2026 U.S. Sectional Singles & Pairs/Dance Finals

[Karen-W]

Starting Orders for Easterns are up!

2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final

Event Results for 2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final

ijs.usfigureskating.org

 

[annie720]

Starting Orders for Easterns are up!

2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final

Event Results for 2026 Eastern Sectional Singles Final

ijs.usfigureskating.org

It's good to see that Zhiqi (Coco) Zhang is back. I'd given up seeing her again.

 

[Sylvia]

Lucius Kazanecki (already has a bye to Nationals as a JGP Final qualifier) is electing to compete at Easterns so the top 2 Senior men who are not Lucius should advance to Nationals.

I'm going through what was written here during last week's Pacific Coast Sectional Singles/Ice Dance Final and am hoping to post a few late comments before Easterns starts tomorrow (fingers crossed). In the meantime, here's the link to the playlist of individual Pacific Coast singles/ice dance videos (with muted and replaced music - don't know which few might still include the original music): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-CheZaoFWwQO0nm9CyWe9nKawOAWz65U

 

[haribobo]

OK so senior women having Sophie Joline, Ava, Clare, Jasmine Clarke, Erica Machida, Alex Evans, Michelle Lee, Maryn Pierce etc is pretty intense! Maybe the strongest Easterns senior women field in decades...

 

[Sylvia]

I only have the time/energy for 2 posts...

Pacific Coast Sectional Junior Men SP:

I liked Nicholas Brooks program and he scored very well with a 68.56. He seemed to be in a lot of pain at the end of the program with possibly a leg/foot injury and took several minutes to leave the ice. IIRC he has recently been dealing with an injury.

I wonder if the pain was just from his fall, or if that fall [in step sequence] exacerbated an existing injury.

After not qualifying for Nationals last year (in the dreaded 5th place), Nicholas Brooks won the Junior Men's gold this year - his post-Sectionals post: (his photos include the Junior Men's podium with Ryan Azadpour, Kirk Haugeto & Ryedin Rudedenman; Jill Watson who helped coach him in Henderson/Las Vegas & his many friends): https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ3WuoejkKB/
Excerpt in which he didn't specify if the pain was from his SP fall or a pre-existing injury:

And a very special thank you to all the Junior Men and their parents who came to me with advice, ice, and recommendations on pain cream, and for taking photos with me. I am so lucky to have you in my life - you made an extremely painful situation memorable in a positive way.

Senior Men SP:

Was that a cartwheel gone bad by Mindra?

Samuel Mindra is captivating. Did an Eastern-style number with a lot of -- I don't know... runway moves? Death drop?

Here for my man Samuel Mindra!!
Okay….fun music. He always does something different. So musically versatile.
Doubled the loop. And weird crash on the ending flip pose. Acted embarrassed and slinked off the ice.

A fan on X uploaded a clip of the mishap at the end of Samuel Mindra's's SP to which I added the link to watch his full SP at Robin Cousins Cup in late August (I'm hoping the St. Louis audience will appreciate/enjoy this fun & challenging SP like they did his "Earthquake" SP at 2023 San Jose Nationals Sr. debut): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Lv-yV4PMI

https://twitter.com/x/status/1987630433480384556

Samuel sheepishly popped his head in the kiss & cry afterwards (clip uploaded by the same fan):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1987357328132481597

Junior Men FS & final standings: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34254/CAT012SEG025.html

Just watched Kirk. I think he looked more controlled than I have seen him, his back crossovers are actually getting decent. He seems to be finally growing a bit and getting more strength. ... But I can see results from the work he is doing to improve his skating quality.
I didn’t recognize his female coach in the kiss & cry. Seems like I’ve seen him with a number of different coaches lately.

Alina Milevska is with Team Raf at Great Park Ice in Irvine, CA and she sat with Kirk in the kiss & cry. He shared a clip from the beginning of his magician-themed FS: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQzsA4gklGF/ (Kirk's final photo includes Vaclav Vasquez who finished in the dreaded 5th place this year )
Kirk ended his post: "Now I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks before I get to St. Louis for Nationals!
Keep Happy Everyone!!!!"

 

[Sylvia]

Pacific Coast Senior Women FS & final standings: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34254/CAT013SEG027.html

... And Peacock has conked out.

Unfortunately Peacock disappeared for most of Lindsay Wang's FS (her uploaded individual video is complete BUT has most of her "Invierno Porteno" violin music got muted).
As the final skater in the penultimate group before the ice resurfacing, Keira Hilbelink skated to Beauty and the Beast (think she used music from both Disney film versions?) in a yellow dress, of course. I enjoyed seeing Keira's best performance of her comeback season (she was the 2023 & 2024 U.S. Junior silver medalist) - she landed a high 3F+2T, 3Lo & 3S in the opening section - and ended up placing 3rd in the FS and 6th overall, right behind her older sister Maile who had surprisingly won the SP (3F+2T, 3S, 2A) skating to "Caruso" but had a tough FS, landing only one more triple after her opening 3Lz+2A.
Soho Lee's 2nd place "On Golden Pond" SP was one of my highlights, along with Anabel Wallace after she had skated her FS to Mandy Moore's "Only Hope" - 2 screenshots of her reaction as she realized she had just qualified for her first-ever Nationals in 2nd place behind Katie Shen: https://x.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1986541636932038841

Pacific Coast Junior Women FS and final standings: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34254/CAT014SEG029.html

Really lovely skate by Annika Chao. ETA: She LOVES her total score (193.41).

