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

[Matryeshka]

We really need a thread for TE discussion. So many time, we've disagreed with USFS's selection for it, but the US has always come away with a medal in the TE, so I'm going to assume they know what they're doing.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I hope Jason goes to 4CC and does really well and goes out strong.

I honestly can't see any chance Jason goes to 4CC. Maybe he'll want to skate one more time to have that not be his last skate? But it just doesn't seem likely. I think he probably indicated he didn't want a 4CC assignment before nationals. Plus he finished in 8th, not 6th. They could BOW him onto the team, but WHY? That doesn't have a lot of value for anyone.

Certainly Tomoki and Jacob will be named. I assume Liam will be named with him. USFSA like him.

The judges got caught up in the profound voice over.

Truly! I mean he's something BUT NOT NOTHING.

I mean other than one great skate tonight is Torg really better than Amber?

I was being totally non-sarcastic. Obviously it's not possible, but I would trust Amber to finish above any man we have but Ilia.

 

[Karen-W]

@Karen-W where is your post that had all the stats that factor into the selection committee's consideration? I can't find it.

Just got done posting it in the US Men's thread over in GSD.

 

[MacMadame]

I mean other than one great skate tonight is Torg really better than Amber?

He has quads. Sometimes.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

We really need a thread for TE discussion. So many time, we've disagreed with USFS's selection for it, but the US has always come away with a medal in the TE, so I'm going to assume they know what they're doing.

TBH I assume that's a combo of accident and our skaters being persistent.

 

[tangerine dream]

Pure numbers get you into the selection pool. BoW factors heavily into final decisions.

Yes, although the impression I've always had is that they prefer to take the results of nationals unless there is a siginificant difference in BOW/scoring potential between two skaters. If we're talking about the third US man he won't be used in the team event and his placement is not really consequential. Plus the guy who finished third is a juicy story for NBC.

 

[Wyliefan]

The guys on the podium look like they're lined up for a game of sparkles vs. non-sparkles.

 

[tangerine dream]

TBH I assume that's a combo of accident and our skaters being persistent.

They got lucky in 2022 with Russia being DQ'd. There was no justification for putting Karen in the TE.

 

[Karen-W]

We really need a thread for TE discussion. So many time, we've disagreed with USFS's selection for it, but the US has always come away with a medal in the TE, so I'm going to assume they know what they're doing.

There's a thread for the TE in Great Skate Debate.

I honestly can't see any chance Jason goes to 4CC. Maybe he'll want to skate one more time to have that not be his last skate? But it just doesn't seem likely. I think he probably indicated he didn't want a 4CC assignment before nationals. Plus he finished in 8th, not 6th. They could BOW him onto the team, but WHY? That doesn't have a lot of value for anyone.

Certainly Tomoki and Jacob will be named. I assume Liam will be named with him. USFSA like him.

They'll have to add Liam to the Selection Pool through a discretionary vote since the 7 men who officially qualified for the Selection Pool are Malinin, Torgashev, Naumov, Sanchez, Brown, Hiwatashi and Kazanecki - and Lucius doesn't have his senior CTES mins.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Torgashev was 21st at 2023 Worlds and 22nd at 2025 Worlds.

He was brilliant tonight. He has the biggest upside of any US man not named Malinin when he delivers, and he has undeniable skating skills and body control. He should not be left off the team for anyone.

There was no way that Jason Brown was going to be on the 2026 Olympic team going into this season. It was his turn to miss it: 2014-yes 2018-no 2022-yes 2026-no. Yes, my superstitious brain is stronger than my rational brain.

Between Naumov and Hiwatashi, I think they'll give it to Naumov. Arutunian says it takes three years for technique changes to stick after a coaching change, and Hiwatashi was a year late going to Hamada, but I have all the respect for him in trying.

 

[Matryeshka]

I honestly can't see any chance Jason goes to 4CC. Maybe he'll want to skate one more time to have that not be his last skate? But it just doesn't seem likely. I think he probably indicated he didn't want a 4CC assignment before nationals. Plus he finished in 8th, not 6th. They could BOW him onto the team, but WHY? That doesn't have a lot of value for anyone.

