2026 US Nationals Men's Free Skate "It's Raining Menning"

[peibeck]

Start orders and results are here:

2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Championship Men - Free Skating

ijs.usfigureskating.org

Skater bios and music, courtesy of @Sylvia:

MEN (listed from youngest to oldest; I've included most recent results for the 10 skaters who competed at Sectionals + Sanchez)

Lucius Kazanecki DOB | April 21, 2008 HOMETOWN | Bethesda, Md. TRAINING TOWN | Reston, Va. CLUB | Washington FSC COACHES | Tatyana Malinina, Roman Skorniakov CHOREOGRAPHERS | Jimmie Manners, Nina Petrenko SP MUSIC | “Interstellar” by Hans Zimmer and Dorian Marko FS MUSIC | “Adios Nonino” by Forever Tango
2025 Junior Grand Prix Final, 3rd; 2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final, 2nd [had a bye & elected to compete]; 2025 JGP Abu Dhabi, 1st; 2025 JGP Ankara, 3rd

Lorenzo Elano [SR DEBUT] DOB | Nov. 13, 2007 HOMETOWN | Chicago, Ill. TRAINING TOWN | Buffalo Grove, Ill. CLUB | Skokie Valley SC COACHES | Jeremy Allen, Denise Myers, Tommy Steenberg CHOREOGRAPHER | Tommy Steenberg SP MUSIC | ”Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” performed by Eddie Redmayne FS MUSIC | “Revenge” and “Wayward Sisters” from the Nocturnal Animals soundtrack and “No Coward Soul Is Mine” from the Emily soundtrack, both by Abel Korzeniowski
2025 Tallinn Trophy, Junior 2nd; 2026 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final, 1st; 2025 Tayside Trophy, Dundee, Junior 1st; 2025 JGP Riga, 9th

Jacob Sanchez DOB | April 23, 2007 HOMETOWN | Montgomery, N.Y. TRAINING TOWN | Newburgh, N.Y. CLUB | Hudson Valley FSC COACHES | Oleg Makarov, Larisa Selezneva, Patch David CHOREOGRAPHER | Adam Blake SP MUSIC | “Les parapluies de Cherbourg” by Mario Pelchat and Michel Legrand FS MUSIC “Mercy Duet,” “Mercy Voiceless,” “Refuge” by Max Richter and Ros Stephen
2025 IceChallenge, Graz, 2nd; 2025 Cup of China (GP debut), 7th; 2025 CS Nepela Memorial, 6th; 2025 CS Cranberry Cup, 5th

Daniel Martynov DOB | April 12, 2006 HOMETOWN | Naperville, Ill. TRAINING TOWN | North York, Ontario, Canada CLUB | Great Lakes FSC COACHES | Tracy Wilson, Brian Orser CHOREOGRAPHERS | Florent Amodio, Artem Fedorchenko SP MUSIC | “Formidable” by Stromae FS MUSIC | “La Passione” by Laurent Perez Del Mar & Paul Gaugler
2026 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final, 2nd; 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy, 7th; 2025 CS Cranberry Cup, 16th

Kai Kovar DOB | March 5, 2006 HOMETOWN | Ogden, Utah TRAINING TOWN | Colorado Springs, Colo. CLUB | Broadmoor SC COACHES | Tammy Gambill, Amanda Kovar, Karel Kovar CHOREOGRAPHER | Silvia Fontana SP MUSIC | “Ameksa” by Taalbi Brothers FS MUSIC | “Forgotten Odes Melody” by Eternal Eclipse
2026 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final, 3rd; 2025 Tayside Trophy, Dundee, 4th; 2025 CS Cranberry Cup, 12th

Michael Xie DOB | June 14, 2005 HOMETOWN | Camas, Wash. TRAINING TOWN | Oakland, Calif. CLUB | SC of San Francisco COACHES | Mari Malama, Nani Tanaka CHOREOGRAPHER | Mari Malama SP MUSIC | “Never Enough” by Loren Allred FS MUSIC | “Carlotta, “Falls,” “Asuncion,” “Nella Fantasia” by Ennio Morricone and Il Volo
2026 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final, 3rd; 2025 Tayside Trophy, Dundee, 3rd; 2025 Robin Cousins Cup, 2nd

Will Annis DOB | Jan. 13, 2005 HOMETOWN | Duxbury, Mass. TRAINING TOWN | Norwood, Mass. CLUB | SC of Boston COACHES | Olga Ganicheva and Aleksey Letov CHOREOGRAPHER | Renée Roca SP MUSIC | “Fallin” by SERYO FS MUSIC | “The Truman Show” by Philip Glass and “My Tears Are Becoming A Sea” by M83
2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final, 3rd

