U.S. Men 2023-24 news & updates

[Sylvia]

Aleksandr Fegan, 13 (born in 2010 so too young for 2024 YOG) will make his debut in the final JGP in Yerevan. He now has the 4th highest NQS total score in the Junior men's standings - 196.34 total and 126.74 in the FS at Middle Atlantics 2 weekends ago (he kept his POTO music from last season - Mids FS Bolero SP video shared by him): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxRoDw0LrkI/

... It [Mids] was a very competitive event (Patrick Blackwell in 5th place landed 3A cleanly in both programs) -- Aleksandr "Sasha" Fegan, who will make his JGP debut at #7 in Armenia, shared this reel video of podium photos (""Proud to have taken home the Silver in a hard fought NQS Middle Atlantics this weekend. Scored my Personal Best of 196.34."): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxCUdcuO056/
Bronze went to "Happy Kirk" Haugeto (189.67) and 4th place to Lucius Kazanecki (181.88), both of whom debuted on the JGP last year.
Sasha's younger brother, Filip, won Juvenile Boys group B at Middle Atlantics, and is pictured with Sasha in the final 2 podium pics of the video.
The funny podium pic of an upside down Kirk -- with his legs being supported by Jacob and Lucius -- also can be seen here (shared by a Japanese fan with Sasha's permission): https://twitter.com/kote1102/status/1700720191343309173

 

[moonvine]

Liam Kapeikis has been assigned to Finlandia - no substitutes listed.

What is with USFS not naming substitutes?

 

[moonvine]

Anna spoke with Jimmy Ma at Cranberry Cup International last month - this article was timed to be published before he competes at CS Autumn Classic this week in Pierrefonds, Quebec:

Jimmy Ma on his reinvigorated passion for skating

The off-season was great as a mental reset for veteran American skater Jimmy Ma. Jimmy Ma made a last-minute decision to enter the Cranberry Cup International.

anythinggoe.com

My man!

 

[moonvine]

Any news of Mitchell Friess?

 

[Sylvia]

19 Senior men have competed in an NQS and/or a non-qualifying comp. (Cranberry Open FS only by Naumov - he is scheduled for CS Nepela). Yet to compete: Brown (has a bye to Nationals), Hiwatashi, Matthew Nielsen and Mitchell Friess have, AFAIK, not competed yet of those who were at 2023 Nationals and have not retired (such as Joonsoo Kim who has started medical school at Johns Hopkins).

 

[moonvine]

19 Senior men have competed in an NQS and/or a non-qualifying comp. (Cranberry Open FS only by Naumov - he is scheduled for CS Nepela). Yet to compete: Brown (has a bye to Nationals), Hiwatashi, Matthew Nielsen and Mitchell Friess have, AFAIK, not competed yet of those who were at 2023 Nationals and have not retired (such as Joonsoo Kim who has started medical school at Johns Hopkins).

Thank you. I'm glad Mitchell has not retired. He had such a rough go at Nationals last year after doing fairly well the year before.

 

[Sylvia]

I don't know if Friess plans to compete this season. We'll know by early October in the coming weeks (when entries become known for the final 3 4 NQS comps for singles).

 

[ice coverage]

19 Senior men have competed in an NQS and/or a non-qualifying comp. (Cranberry Open FS only by Naumov - he is scheduled for CS Nepela). Yet to compete: Brown (has a bye to Nationals), Hiwatashi, Matthew Nielsen and Mitchell Friess have, AFAIK, not competed yet of those who were at 2023 Nationals and have not retired (such as Joonsoo Kim who has started medical school at Johns Hopkins).

Is Dinh Tran another one who has not competed yet this season, even in non-NQS event?

I know he was a full-time college student when he was competing last season, but AFAIK, he has not made any public announcement of retirement -- or did I miss something?

I will be sad if he is not at Nats again.

 

[Sylvia]

Is Dinh Tran another one who has not competed yet this season, even in non-NQS event?

You're right - Tran WD from Glacier Falls NQS (and Nielsen as well). Thanks for the correction!

 

[Karen-W]

Is Dinh Tran another one who has not competed yet this season, even in non-NQS event?