I agree that Jason would not be the first (or fourth) choice for the USFS. That was just my personal wish--Jason has contributed a lot to the sport and has so many fans, it would be nice for him to have that redemption skate opportunity. Maybe for the TE Japan event in 2027--they're allowed to have one professional skater.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Is the BoW rules just to get into the selection pool? Does it matter how many criteria or just making it into the pool is enough?

Basically the rules are written with infinite wiggle room for USFSA to pick who they want from the selection pool but they are supposed to weigh multiple factors.

There's no hard math on who they pick the way there is for, like, Italy or France.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

There's a thread for the TE in Great Skate Debate.

They'll have to add Liam to the Selection Pool through a discretionary vote since the 7 men who officially qualified for the Selection Pool are Malinin, Torgashev, Naumov, Sanchez, Brown, Hiwatashi and Kazanecki - and Lucius doesn't have his senior CTES mins.

They'll have to add people anyways if they want alternates for 4CC.

 

[zacknewyork]

DAMN! Behind Max and Jacob!!!!

Thankfully, the judges got it right. Hopefully the selection committee will get it right as well.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Usually Olympic-season Nationals are extra fun, but also heartbreaking. But this year I was pretty confident how ladies and dance would go, and although the pairs teams that didn't make the team would be sad, it's hard to say that any of them except Kam and O'Shea really expected to make the team. But I knew the men would upset me no matter how it turned out. I actually couldn't watch the men live tonight because I knew the tension would get to me. I'll go back and watch the final flight now that I know the results, although I may fast forward at certain points.

And no matter who is named, Jason's status in the sport won't be diminished. I'm sure he has a lot of interests he wants to pursue, but when he stops competing, I'd love to see him stay engaged with USFSA in some capacity. His ability to engage with people, his encouragement of young skaters and his experience make him a unique resource

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Can't believe they're SKIPPING the NATIONAL ANTHEM OF THE WINNER!

 

[Karen-W]

They'll have to add people anyways if they want alternates for 4CC.

True enough. I do think you're right though, about Liam getting the 4CCs assignment along with Jacob and whichever other guy is left off the Olympic team. Probably Martynov & Kovar & Ma as alternates???

 

[Matryeshka]

Jacob honestly looks like he's having the most fun out there.

 

[Karen-W]

FS Results -
Pl. Name Club TSS= TES+ PCS+ CO PR SK Ded.- StN.
1 Ilia Malinin Washington FSC 209.78 116.17 93.61 9.36 9.36 9.39 0.00 #18
2 Andrew Torgashev Panthers FSC 182.63 95.69 86.94 8.64 8.86 8.61 0.00 #14
3 Jacob Sanchez Hudson Valley FSC 167.80 85.24 82.56 8.18 8.32 8.29 0.00 #12
4 Maxim Naumov SC of Boston 163.44 80.08 83.36 8.39 8.32 8.32 0.00 #15
5 Tomoki Hiwatashi DuPage FSC 157.98 76.29 81.69 8.18 8.21 8.14 0.00 #17
6 Liam Kapeikis Wenatchee FSC 156.27 79.46 76.81 7.68 7.68 7.71 0.00 #11
7 Lucius Kazanecki Washington FSC 151.35 78.95 72.40 7.46 6.96 7.32 0.00 #9
8 Jimmy Ma SC of Boston 150.15 73.96 77.19 7.50 8.04 7.64 1.00 #8
9 Kai Kovar Broadmoor SC 148.84 73.41 75.43 7.54 7.54 7.57 0.00 #10
10 Daniel Martynov Great Lakes FSC 148.32 73.56 75.76 7.61 7.32 7.82 1.00 #13
11 Lorenzo Elano Skokie Valley SC 141.69 69.19 73.50 7.46 7.32 7.29 1.00 #6
12 Jason Brown Skokie Valley SC 139.03 58.98 82.05 8.39 7.89 8.36 2.00 #16
13 Michael Xie SC of San Francisco 136.83 72.40 64.43 6.46 6.46 6.43 0.00 #3
14 Goku Endo Los Angeles FSC 130.74 56.91 73.83 7.46 7.32 7.39 0.00 #7
15 Emmanuel Savary University of Delaware FSC 127.93 59.63 70.30 7.11 6.93 7.07 2.00 #4
16 Samuel Mindra Carousel FSC 125.02 53.76 71.26 7.36 7.18 6.86 0.00 #5
17 Will Annis SC of Boston 120.85 56.27 64.58 6.39 6.50 6.50 0.00 #2
18 Ken Mikawa Richmond FSC 94.22 40.04 55.18 5.57 5.39 5.61 1.00 #1

