Names Brooke Castile and Benjamin Okolski Coach Johnny Johns Choreographer Marina Zoueva Home Club Arctic Figure Skating Club Training Facility Arctic Edge Training Town Canton, Michigan

It took some convincing for Brooke Castile to try pair skating.

"I had been asked for several years by several different guys to pair skate while I was still competing in singles," Brooke said. "I had said no time after time because I wasn't ready for a change or the kind of commitment."

But in the months following the Midwestern Sectional Championships in November 2001, where she finished eighth in novice ladies, Brooke decided she was ready to make the commitment to longtime friend Benjamin Okolski, who skated pairs with sister Colleen.

"At the 2001 Midwestern Sectionals I had a terrible competition and was feeling low about skating," she said. "Ben had approached me about skating with him.  Ben and I were friends for years before this and I was finally ready for a change."

After competing at club events in summer 2002, Brooke and Ben made their international debut at the 2002 Junior Grand Prix event in Scottsdale, Ariz., where they finished sixth.

The team also finished second in at the Eastern Great Lakes Regional, won the silver medal Midwestern Sectional and placed sixth at the U.S. Championships in junior pairs during their first season together.

In their second season, Brooke and Ben finished fourth at the Junior Grand Prix competition in Sofia, Bulgaria. The pair followed it with their first international medal, a bronze at the Junior Grand Prix in Okaya City, Japan.

The team also finished first at the Midwestern Sectional. At the U.S. Championships, Brooke and Ben won the junior pairs short program with an artistic performance to "Ave Maria," despite being the first skaters to take the ice.

"I was nervous because of starting off first," Ben said after the short program. "I don't like starting off first, and we always get stuck that way."

After a second place finish in the free skate, Brooke and Ben were awarded their first medal from the U.S. Championship, a silver.

Based on their second place finish, Brooke and Ben were also selected to compete at the 2004 World Junior Championship. The pair placed ninth.

Brooke and Ben made a successful transition from junior pairs to senior pairs the following season. In their last events as juniors, the pair placed fifth at Junior Grand Prix China and third at Junior Grand Prix France.

As seniors, the team finished third at the Midwestern Sectional and seventh at the 2005 U.S. Championships. They also made their senior international debut by placing seventh at the Four Continents Championships.

The following year, the team competed for the first time on the senior Grand Prix. They finished sixth at 2005 Trophee Eric and eighth at Cup of Russia before settling for eighth at the U.S. Championships.

After 2006 nationals, Brooke and Ben switched coaches from Joe Mero at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club in Ann Arbor, Mich., to Johnny Johns at the Arctic Edge club in Canton, Mich. Johns coached Olympians Marcy Hinzmann and Aaron Parchem.

"It's a lot more comfortable where we are now (in Canton)," Ben said. "We have a lot of skaters who skate at a very high level, and it helps us to train harder and more consistently than we have had in the past."

The move proved to be successful for the pair. Early in the season, Brooke and Ben won the gold at the international Nebelhorn Trophy before taking the silver medal at the Midwestern Sectional.

But the best was yet to come for the pair.

Skating to Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond in the short program at the 2007 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Wash., Brooke and Ben executed an excellent a triple twist and throw triple Salchow. The near flawless program put the team in third.

Two days later, Brooke and Ben became the 2007 U.S. Champions.

"It still hasn't sunk in," Ben said after learning the team won.

"This is unbelievable," Brooke added. "It feels great."

Skating to Requiem for a Dream, the eventual champions started strong with a spectacular split triple twist followed by a solid throw triple Salchow, en route to a personal best 118.63 points.

Brooke and Ben, who received only one negative grade of execution, also landed side-by-side double Axel-double toe sequences before nailing a throw triple loop and side-by-side double toe loops.

"It was everything we wanted to do today, and we skated nice and strong," Brooke said. "It felt great to skate like that at nationals. It's like my dream, it felt really good."

It was the best performance the pair skated all season.

"It's kind of hard to describe because you hope to skate well but it all goes by so fast that you don't pay attention," Ben said. "It just happens and you feel good afterward."

For Brooke, winning the national title with a personal best was like living a dream.

"The most defining moment in my career was skating a flawless program, and getting a standing ovation, to win the national title this year," she said. "I have been picturing that moment in my head my whole life, and to actually live it is beyond words."

With a win at the U.S. Championships followed by a fifth place finish at the 2007 Four Continents, and a 12th place debut at the World Championships, Brooke and Ben have established themselves as skaters to watch on the road to the 2010 Olympic Games.

"We just want to go as far as we can," Brooke said.