Ilia Malinin DOB | Dec. 2, 2004 HOMETOWN | Vienna, Va. TRAINING TOWN | Reston, Va CLUB | Washington FSC COACHES | Roman Skornyakov, Tatyana Malinina, Rafael Arutyunyan CHOREOGRAPHER | Shae-Lynn Bourne SP MUSIC | “Dies Irae” by Náttúra featuring Vila and “The Lost Crown” by 2WEI, Josnez and Kataem FS MUSIC | “The Ball” by Asaf Avidan, “The Smell of the Sea” by Alan Mayer, “Code Duello” by Power-Haus and Sergiu-Dan Muresan

Liam Kapeikis DOB | June 28, 2004 HOMETOWN | Blaine, Wash. TRAINING TOWN | Richmond, British Columbia CLUB | Wenatchee FSC COACHES | Keegan Murphy, Louise Kapeikis CHOREOGRAPHER | Joey Russell SP MUSIC | “Unchained Melody” by Boyce Avenue FS MUSIC | Music from the Dragon Heart soundtrack by Randy Edelman

Samuel Mindra DOB | June 13, 2003 HOMETOWN | Portland, Ore. TRAINING TOWN | Seattle, Wash. CLUB | Carousel FSC COACHES | Mari Malama, Nani Tanaka CHOREOGRAPHERS | Mari Malama, Samuel Mindra SP MUSIC | “Spirits” by Chronis Taxidis, “It’s Time to Play” by Uzunov FS MUSIC | “A Ciascuno Il Suo (Suite)” by Luis Bacalov, “Che Vuole Questa Musica Stasera” by Armando Trovajoli and Peppino Gagliardi arranged by Karl Hugo & Hugo Chouinard
2026 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final, 2nd; 2025 Robin Cousins Cup, Sheffield, 3rd

Goku Endo DOB | May 20, 2003 HOMETOWN | Harbor City, Calif. TRAINING TOWN | Los Angeles, Calif. CLUB | Los Angeles FSC COACHES | Amy Evidente, Jonathan Cassar, Tyler Poor, Wendy Olsen CHOREOGRAPHER | Mari Malama SP MUSIC | “Kaneda’s Theme” (from “Akira”) by Geinoh Yamashirogumi (Remix by Solidseeker) FS MUSIC | “Golden Butterflies” by Ludovico Einaudi and “Where’s My Love” by SYML
2026 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final, 1st; 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup, 12th

Ken Mikawa (1st alternate/replaced Pulkinen; SR DEBUT) DOB | October 16, 2002 HOMETOWN | Richmond, Va. TRAINING TOWN | Richmond, Va. CLUB | Richmond FSC COACHES | Lea Hizer, Tracey Solomons Henn CHOREOGRAPHER | Tracey Solomons Henn SP MUSIC | “I'd Do Anything For Love (But Not That)" by Meatloaf FS MUSIC | Nica's Theme, The Tear Maker (from The Tearsmith soundtrack) by Andrea Farri
2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final, 4th

Maxim Naumov DOB | Aug. 1, 2001 HOMETOWN | Norwood, Mass. TRAINING TOWN | Norwood, Mass. CLUB | SC of Boston COACHES | Vladamir Petrenko, Ludmila Bogdan CHOREOGRAPHER | Benoît Richaud SP MUSIC | “Nocturne No. 20” by Frédéric Chopin FS MUSIC | “In This Shirt” by The Irrepressibles

Andrew Torgashev DOB | May 29, 2001 HOMETOWN | Coral Springs, Fla. TRAINING TOWN | Irvine, Calif. CLUB | Panthers FSC COACHES | Brandon Frazier, Rafael Arutyunyan CHOREOGRAPHERS | Nadia Kanaeva, Shae-Lynn Bourne SP MUSIC | “Maybe I Maybe You” by Scorpions FS MUSIC | “Oratores” and “Good News” by Apashe and “This Place was a Shelter” by Ólafur Arnalds

Tomoki Hiwatashi DOB | Jan. 20, 2000 HOMETOWN | Hoffman Estates, Ill. TRAINING TOWN | Uji, Japan CLUB | DuPage FSC COACHES | Mie Hamada, Hiroaki Sato, Satsuki Muramoto CHOREOGRAPHERS | Cathy Reed, Misha Ge SP MUSIC | “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd FS MUSIC | “Creep” by Vincent Cannady

Emmanuel Savary DOB | Jan. 6, 1998 HOMETOWN | Wilmington, Del. TRAINING TOWN | Wilmington, Del. CLUB | University of Delaware COACHES | Viktor Pfeifer, Peter Liu CHOREOGRAPHER | Emmanuel Savary SP MUSIC | “La Mulateada” by Fernando Serrano and “Tango Negro” by Juan Carlos Caceres FS MUSIC | “Saturn” by Sleeping At Last
2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final, 1st; 2025 Tayside Trophy, Dundee, Scotland, 6th; (last spring) 2025 Maria Olszewska Memorial, Lodz, Poland, 3rd