I know he was a full-time college student when he was competing last season, but AFAIK, he has not made any public announcement of retirement -- or did I miss something?

I will be sad if he is not at Nats again.

The other one I'm wondering about is Robert Yampolsky. He could compete either junior or senior, but he hasn't competed at all yet and I'm wondering if we'll see him this season.

 

[moonvine]

I don't know if Friess plans to compete this season. We'll know by early October (when entries become known for the final 3 NQS comps).

Well, I can have hope!

 

[ice coverage]

Speaking of missing someone at Nats ... now seems like an appropriate time for me to give thanks to (and for) the inspiring Sebastien Payannet , a lovely performer who was one of my favorites from Nats in previous years -- most recently in 2022.
He had continued to compete even after starting a full-time career some years ago in a field completely unrelated to skating.

I'm in tears again as I re-read his heartfelt retirement post from a few weeks ago, and look through the accompanying photos/videos.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwTR7X7RkHx/ (Aug 23, 2023)​

ETA:​

A sample of Sebastien's movement quality from his 2019 Nats FS can be seen at link below.​

(Although the video is low-res, it still "speaks" to me. ​

And I like that the commentary [from Michael Weiss, I think?] is about Sebastien's passion for the sport.)​

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtJu5wln5Ox/​

 

[mtnskater]

Thanks for posting this about Sebastien!! I have skated with him on the same freestyles during the holidays at my rink in Denver when he comes to visit his parents. I love telling him what a fan I am and what an amazing skater he is. He is always so friendly and gracious. He will be missed at Nationals, but I hope he will still skate when he comes to Denver.

 

[Sylvia]

Thank you for posting about Sebastien Payannet, @ice coverage! I enjoyed watching his skating and expressiveness on the ice. His final Nationals (plus 5 more at the senior level, 2015-2019) was Nashville 2022 where he placed 13th.
He talked about balancing skating, his personal life, and professional career as a lighting designer in a July 2022 podcast episode (available on other platforms) - worth listening to, IMO :

LytePod: Sebastien Payannet - Competing in Life, Light, + Sports on Apple Podcasts

Show LytePod, Ep Sebastien Payannet - Competing in Life, Light, + Sports - Jul 14, 2022

podcasts.apple.com

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an athlete competing at the international level against Olympic champions? Now imagine living that dream — while ALSO climbing the career ladder as a rising star in the field of lighting design. That sums up a day in the life of Sebastien Payannet, international [Sylvia's note: he never competed internationally] men's figure skating superstar and senior lighting designer at Oculus Light Studio. Join us as Sebastien talks about the similarities and differences between these two major parts of his world, and gives us his take on the mindset and discipline it takes to achieve big dreams.

 

[Garden Kitty]

... and have not retired (such as Joonsoo Kim who has started medical school at Johns Hopkins).

Well I guess that's a good fall back plan.

 

[Sylvia]

@moonvine I heard back from Mitchell Friess who said he is not planning to compete this season. He is "finishing up a Master's degree right now [and is] still skating and recently started coaching at the Yorba Linda rink in California."

 

[moonvine]

@moonvine I heard back from Mitchell Friess who said he is not planning to compete this season. He is "finishing up a Master's degree right now [and is] still skating and recently started coaching at the Yorba Linda rink in California."

Thanks for letting me know, I guess I can hope to see him skate another season? He's leaving the door open?

I believe you had interviewed him a few years ago and he said that going to school and skating at the same time had made both things worse/harder?

 

[Sylvia]

Anna Kellar's article on Lucas Broussard (she spoke with him at Cranberry Cup last month), published before he makes his ISU Challenger Series debut at Nebelhorn Trophy tomorrow where his goal will be “to showcase the components of my new programs to the best of my ability.”:

Lucas Broussard Seeks Balance in Skating, School, and Health

US junior champion Lucas Broussard is starting his first senior season after a challenging summer.

anythinggoe.com

Excerpts:

Unusually for an elite skater, Lucas still goes to school full-time in a regular high school, and skates before or after classes. “I just make sure to do all my homework. Really, I just sit there and I tell myself, ‘If I don’t do this homework, the world is going to collapse,’ basically. I really can’t get behind. And thus far, it’s been fine. And I hope in junior year it’ll be okay too. I’ve been doing my SAT stuff over the summer, too. Hopefully, that’ll be done before starting junior spring.”
Lucas shared later that, since school started, he’s found that his junior year, being more academically rigorous, has been challenging. “I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed. The balance I’ve kept between school, skating, and my health will be challenging to keep up this year, so I’m also aiming to continue skating while maintaining my school life and health.”

