U.S. Men 2022-23 news & updates

[Stephanie]

Deleted as I'm too slow

 

[Karen-W]

Re-posting here from the Grand Prix Assignments page:

Perhaps this is why Eric Sjoberg's name was not added to Nepela yesterday with the others? He is listed now for Skate America!!

Hmmmm... Nepela is 3 weeks before SkAm, and they're sending Levito there. Usually the USFS tries to give their skaters 3 internationals during the fall, so US Classic, Nepela and SkAm would make sense. But, who knows? It's great that he's been added to SkAm!

 

[Stephanie]

Hmmmm... Nepela is 3 weeks before SkAm, and they're sending Levito there. Usually the USFS tries to give their skaters 3 internationals during the fall, so US Classic, Nepela and SkAm would make sense. But, who knows? It's great that he's been added to SkAm!

Maybe they'll look to give Eric a later assignment like Ice Challenge to space his assignments out a bit more? In this case, maybe Goku Endo will go to Nepela instead since the other alternate Joseph Klein will be competing at the Armenian JGP the prior week.

 

[Sylvia]

Hmmmm... Nepela is 3 weeks before SkAm, and they're sending Levito there. Usually the USFS tries to give their skaters 3 internationals during the fall, so US Classic, Nepela and SkAm would make sense. But, who knows?

2 ISU Challengers & 1 Grand Prix would give Sjoberg a bye to 2023 Nationals... perhaps USFS is being stingy about byes? Refer to my post (#5) just now in this GSD thread:

2022-2023 US National Qualifying Season

https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/press-release/us-figure-skating-announces-2022-23-qualifying-season Well, it seems that between Norwood and Lake Placid, my little car will be taking me to both sites frequently this year! :cheer2:

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[Karen-W]

2 ISU Challengers & 1 Grand Prix would give Sjoberg a bye to 2023 Nationals... perhaps USFS is being stingy about byes? Refer to my post just now in this thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...tional-qualifying-season.109661/#post-6292947

Or making them really earn the bye with a certain benchmark score earned in their first or second international assignments before they're given a third?

 

[Debbie S]

It's also possible that Eric and his coaches decided Nepela was too close to SA and would rather focus on doing well at his GP debut instead of traveling out of the country for a week? And perhaps USFS indicated he would be eligible for a later Challenger?

 

[Evgeniafan]

Woo-hoo!

For some reason, Will Annis' name is still listed for JGP #4 in Armenia and Joseph Klein's name has not replaced him on USFS' Assignments page today even though the change was made in the ISU entries earlier today (Sept. 7): https://results.isu.org/events/jgparm2022_JuniorMen.htm
ETA: Never mind - the change was just made on USFS' Assignments page!

I also noticed yesterday that all the U.S. entries published on the ISU website for Ondrej Nepela Memorial were added on USFS' Assignments page except for Eric Sjoberg: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...23-international-assignments-and-results.aspx

Fingers crossed that 2 men who were not at U.S. Nationals year will compete in the NQS competitions they registered for this weekend - Maxim Naumov is listed in Friday's Senior Men's SP starting order, along with Philip Baker and Nathan Chapple, for Middle Atlantics in NYC. He last competed at the U.S. Classic at his home rink one year ago.

Daniel Martynov, who withdrew from a JGP last year and subsequently did not enter any U.S. qualifying competitions (assume due to injury?) is listed in Friday's Senior Men' SP starting order, along with Joonsoo Kim and Joseph Klein, for the Greater Chicagoland Fall Invitational in Evanston, IL.

I really hope Maxim and Joonsoo have great skates.

 

[Sylvia]

... Maxim Naumov is listed in Friday's Senior Men's SP starting order, along with Philip Baker (12th in Junior at 2022 Nationals) and Nathan Chapple (3rd highest NQS total score in Senior to date), for Middle Atlantics in NYC. Naumov last competed at the U.S. Classic at his home rink one year ago.

Daniel Martynov, who withdrew from a JGP last year and subsequently did not enter any U.S. qualifying competitions (assume due to injury?) is listed in Friday's Senior Men's SP starting order, along with Joonsoo Kim (also did not compete last season; 13th in Senior at 2021 U.S. Nationals) and Joseph Klein, for the Greater Chicagoland Fall Invitational in Evanston, IL.

I've gone back and edited my original post (now quoted) - I had forgotten that Joonsoo Kim did not compete last season and I believe this would be his season debut (ditto for Naumov, Martynov and Baker, AFAIK).

Yaro Paniot is working hard off the ice to get back into competitive shape: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiOTpi5PEB0/

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like the USFS decided to not send any man to Nepela Trophy - entries were updated today and they removed Sjoberg as well as both of the previously listed substitutes.