Jimmy Ma DOB | Oct. 11, 1995 HOMETOWN | Great Neck, N.Y. TRAINING TOWN | Norwood, Mass. CLUB | SC of Boston COACHES | Olga Ganicheva, Aleksey Letov, Nikolai Morozov CHOREOGRAPHER | Nikolai Morozov SP MUSIC | “The Firebird Suite (Excerpt)” by Isakson Foundation Music Collective and “Witchdoctor” by Camo & Krooked FS MUSIC | “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Piano Dust Covers, “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls and “Macho Man” and “Y.M.C.A.” by Village People

Jason Brown DOB | Dec. 15, 1994 HOMETOWN | Highland Park, Ill. TRAINING TOWN | Toronto, Canada CLUB | Skokie Valley SC COACH | Tracy Wilson CHOREOGRAPHER | Rohene Ward SP MUSIC | “Reel Around the Sun” by Bill Whelan FS MUSIC | “Say Something (A Great Big World) | Mahogany Session” by Jacob Banks

 

[Debbie S]

@peibeck You need to do all the PBP thread titles from now on.

 

[peibeck]

Savary just hit a nice 4s in the warm up

 

[tangerine dream]

Now I begin the search for Starr's future pairs partner.

In this group probably only Xie and Savary are tall enough.

 

[Braulio]

Has it started on Peacock?

 

[beckab81]

Has it started on Peacock?

Yep, it has it's own tile.

 

[MacMadame]

Has it started on Peacock?

Yes. Ashley just said landing jump is critical. Good to know.

 

[Carolla5501]

Ok I really try not to complain about costumes but….Ken, why Those are incredibly unflattering pants

 

[beckab81]

I can't imagine finally making it to Nationals and having your boots break down to the point that you decide to skate in completely new ones. Wild!

 

[tangerine dream]

Ok I really try not to complain about costumes but….Ken, why Those are incredibly unflattering pants

I'm sure they look better with black boots. The white just totally cuts his line off.

 

[MacMadame]

Nobody could rustle up some black boot covers for him?

ETA or purple?

 

[PRlady]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy in white boots.

 

[Karen-W]

Ok I really try not to complain about costumes but….Ken, why Those are incredibly unflattering pants

I'm sure they look better with black boots. The white just totally cuts his line off.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

[tangerine dream]

I can't imagine finally making it to Nationals and having your boots break down to the point that you decide to skate in completely new ones. Wild!

In a way it shows how important making it to Nationals was for him, he just wants to compete, no matter what it takes or what it looks like. It will be a great story to tell in the future.

 

[Carolla5501]

I'm sure they look better with black boots. The white just totally cuts his line off.

No they don’t fit

They are baggy in the legs and rear

It’s like they were supposed to be tight like tights, but didn’t quite make it and they don’t really look like regular pants either

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

I don’t hate the white boots. It matches the costume

 

[slicekw]

Ken’s a small guy, I guess they only had white boots. Crazy that he didn’t take care of boots last month.

 

[peibeck]

Hard enough to get the last minute call, but in new boots too? Tough.

 

[just tuned in]

Holy cow, Ken M is in white skates. JLB told us that yesterday, but he had black boot covers yesterday.

The puffy shoulders on his shirt make him look hunchy. With the loose purple pants, the effect is like Valentine's Day pajamas.

 

[MacMadame]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy in white boots.

My 8th grade class had a field trip to the local rink that had just opened up and my bf showed up with his aunt's skates. [I guess he couldn't afford rentals?]

I've seen it since then but it's pretty rare. Women in black skates are more common.

 

[flyingsit]

Ken’s a small guy, I guess they only had white boots. Crazy that he didn’t take care of boots last month.

He just found out he was coming to nationals about 10 days ago

 

[tangerine dream]

Ken’s a small guy, I guess they only had white boots. Crazy that he didn’t take care of boots last month.

Well he wasn't expecting to be at Nationals last month. Maybe finances are tight, who knows.

 

[MacMadame]

And I think Ashley is wrong about boot covers. I've worn them and not worn them and never noticed much of a difference.

 

[Aceon6]

Ken’s a small guy, I guess they only had white boots. Crazy that he didn’t take care of boots last month.

He didn’t think he was going. He ordered new black ones, but it’s a special order in his size. So white is all they had for immediate delivery. He had boot covers, but maybe thought that the covers looked weird with the costume..

 

[Karen-W]

Only Ashley would call a 3s+2t in the men's event a "fabulous combo!"

 

[petro]

I feel like Will could be a decent pairs skater, with an equally short partner who has a lot of personality he can just present and let be the star.

 

[just tuned in]

I feel like Will could be a decent pairs skater, with an equally short partner who has a lot of personality he can just present and let be the star.

Sprint football.

 

[peibeck]

Far from perfect, but that's one of the best free's Will Annis has done at Nationals, so good for him.

 

[skipaway]

I feel like Will could be a decent pairs skater, with an equally short partner who has a lot of personality he can just present and let be the star.

You still have to land your jumps…

 

[MacMadame]

I feel like Will could be a decent pairs skater, with an equally short partner who has a lot of personality he can just present and let be the star.

His ISU bio says he's 5'4". I don't think there is any partner available who is short enough.