Re. his first Champs Camp experience:

However, because it was my first time being in a training environment with the senior Team USA athlete team, I was pretty intimidated. Overall, the experience was very helpful, and one thing I’ve learned is to take everything with a grain of salt.”
He also received feedback on his jump content, and will be scaling back a little for his next competition. “We thought it would be best to remove one quad toe in the long for the time being. Additionally, at Champs Camp, one piece of feedback I received was to just do a double axel in the short and focus on the quad toe, so that’s the plan for now.”

ETA that Absolute Skating's Instagram stories show clips of Broussard landing 4T+2T 3 times in practices on Wednesday in Oberstdorf. He drew first to skate in the SP.

 

[ice coverage]

Excerpt from informative new article on Ilia Malinin by @clairecloutier, reporting from Autumn Classic in Montreal:

"... Malinin is now taking college classes at George Mason University in Virginia. This semester, he has an online math class and an on-campus dance class.​

“It’s thirty minutes away from my house, so it’s pretty convenient for me,” Malinin said. “I go to school in the morning. The class I’m taking is a modern and contemporary dance class. So it’s also helping me with skating, learning how to improvise a lot better, and with flexibility, balance, and coordination.” "​

Ilia Malinin: New Look for a New Season

A year ago this month, Ilia Malinin jumped into figure skating history when he landed the first-ever quadruple Axel in Lake Placid, NY. The skating world was stunned by his feat, which made interna…

adivinesport.com

Quick comment on NQS:

... Jordan Moeller is competing at this week's Minnesota L'Etoile du Nord Challenge. ​

For his second NQS this season, Jordan Moeller is listed in starting order for this week's Broadmoor Fall Classic.
Other entries in Senior Men: Joe Klein ; Kai Kovar; Ian Kang.
Entries in Junior Men: Patrick Blackwell; Zachary LoPinto; Nicholas Brooks; Jon Maravilla (also entered in Junior Pairs).

 

[Karen-W]

Tomoki has been assigned to Budapest Trophy, so one has to assume he'll show up at one of the last NQS competitions in a couple weeks.

 

[haribobo]

US MEN Top 5 ISU SB International Scores as of 9/23/23

Ilia Malinin 281 Autumn Classic
Andrew Torgashev 233 Lombardia
Lucas Broussard 216 Nebelhorn
Beck Strommer 210 JGP Austria
Camden Pulkinen 210 Lombardia

Still to compete on JR/JGP- Aleksandr Fegan
Still to compete Senior (for ISU SB)- Maxim Naumov, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Liam Kapeikis

 

[ice coverage]

US MEN Top 5 International Scores as of 9/23/23

Ilia Malinin 281 Autumn Classic
Andrew Torgashev 233 Lombardia
Lucas Broussard 216 Nebelhorn
Beck Strommer 210 JGP Austria
Camden Pulkinen 210 Lombardia

Still to compete on JR/JGP- Aleksandr Fegan
Still to compete Senior (for ISU SB)- Maxim Naumov, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Liam Kapeikis

It would be more helpful if you labeled your list correctly as Top 5 ISU SBs.

As discussed in other threads, it is inaccurate to label your lists as "Top 5 International Scores."
Jimmy Ma scored 222.49 at Cranberry Cup international.