 

[Debbie S]

Ryan Dunk's retirement announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiQnGJsPuUe/

 

[maureenfarone]

Ryan Dunk's retirement announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiQnGJsPuUe/

Wishing him the very best!

 

[Sylvia]

Ryan Dunk's retirement announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiQnGJsPuUe/

Copying out Ryan's post because I think it's great and his next chapter sounds exciting!

Wow… if only this little boy knew all the places skating would take him…around the world and back… Thank you to everyone who has helped me make my skating dreams come true. When I started in Baltimore at 8 years old, I never thought that I could be a national champion or an international medalist for Team USA… or anything really, BUT here we are!!! It is time for me, however, to say goodbye to competing in singlesbut don’t worry, I will always love to skate and I hope to still be skating in shows and for fun even as an old man For what’s next… I started working as a research assistant this summer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston!!!!! I hope to apply to PhD programs in clinical psychology in about a year or so and one day become a psychologist focusing on things like eating disorders and trauma. I will also still be skating (and slaying) with my wonderful team Forte of Boston…and as always, don’t forget - IT’S BRITNEY BITCH xoxo

 

[Sylvia]

Fan Zone article on Robert Yampolsky that was published before his JGP debut in Riga yesterday:

Skating Teaches Junior Competitor the Value of Hard Work - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Participating in a sport while being a student is no easy feat.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

He's in 6th place after popping his planned opening 3A in the SP but definitely is still in the mix for a medal!

Kirk Haugeto performed his (little) heart out and I'm looking forward to seeing him bring that same energy tomorrow!

Credit to @Stephanie who first posted about Kirk in April 2022 after his international debut at Egna Spring Trophy :

Kirk Haugeto is a pretty amazing performer, especially for someone so young!

Kirk Haugeto won the silver in Adv. Novice Boys 124.23 2 1 (42.14 SP, 82.09 FS).

Direct link to Haugeto's 1st place FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvxWeApaWwE&t=4570s

 

[Sylvia]

Jacob Sanchez will compete in his first NQS later today at Middle Atlantics in NYC - here's a new article on him:

Getting to know Jacob Sanchez – Figure Skaters Online

 

[Sylvia]

U.S. Men's JGP results & total scores after the first 3 JGPs:

Robert YAMPOLSKY 196.67 (4th in Riga; 131.62 in FS today with 3A fall & 3A+2T)
Maxim ZHARKOV 193.48 (5th in Ostrava - clean 3A in SP; 122.44 in FS with 4T -0.95 GOE)
Kai KOVAR 191.65 (6th in Ostrava - clean 3A in SP & 122.54 in FS)
Michael XIE 180.95 (5th in Courchevel; 114.87 in FS with a clean 3A)
Lucius KAZANECKI 167.85 (8th in Courchevel)
Kirk HAUGETO 142.17 (17th in Riga)

Yerevan ARM: Joseph Klein (replaced Will Annis), Beck Strommer
Gdansk POL 1: Michael Xie, Lucas Broussard
Gdansk POL 2: Robert Yampolsky, TBD
Egna ITA: TBD, TBD

ETA - bringing over some of the U.S. men's discussion from the JGP general thread since it's just as, if not more so, relevant here :

...
Xie and Yampolsky (currently skating in JGP #3) have second spots. There's only 3 spots left for the U.S. to assign. Should Broussard get assigned a second one now based on his success last year? Should Zharkov get a second one since he's the top-ranked U.S. man in the current JGP standings? What about Kovar, who is the U.S. junior national champ, who finished one rank below what Xie did in his first event, but outscored him by 10 points? What about Strommer and Klein (skating in JGP#4)? Should all the spots be assigned before they skate?

Honestly, if none of the guys have a realistic shot at making the JGPF (and a 5th or 6th place in your first event isn't going to do it), then I think the system works fine. The JGP is intended to aid in the development of skaters. While it's nice to have skaters/teams qualify for the JGPF, that's not the overall goal. I don't have a problem with spreading the wealth around when none of the men have really separated themselves from the field - though I do think the USFS should be circumspect in assigning the last few spots until after they've had a chance to assess how Strommer, Klein and Broussard do at their first assignments.

I think that this year was tougher than in some prior years for the US men since there were several guys with JGP experience (Broussard, Klein, and Sanchez) who were injured or otherwise unready to compete at Skate Milwaukee. That being said, both Yampolsky and Xie were far ahead (about 30+ points) of the other guys in Milwaukee so I think it's reasonable that they were given 2 assignments off the bat.