Yes, Annika's FS to "Waiting On A Wish" (Rachel Zegler) from the Snow White film was wonderful to watch (7 triples in a joyful performance) - here's a screenshot of her reaction to her big scores: https://x.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1986589773037981709
ETA that it was a cleaner FS than her Varese JGP (original music here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bUOXVFW6Ho

What happened to Michael Xie's interruption?

Michael skated over to the judges and then to his coach. The coach handed him something - maybe a cd or flash drive - I couldn't really tell. He went back to the music person and then continued skating. It seemed to me that the music issue was his fault.

Yes, apparently Michael Xie received the -3 deduction because the FS music issue (he stopped before his final 3 elements) was his fault and his 3rd place scores ended up being much lower than I expected. The next day Xie headed off to Arizona to compete in an intercollegiate team competition with his fellow UC-Berkeley skaters.
Pacific Coast Senior Men FS & final standings (winner Goku Endo landed both 3A in his FS but also had 3 pops): https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34254/CAT015SEG030.html

Re. Deych/Hu's Junior FD interruption:

Which brings me to the question of why didn't Deych/Hu get a deduction for their interruption, which went on longer than Xie's. Anyone know?

I believe the event referee allowed Ryan a 3-minute break due to his post-RD condition (it's supposedly within the rules) which is why they did not receive a deduction.

On to Easterns tomorrow! I may revisit a few more Pacific Coast highlights sometime in the future.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Re. Deych/Hu's Junior FD interruption:

I believe the event referee allowed Ryan a 3-minute break due to his post-RD condition (it's supposedly within the rules) which is why they did not receive a deduction.

The referee should have made him get off the ice. I'm still horrified by how that whole situation was handled.

 

[mtnskater]

Happened to catch a few of the Eastern Juvenile Girls free skate when I opened YouTube this morning and saw the live stream. So glad there is more sectional action. Forgotten that we still had Easterns.

Great to see Ilia’s little sister Elli. She skated very clean and everything was solid and good. Don’t think she did any triples yet. Is she 11 years old now? They are such a cute family with Tatiana and Roman in the Kiss & Cry, with Tatiana showering Elli with kisses.

I really liked the program from Scarlet(name)? In her fabulous Wonder Woman dress. Skated very aggressively and powerfully to the music…and her hair was so tiffed with a headpiece! She ran out of steam toward the end which hurt her score. But I still thought she would place higher due to the very good overall program interpretation and strong skating.

Kristin Chaisin was a litttle firecracker zooming around the ice. Impressive. I didn’t see the winner. Will have to find it later.

 

[Sylvia]

Congrats to the Easterns Juvenile Girls medalists who have qualified for the National Development Team & Camp!

GOLD Jiayi Liu, Washington FSC 57.08 (Scheherazade in red, #6 in the order), coached by Andrey Kryukov (pair skater for KAZ & AZE)
SILVER Kristin Chaisin, Ice House Of New Jersey FSC 56.32 ("Running with the Wolves" by Aurora) - fell on opening 3T but skated with speed & power throughout
BRONZE Maylin Vesce, Florida Everblades FSC 52.74 (jazzy "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing")
PEWTER Elli Beatrice Malinina, Washington FSC 52.54 (Ilia's sister , skated to the Rio film soundtracks - opening with "Don't Go Away" from Rio 2 then the well-known "Real in Rio" from the original soundtrack - and landed a clean 2A)

Results/link to protocols: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34252/CAT001SEG001.html
Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy9_m7pGQoI

ETA:

Juvenile Boys FS starting order/results: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34252/CAT002SEG002.html
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0yO5kuBAs

 

[just tuned in]

Woo-Hoo! 24 Juvenile boys! Right out of the gate, Salvatore Chen is a star!

51.18

 

[just tuned in]

Great Balls of Fire is okay but The Great Pretender is an irony song.

 

[just tuned in]

Does Emmanuel Parreno have a little spider web design carved into his hair to match his Spiderman theme?! What a cutie!

 

[just tuned in]

Scotty Hsu really built up the tension before his opening jump. Nailed it! Great interpretation to Zorro.

53.71

 

[just tuned in]

I hope that by watching all these talented kids do their rockers it will help me learn to do mine. And so much stage presence all around.

Mirai Nagasu coaches Donald Wallace.

 

[just tuned in]

Silvia and John Zimmerman are here for their son Jack.

 

[mtnskater]

Very very nice presentation from Donald Wallace. He is already looking up and out at the judges and audience, nice posture and interpretation!

Mirai Nagasu one of his coaches.

 

[mtnskater]

Sylvia and John’s son Jack is a big wow! What a firecracker, brimming with confidence and pizzaz. Another really excellent performer. Great to see!