 

[Sylvia]

Top 5 U.S. men's total scores at Cranberry Cup International in August 2023 (will add NQS top Senior scores later):

3 Jimmy MA USA 222.49 1 3
6 Liam KAPEIKIS USA 193.39 3 9
7 Daniil MURZIN USA 188.40 12 6
8 Maxim ZHARKOV USA 187.01 10 7
9 Will ANNIS USA 186.95 4 13

ETA current top 8 Senior Men NQS total scores:

Kai Kovar 222.97
Yaroslav Paniot 218.87
Maxim Zharkov, 213.91
Goku Endo 213.63
Joseph Klein 212.22
Emmanuel Savary 207.09
Liam Kapeikis 201.46
Eric Sjoberg 196.25

ETA #2 - Good job by Lucas Broussard who improved from 174.31/14th place in his senior international debut at Cranberry Cup last month to 216.10 and 4th place in his CS debut at Nebelhorn Trophy! He performed in the Gala today and skated very well to his Tango SP from last season - the audience gave him a nice round of applause afterwards.

 

[Rukia]

US MEN Top 5 International Scores as of 9/23/23

Ilia Malinin 281 Autumn Classic
Andrew Torgashev 233 Lombardia

stop the count

 

[ice coverage]

Tomoki has been assigned to Budapest Trophy, so one has to assume he'll show up at one of the last NQS competitions in a couple weeks.

FWIW: I just reminded myself that assuming Tomoki really completes the competition at Budapest Trophy (does not withdraw), he will earn a bye to Sectionals.
So it would be safer for him to compete at an NQS, but if for some reason he does not, things still could work out for him to advance to Sectionals and then to Nats.
(I know that regardless of advancement, an NQS also would be a good opportunity to start getting mileage and judging on his programs. Especially since he was not at Champs Camp this year.)

 

[jlai]

which sectional would that be? It may not be a very deep field there.

Tomoki has been assigned to Budapest Trophy, so one has to assume he'll show up at one of the last NQS competitions in a couple weeks.

Is that a prerequisite for international assignments?

 

[ice coverage]

which sectional would that be? It may not be a very deep field there. ...

Assuming Tomoki's long-standing membership in DuPage FSC still is in effect, he would compete at Midwestern Sectionals.

Senior men at last season's Midwesterns included: Daniel Martynov, Matthew Nielsen (who has not competed yet in this season's NQS*), Joe Klein, Maxim Zharkov, Nathan Chapple.
Plus Jordan Moeller has competed in this season's NQS.

ETA:​

*But it's still possible that Nielsen will show up at one of the final NQS events of the year, such as L.A. Autumn Classic.​

 

[sk9tingfan]

Isabeau Levito and Lucas Broussard are co-listing each other as coaches on their ISU profiles! Really cute! I sense extreme like...

Figure Skating Memes on Instagram: "The updated bios for @isabeau.levito and @lucasd.b_ following Nebelhorn trophy #figureskating #patinacaoartistica #patinageartistique #pattinaggioartistico #eiskunstlauf #isu #nebelhorntrophy2023 #teamusa #teamle

657 likes, 8 comments - figureskatingmemes_ on September 24, 2023: "The updated bios for @isabeau.levito and @lucasd.b_ following Nebelhorn trophy #figureskating #patinacaoartistica #patinageartistique #...".

www.instagram.com

 

[Karen-W]

Isabeau Levito and Lucas Broussard are co-listing each other as coaches on their ISU profiles! Really cute! I sense extreme like...

Figure Skating Memes on Instagram: "The updated bios for @isabeau.levito and @lucasd.b_ following Nebelhorn trophy #figureskating #patinacaoartistica #patinageartistique #pattinaggioartistico #eiskunstlauf #isu #nebelhorntrophy2023 #teamusa #teamle

657 likes, 8 comments - figureskatingmemes_ on September 24, 2023: "The updated bios for @isabeau.levito and @lucasd.b_ following Nebelhorn trophy #figureskating #patinacaoartistica #patinageartistique #...".

www.instagram.com

No, they aren't. Someone's having fun with PaintShop Pro.

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111287.htm

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111284.htm

 

[Sylvia]

Isabeau Levito and Lucas Broussard ...

For context : @Wyliefan first posted this video in the Nebelhorn Trophy general info thread in Kiss & Cry (from Saturday's exhibition): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxjHwvFLRFX/