly grew as I began to compete in singles. I especially enjoyed the challenge of trying to land increasingly difficult jumps.

What drew you to pairs? Did you compete in singles before and if so, how long did you skate and compete as a single skater, and are you still doing singles?

Liza: Ever since I first started skating, I’ve felt especially drawn to pairs. Even before I began learning pairs, I would dream about doing lifts and the thrill of being thrown through the air! I love everything about it, from watching competitions to learning and practicing new elements, but most of all, performing my programs and expressing myself on the ice. That passion has stayed with me from the very beginning and throughout my singles career. I competed in singles until the end of the 2024–2025 season, and competed at three Sectionals and various national qualifying competitions.

Mitchell: I competed in singles until I was eighteen and decided to try pairs. I was hesitant to try it at first, but open to it. I quickly realized that I had found my place. Skating with another person opened my eyes to the stories that could be told in a program. Learning the difficult lifts, twists, and death spirals were things I could have never imagined doing, but have become some of my favorite things to do on the ice.

Liza: I really love the energy Mitchell brings to the ice and to our programs. On top of that , he’s incredibly hard-working and always gives his all during practices, which pushes me to do the same. We’re actually quite similar in that we’re both very competitive, and I really enjoy that dynamic because it challenges us to keep improving and brings out the best in both of us.

What has been the biggest adjustment for each of you so far in the partnership?

Liza: One of the biggest adjustments so far in this partnership has been adapting to the height difference with Mitchell. Because we don’t have a significant height gap, timing our movements precisely has been essential, especially for twists and lifts. It really pushed me to pay close attention to the refining of little details, as well as focusing on improving all of our skills in general.

Mitchell: I think the biggest adjustment that we faced so far this season was our major schedule shift in the summer. For most of the summer we trained at night between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. It took a bit of getting used to, but worked out well in the end and will make for a fun story in the future.

Tell us about your training site.

Mitchell: We trained in a hockey rink in Edina, Minnesota while we waited for our training center to reopen in Bloomington, Minnesota. After major renovations for the past six months, we are finally back at the Bloomington Ice Garden. 

Liza: One of the most memorable experiences in Edina was getting the opportunity to skate at night for the our first few weeks together, from sunset to sunrise, which was both challenging yet incredibly rewarding and exciting. Recently, the newly renovated Bloomington Ice Garden has become our home facility for training. With three full sheets of ice and plenty of space on and off the ice, it allows us to work on technique and focus on training new and more advanced elements. Skating at these rinks has allowed us to adapt to different environments, stay disciplined in our training, and continually push ourselves to improve.

Who are your coaches?  Did either or both have to relocate? If so, tell us about the move(s).

Mitchell: We train with Trudy Oltmanns as well as her daughter Emily.  We’ve also work in the summers/breaks with Olivia Oltmanns and Sam Kazantsev.

Liza: Yes, Trudy Oltmanns is our amazing coach. We also train with her daughter, Emily Oltmanns, throughout the day. I previously lived in California, so I moved to Minnesota and currently stay with an amazing host family. Moving to Minnesota and living without my family has been challenging, but rewarding in so many ways. Living with my host family and my three host “siblings” has made the transition significantly easier, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them. This experience has helped me become more independent and adaptable, which I am grateful for.

Mitchell: Our programs were created and choreographed by our coach, Trudy. We also worked with her daughter, Olivia. I also had worked with Alex Aldridge prior to partnering with Liza and we have taken that inspiration in choreographing our programs. We also work weekly with our ballroom dance teachers, Gene and Elena Bersten.

Liza: Elena and Gene Bersten have trained dancers on Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and World of Dance. They worked on sections of our short program, elevating the choreography and really bringing the performance to life. Their guidance added a lot of energy and detail, not just in our movements but also in our expressions!