I think Zharkov deserves a second assignment based off his Ostrava score and the fact that he has a consistent 3A, which should make him a decent contender for junior worlds. Given that he only had 1 JGP last year, he could use the extra experience.

I would give the other 2 spots to the top 2 scorers out of Broussard, Klein, Strommer, and Kovar or give Jacob Sanchez a shot if none of the remaining guys left to compete does that great.

Broussard yes, his score at his summer comp is quite strong and he clearly is the best choice for a 2nd spot right now. Not even based on last year although that helps, but based on how he did at his summer comp. Kovar, I am ok with him just having 1- he won Nationals but since then had a weak showing at Jr Worlds and also at summer comps. Strommer, Klein, Zharkov is a tough call. Armenia is 2 weeks away so that's quite a wait but if we can't wait that long, I would tend to gamble on Strommer and Klein at this point since I think Zharkov is quite a long shot for the final. Anyone scoring less than 200 is unlikely to make the final, but of those that have competed, Yampolsky at 196 is the highest. I do think we jumped the gun a little giving Xie a 2nd spot but its not a major quibble since he had a strong showing at that decider event. All scores outside of Yampolsky and Xie were kinda less impressive there, which to me speaks more favorably of Broussard who didn't compete but medaled last year on JGP.

Long story short, since the scores outside of the top 2 were low at Milwaukee, I'd start looking at other summer showings. Outside of Broussard with his 210 score, the rest is pretty middling so it could go any which way. Any decision is probably ok at this point.

ETA- Of note, Klein, Xie, Sanchez are all competing this weekend at summer comps. Let's see how that goes and then we will have more information.

ETA - current top 4 U.S. men in the JGP series rankings (based on placement first then total score):
11 Yampolsky 9 (196.67)
13 Zharkov 7 (191.65)
14 Xie 7 (180.95)
15 Kovar 5 (191.65)

 

[crzesk8dad]

Copying out Ryan's post because I think it's great and his next chapter sounds exciting!

Wow… if only this little boy knew all the places skating would take him…around the world and back… Thank you to everyone who has helped me make my skating dreams come true. When I started in Baltimore at 8 years old, I never thought that I could be a national champion or an international medalist for Team USA… or anything really, BUT here we are!!! It is time for me, however, to say goodbye to competing in singlesbut don’t worry, I will always love to skate and I hope to still be skating in shows and for fun even as an old man For what’s next… I started working as a research assistant this summer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston!!!!! I hope to apply to PhD programs in clinical psychology in about a year or so and one day become a psychologist focusing on things like eating disorders and trauma. I will also still be skating (and slaying) with my wonderful team Forte of Boston…and as always, don’t forget - IT’S BRITNEY BITCH xoxo

Thanks for posting, Sylvia.

Good luck to Ryan!

 

[Evgeniafan]

Jacob Sanchez will compete in his first NQS later today at Middle Atlantics in NYC - here's a new article on him:

Getting to know Jacob Sanchez – Figure Skaters Online

Do we have an update on the scores from this competition?

 

[Karen-W]

Do we have an update on the scores from this competition?

The 96th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Cha

Event Results for The 96th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Cha

ijs.usfigureskating.org

Final score was 181.59 - probably not enough to be assigned to one of the last two JGPs.

 

[Evgeniafan]

The 96th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Cha

Event Results for The 96th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Cha

ijs.usfigureskating.org

Final score was 181.59 - probably not enough to be assigned to one of the last two JGPs.

Well at least he won.

 

[mtnskater]

I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about 13 year old Kirk Haugeto after his Godfather free skate today. I liked his short even better because it had even more character. But I don’t think I’ve seen any skater ever display personality on the ice like Kirk does. He is really unforgettable….and I can’t wait to see how he develops. I was in stitches in both programs. Hope he continues for many years. Mark was worried Kirk would become more introverted as he matures, but Ted didn’t think he would. I sure hope his coaching team allows him to continue to be him. There are already enough angsty and serious programs in the world of skating. His choreography is great for him so far.

Robert Yampolsky also did quite well. Mark and Ted really complimented him on his speed and skating skills. The program was jam packed. One thing I hadn’t noticed before is Robert is a really good spinner. He likely would have podiumed without the axel mistakes. His triple axels looked really good in the warmup. Too bad.

Both Kirk and Robert have the same coach and both have pretty wild jump technique…and they both love the Rippon jumping arms.

 

[Wyliefan]

I would be very surprised to see Kirk become more introverted. He seems born to be a ham. I haven't caught up with the free skate yet, but I got a kick out of his short program!

 

[Karen-W]

Kirk's short program had me in stitches! He is a born showman. Hopefully he is able to get his jumps under better control.

 

[Frau Muller]

Kirk was discussed quite a bit in the KnC thread. Lordie, I love that little showboat. He had me laughing throughout his Godfather free, too. Those Italiano hand motions in between the jumps! Candelero would be proud. Even if Kirk botched a jump landing, he quickly snapped into a “tah-dah!” position.

Since he finished in 17th or so, there’s probably no way to justify sending him to a 2nd JGP this year. Maybe we’ll see him at Nationals/jr level in January?

 

[sk9tingfan]

I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about 13 year old Kirk Haugeto after his Godfather free skate today. I liked his short even better because it had even more character. But I don’t think I’ve seen any skater ever display personality on the ice like Kirk does. He is really unforgettable….and I can’t wait to see how he develops. I was in stitches in both programs. Hope he continues for many years. Mark was worried Kirk would become more introverted as he matures, but Ted didn’t think he would. I sure hope his coaching team allows him to continue to be him. There are already enough angsty and serious programs in the world of skating. His choreography is great for him so far.

Robert Yampolsky also did quite well. Mark and Ted really complimented him on his speed and skating skills. The program was jam packed. One thing I hadn’t noticed before is Robert is a really good spinner. He likely would have podiumed without the axel mistakes. His triple axels looked really good in the warmup. Too bad.

Both Kirk and Robert have the same coach and both have pretty wild jump technique…and they both love the Rippon jumping arms.

Both skated to The Godfather and Nathan's was a tour de force performance.

Kirk at 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz_iks4SeeI

Nathan at 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARn4KnULtkM

 

[Evgeniafan]

I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about 13 year old Kirk Haugeto after his Godfather free skate today. I liked his short even better because it had even more character. But I don’t think I’ve seen any skater ever display personality on the ice like Kirk does. He is really unforgettable….and I can’t wait to see how he develops. I was in stitches in both programs. Hope he continues for many years. Mark was worried Kirk would become more introverted as he matures, but Ted didn’t think he would. I sure hope his coaching team allows him to continue to be him. There are already enough angsty and serious programs in the world of skating. His choreography is great for him so far.

Robert Yampolsky also did quite well. Mark and Ted really complimented him on his speed and skating skills. The program was jam packed. One thing I hadn’t noticed before is Robert is a really good spinner. He likely would have podiumed without the axel mistakes. His triple axels looked really good in the warmup. Too bad.

Both Kirk and Robert have the same coach and both have pretty wild jump technique…and they both love the Rippon jumping arms.

Kirk is great. I can't remember when a program mad me laugh like his. And he should be invited to Nationals and stars on ice. He is a star. Who cares about jumps.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Kirk is great. I can't remember when a program mad me laugh like his. And he should be invited to Nationals and stars on ice. He is a star. Who cares about jumps.

It's not just about jumps with Nathan even at that age. It is also about his skating skills, flow across the ice, footwork, spins and ability to handle complex choreography.

 

[mtnskater]

Both skated to The Godfather and Nathan's was a tour de force performance.

Kirk at 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz_iks4SeeI

Nathan at 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARn4KnULtkM

I was talking about personality. At 13, heck even at 10, I thought Nathan was world champion material. Kirk is super showman material at this point, though if he gets his wild jumps under control who knows. In any event, I remember always looking forward to seeing Nathan skate from when he was very young and I feel the same about Kirk after seeing him for the first time in Riga!

 

[sk9tingfan]

I was talking about personality. At 13, heck even at 10, I thought Nathan was world champion material. Kirk is super showman material at this point, though if he gets his wild jumps under control who knows. In any event, I remember always looking forward to seeing Nathan skate from when he was very young and I feel the same about Kirk after seeing him for the first time in Riga!

Let's hope he can get a bit more under control. Yes, I saw Nathan win his first novice championship live in Spokane and his junior championship as well in San Jose. It was one of the few times I saw a few thousand in the stands for a junior. It was electric!

 

[Frau Muller]

The only very young male skater who I recall having this load of personality was Christopher Bowman, at the 1979 Cincinnati Nationals, when he came in 3rd in Novice. Paul Wylie took gold…but little Chris won the crowd and standing-o! We were yelling our heads off for Bowman the Showman even then. (Paul was also wonderful - more serious and exact.) The guy who won figures, Scott Thompson, ended up 2nd.

Ros Summers won Novice girls. Those were the days…my first live Nationals!

 

[Evgeniafan]

It's not just about jumps with Nathan even at that age. It is also about his skating skills, flow across the ice, footwork, spins and ability to handle complex choreography.

I think Nathan is one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. Comparing to Nathan is unfair, as he has it all, speed, jumps, spins, artistry.