Judges Protocols - https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/lea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

Final Result -
FPl. Name Club Points SP FS
1 Ilia Malinin Washington FSC 324.88 1 1
2 Andrew Torgashev Panthers FSC 267.62 5 2
3 Maxim Naumov SC of Boston 249.16 4 4
4 Jacob Sanchez Hudson Valley FSC 249.07 7 3
5 Tomoki Hiwatashi DuPage FSC 247.24 2 5
6 Liam Kapeikis Wenatchee FSC 235.13 8 6
7 Daniel Martynov Great Lakes FSC 229.95 6 10
8 Jason Brown Skokie Valley SC 227.52 3 12
9 Lucius Kazanecki Washington FSC 227.07 10 7
10 Kai Kovar Broadmoor SC 225.75 9 9
11 Jimmy Ma SC of Boston 225.71 11 8
12 Lorenzo Elano Skokie Valley SC 213.34 13 11
13 Goku Endo Los Angeles FSC 203.42 12 14
14 Michael Xie SC of San Francisco 196.78 16 13
15 Samuel Mindra Carousel FSC 190.04 14 16
16 Emmanuel Savary University of Delaware FSC 188.14 15 15
17 Will Annis SC of Boston 175.80 17 17
18 Ken Mikawa Richmond FSC 145.91 18 18

 

[Matryeshka]

I am definitely Team Sparkles. Is that a criteria? It should be. Naumov needs to get a bedazzler and a glue gun quick. He can use my teacher discount at Michael's.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I feel like we're getting the rare "everyone is happy with their result" podium. Ilia's probably not happy he had to water down, but he didn't sound too upset either.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I am definitely Team Sparkles. Is that a criteria? It should be. Naumov needs to get a bedazzler and a glue gun quick. He can use my teacher discount at Michael's.

I want him to get a straight hem first.

Ilia recording the skate around the rink, Alyssa style.

Maybe he'll jump over the boards to get his flower crown next.

 

[MacMadame]

We really need a thread for TE discussion.

Thread '2026 Olympics Team Event - Strategy, Predictions & Discussion'

Dec 8, 2025

So, there've been lots of Team event discussions & conversations in a bunch of threads and it seems like a good idea to have a centralized discussion thread for this event since we're heading into the 4th iteration of this unique, once-every-four-years competition.

Countries qualified for the TE -

Country

Men​

Women​

...

• Karen-W
• Replies: 818
• Forum: Great Skate Debate

• 

The guys on the podium look like they're lined up for a game of sparkles vs. non-sparkles.

And black vs. blue

 

[once_upon]

It's not like the USFS and Olympic selection committee is saying - wait a minute, we have to read the last 50+ pages of team selection and team event assignment on FSU to make our selections.

Just like the NCAA basketball selection committee, the OSC for USFS had 50+ scenario in the making. Now it's the Final Countdown

Do you have champagne chilling because your dream team has been chosen or did you buy chocolate and cheese puffs and an IPA beer to binge on because your favorites aren't there?

 

[her grace]

Can we send Tennell to compete in the men’s event?

 

[tangerine dream]

I feel like we're getting the rare "everyone is happy with their result" podium.

My favorite outcome. And hey, Max broke his pewter streak!

 

[Matryeshka]

I want him to get a straight hem first.

This is a statement to unite all of FSU

 

[MacMadame]

Living on a Prayer is a weird song to play during an awards ceremony.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

This is a statement to unite all of FSU

We may not be straight, but shirt hems should be!

 

[MacMadame]

Do we switch to the Free Dance thread for their ceremony?