 

[just tuned in]

Jack Z.'s program has a little bit of everything -- a little Yagudin, a half a "Raspberry," a little bit of running, and a lot of dynamism. Great job.

58.65

 

[mtnskater]

I hope that by watching all these talented kids do their rockers it will help me learn to do mine. And so much stage presence all around.

Mirai Nagasu coaches Donald Wallace.

I know…I think rockers are really hard! Learn them early!

 

[mtnskater]

Owen Ide….keep working! He did a very nice and credible interpretation of Espana Cani, even though he is clearly at an earlier technical development stage than some of the other skaters.

 

[Sylvia]

Jack Z.'s program has a little bit of everything -- a little Yagudin, a half a "Raspberry," a little bit of running, and a lot of dynamism. Great job.

58.65

Jack has improved a LOT since I last saw him - he skated to "Now We Are Free"/Gladiator, landed 2 big 2A and showcased a ton of energy throughout. He was the NQS #2 ranked Juvenile in the U.S. overall and the Eastern section (improved his scores by 3 points today) behind Christopher Pembleton who will skate last.

 

[just tuned in]

Owen Ide….keep working! He did a very nice and credible interpretation of Espana Cani, even though he is clearly at an earlier technical development stage than some of the other skaters.

Agreed. I wonder if he is also pursuing ice dance.

 

[just tuned in]

Tommy Rosenthal has a lot of ease in this program. More ice coverage that most. Will he be Intermediate next year?

 

[mtnskater]

They must have better sound technicians at East Coast Sectionals. The music is coming through loud and clear. So nice!

Really enjoyed Singin in the Rain from Tommy Rosenthal.

 

[mtnskater]

Can’t believe little bitty Greyson Aiken credibly pulled off that heavy, dramatic Mozart Requiem music. He is definitely one to watch as he develops his skating!

 

[Sylvia]

Can’t believe little bitty Greyson Aiken credibly pulled off that heavy, dramatic Mozart Requiem music. He is definitely one to watch as he develops his skating!

Mozart's Requiem by Apashe, I think? Greyson is the son of Alexander Aiken who competed at Nationals several times as a Junior - won bronze in 2011 - and competed once in Senior in 2012 before retiring.

 

[Sylvia]

It was sad to see the top ranked skater, Christopher (music was AC/DC's "Thunderstruck"), in pain from that especially painful-looking spin entry fall, rubbing his hip before fighting through the rest of his program. His face was still scrunched up in the kiss & cry. His sister Aria Pembleton finished 5th in Juvenile Girls (51.97) - both are coached by Andrey Kryukov.

Congrats to the Easterns Juvenile Boys medalists who have qualified for the National Development Team & Camp!

GOLD Jack Zimmerman, Panthers FSC 58.65 (Now We Are Free/Gladiator, coached by parents John & Silvia)
SILVER Scotty Hsu, SC of Boston 53.71 (Mask of Zorro)
BRONZE Salvatore Chen, Individual Member 51.18 (banjo "Rainbow Connection" & "Dueling Banjos")
PEWTER Donald Wallace, Elite Edge SC 50.13 (Willy Wonka film soundtrack, incl. Chalamet singing "Pure Imagination"; Mirai Nagasu was one of his coaches )

FS protocols: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34252/SEGM002.html
ETA - replay stream currently says: "This video contains content from WMG, who has blocked it on copyright grounds"

 

[Sylvia]

Novice Men SP starting order/results: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34252/CAT003SEG003.html

Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQNssb5ErsA

Top contenders are Eric Lei, Hitonari Tani, Noah Ryu, Jake Mao.

ETA: Caroline Zhang is one of the technical specialists for this event, Junior Men SP later and Juvenile Girls FS earlier; Douglas Razzano was one of the TS for Juvenile Boys FS and will be for Novice Women SP after this event.

 

[just tuned in]

.

 

[Sylvia]

Novice Men SP protocols: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/34252/SEGM003.html

Top 6:
Eric Lei, SC of Boston 54.45 (Believer by Imagine Dragons) landed 3Lz, 3T+3T & 2A + all L4s! Olga Ganicheva gave him a big hug in the K&c
Hitonari "Jinn" Tani, 51.30 SC of Boston (cover of an MJ song?) - 3Lz+2T, 3S, 2A + all L4s; he's based in Irvine, CA with Ten80 group
Benjamin Schmidt, Premier Pick Skating School 44.97 (MJ's Thriller) 3Lz+2T, 3S, 2A
Michael Khavin, Hudson Valley FSC 44.71 ("I'm Only Human") - 3Lz hand, 3T+2T, 2A; Oleg Makarov/Larisa Selezneva
Jake Mao, SC of New York 43.81
Noah Ryu, Washington FSC 41.95

In 7th is Leo Ribaudo who skated to Jon Batiste's "Butterfly" in a yellow/black blouse with a butterfly wing pattern (his little brother was in the k&c with him). He and 1, 2, 4 & 5 above him all received half a point bonus for achieving L4 steps (StSq4b0.5+kpYYY in protocols).