NEW JUNIOR CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN NASHVILLE

The first champions were crowned Wednesday at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The second day of competition saw the conclusion of the junior men, junior pairs and junior ice dance events. 

Junior Ladies

Clare Seo (Broadmoor SC) leads the junior ladies field after the short program with 67.38 points. Her free skate opened with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and featured three Level 4 spins and a Level 4 step sequence. 

Elyce Lin-Gracey (Pasadena FSC) is in second place with 62.53 points. She earned

all positive grades of execution and Level 4 on four elements in her short program. Lin-Gracey earned an invitation to compete in the junior competition based on her placement at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series presented by Toyota at the novice level. 

Josephine Lee (All Year FSC) finished third after the short program with 60.61 points. Her program featured a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and two Level 4 spins. 

Ava Ziegler (SC of New York) is in fourth with 60.24 points.

The junior ladies competition concludes tomorrow with the free skate.

Junior Men

Kai Kovar (Wasatch FSC) took the junior men’s title Wednesday afternoon with 204.68 points. He opened his free skate with a triple Axel-double toe loop combination and earned Level 4 on three elements to score 135.98. 

Will Annis (SC of Boston) took home the silver medal with 202.87 total points. He opened his 127.06-point free skate with a quad toe loop followed by two triple Axels – one in combination. Annis also earned Level 4 on three elements. 

Maxim Zharkov (Dallas FSC) captured the bronze medal with 188.15 total points. His free skate, which opened with a strong quad toe loop, earned 121.08 points. 

Joseph Klein (Skokie Valley SC) earned the pewter medal with 176.97 total points. 

Junior Pairs

Sonia Baram (Los Angeles FSC) and Daniel Tioumentsev (Dallas FSC) captured the junior pairs title with 171.36 total points. The tandem earned positive grades of execution on all but one element to earn a segment score of 109.10. 

Isabelle Martins (Chicago FSC) and Ryan Bedard (Northern Ice SC) took the silver medal with 144.71 total points. The team scored 89.82 points in their free skate, which featured a Level 4 lift.

Catherine Rivers (Knoxville FSC) and Timmy Chapman (Central Florida FSC) earned bronze with 130.75 total points. The duo earned Level 4 on a lift and their combination spin, helping them score 85.05 points in the free skate. 

Megan Wessenberg (SC of Boston) and Blake Eisenach (Rocky Mountain FSC) grabbed the pewter medal with 129.09 points. 

Junior Dance

Leah Neset and Artem Markelov (Magic City FSC) captured the junior ice dance title with 155.84 total points. Their free dance featured five Level 4 elements, including the twizzles, helping them score 91.53 points. 

Angela Ling (Peninsula SC) and Caleb Wein (Washington FSC) took the silver medal with 153.58 total points. Their 88.59-point free dance featured four Level 4 elements and all positive grades of execution.

Nashville natives Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal (Scott Hamilton SC) earned the bronze medal with 140.67 total points. The sibling tandem completed four Level 4 elements in their free dance to score 85.73 points. 

Vanessa Pham (SC of Houston) and Jonathan Rogers (Texas Gulf Coast FSC) claimed the pewter medal with 140.08 total points. 

The junior dance competition concluded today’s events at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Competition continues tomorrow with the junior ladies free skate, and the championship-level events kick off with the pairs and ladies short program.

Fans can watch the junior competition live and on-demand on Peacock Premiu and follow along from home on the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships Virtual Fan Experience