Sappenfield teamed up Brubaker with Keauna McLaughlin in May 2006. They were coached by Sappenfield and Lei Ina McLaughlin in Colorado Springs. The pair went undefeated in their first competitive season together (2006–07). In that season, McLaughlin and Brubaker competed on the 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and won both their events and the Junior Grand Prix Final. They went on to win the junior title at both the 2007 U.S. Championships and the 2007 World Junior Championships. McLaughlin and Brubaker were the fourth American pair team in history to win the World Junior title. Because of the age difference between McLaughlin and Brubaker, this was their only junior-age-eligible season.