U.S. Men 2025-26 Discussion - Quad God and the Mere Mortals

SENIOR MEN 25-26 SCORES

Still to compete- Ilia Malinin, Camden Pulkinen, Jason Brown, Maxim Naumov, Lucas Broussard

Andrew Torgashev 234 (Golden West)
Jacob Sanchez 211 (Cranberry)
Jimmy Ma 207 (Cranberry)

Lucius Kazanecki E 230 (Cardinal)
Emmanuel Savary E 203 (Philadelphia)

Taira Shinohara M 210 (Glacier Falls)
Tomoki Hiwatashi M 201 (Cranberry)

Liam Kapeikis P 208 (Glacier Falls)
Michael Xie P 207 (Glacier Falls)
Samuel Mindra P 198 (Robin Cousins)
Goku Endo P 194 (Glacier Falls)
Kai Kovar P 189 (Cranberry)

JUNIOR MEN 25-26 SCORES

Patrick Blackwell 212 (E) - Potomac
Aleksandr Fegan 195 (E)- Potomac
Henry Gao 187 (E) - Junior Cup
Caleb Farrington 174 (E) - Junior Cup
Zachary Lopinto 168 (E) - Junior Cup

Nicholas Brooks 205 (P) - Broadmoor
Ryan William Azadpour 185 (P)- Glacier Falls
Kirk Haugeto 184 (P) - Golden West
Vaclav Vasquez 175 (P)- Glacier Falls
Arsen Meghavoryan 173 (P) - Silver State
Ryedin Rudedenman 169 (P)- Golden West
Yaoshan Jiang 150 (P)- Golden West
Ethan Kormanyos 149 (P)- Silver State

Lorenzo Elano 198 (M)- Margaret Faulkner
Louis Mallane 182 (M)- Junior Cup
Joshua Snyder 154 (M)- Detroit
Evan Neuhaus 153 (M)- Junior Cup
Alek Tankovic 151 (M) - Atlanta
Marlo Rosen 147 (M) - Southport
Isaac Fulton 146 (M)- Cranberry
 
Last edited:
Another weekend, another NQS comp in the books! Here's where the men stack up for Sectionals at the end of August.
Senior - Easterns
1) Ken Mikawa - S Atlantic - 154.34

Senior - Midwesterns
1) Taira Shinohara - Upper Great Lakes - 210.47
2) Antonio Monaco - Upper Great Lakes - 176.15
3) Max Lake - Eastern Great Lakes - 151.87
4) Alexander Liu - Southwest - 135.07

Senior - Pacific Coasts
1) Dmitri Murphy - NW Pacific - 133.22

Junior - Easterns
New England -
1) Brendan Man - 137.36
2) Luke Witkowski - 132.67
3) Jonas Costanza - 95.85

North Atlantic - no one yet

South Atlantic
1) David Lu - 124.84
2) Van Pierson - 103.09

Junior - Midwesterns
Eastern Great Lakes
1) Joshua Snyder - 154.59
2) Mikhail Mokhov - 132.91

Upper Great Lakes -
1) Evan Neuhaus - 151.53
2) Sam Tomczik - 144.61
3) Mykhailo Ivanchenko - 141.94

Southwest -
1) Louis Mallane - 180.72
2) Alek Tankovic - 150.05
3) Isaac Fulton - 146.63
4) Connor Williams - 117.01

Junior - Pacific Coasts
Northwest Pacific -
1) Ryan William Azadpour - 185.64
2) Ethan Kormanyos - 149.21

Central Pacific -
1) Arsen Meghavoryan - 173.50

Southwest Pacific -
1) Kirk Haugeto - 184.87
2) Vaclav Vasquez - 175.50
3) Ryedin Rudedenman - 166.94
4) Yaoshan Jiang - 150.85

6 Next Best -
1) Brian Tokuda - 140.89
2) Sergei Evseev - 138.39
3) Chase Cuaron - 105.37
 
maureenfarone said:
I haven't seen anything about Beck Strommer or Joseph Klein. Anyone know if they are still competing?
Click to expand...

From Joe Klein in August:
"... Thank you to everyone for the support, and I hope to start my season this Fall!"
It's the closing thought of his update on overcoming some injury issues.
https://www.instagram.com/joeskates_/p/DND46RxxSBN/​

IIRC, Beck's Instastory this summer has had (along with other skating content) a couple of sneak peeks of new costumes -- which I hope is a good sign.

Two of my favorite guys!
 
Last edited:
Congratulations to Tomoki Hiwatashi for his Bronze Medal at the Kinoshita Cup Challenger!

He was the highest placing American man at the competition! I got misty-eyed watching Tomoki skate his LP. It was the best that I have seen from Tomoki in years! Perhaps, he wants that 3rd spot for the Olympics!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Last edited:
Jason Brown joined Ted and Mark to commentate on the second half of the Men's Free Skate at the JGP in Italy. He chose Nicholas Brooks's performance as a "Must Watch Moment."
www.instagram.com

ISU Figure Skating ⛸ on Instagram: "💥 Nicholas Brooks in the spotlight! 💥 Chosen by teammate Jason Brown as his Must-Watch Moment — Nicholas is working hard to merge athleticism with artistry, and it showed on the ice. 👏⛸️ #JGPFigure #FigureSkating

833 likes, 8 comments - isufigureskating on September 7, 2025: "💥 Nicholas Brooks in the spotlight! 💥 Chosen by teammate Jason Brown as his Must-Watch Moment — Nicholas is working hard to merge athleticism with artistry, and it showed on the ice. 👏⛸️ #JGPFigure #FigureSkating".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

Nicholas replied with his Instagram post:

And thank you @markhanretty @ted.barton.75 and @jasonbskates for the feedback and commentary; and especially to Jason for the special shout out. I am so incredibly honored and humbled for that. I think it may be my new “most memorable skating moment.”​

Click to expand...
www.instagram.com

Nicholas Brooks on Instagram: "I am so incredibly excited to have represented the United States at the JGP Varese. It was my JGP Debute and while I was hoping for cleaner skaters, I am very happy with my performances and for landing both axels and s

15 likes, 1 comments - skater_nicholas on September 8, 2025: "I am so incredibly excited to have represented the United States at the JGP Varese. It was my JGP Debute and while I was hoping for cleaner skaters, I am very happy with my performances and for landing both axels and staying up on my...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
*Updated 9/8 to include JGP Varese, Greater Chicagoland, Mid Altantics, and CS Kinoshita Cup

SENIOR MEN 25-26 SCORES

Still to compete- Ilia Malinin, Camden Pulkinen, Jason Brown, Maxim Naumov, Lucas Broussard

Andrew Torgashev 234 (Golden West)
Jimmy Ma 218 (Kinoshita)
Jacob Sanchez 211 (Cranberry)

Lucius Kazanecki E 230 (Cardinal)
Emmanuel Savary E 203 (Philadelphia)

Tomoki Hiwatashi M 236 (Kinoshita)
Lorenzo Elano M 220 (Chicagoland)
Taira Shinohara M 210 (Glacier Falls)

Liam Kapeikis P 208 (Glacier Falls)
Michael Xie P 207 (Glacier Falls)
Samuel Mindra P 198 (Robin Cousins)
Goku Endo P 198 (Kinoshita)
Kai Kovar P 189 (Cranberry)

JUNIOR MEN 25-26 SCORES

Patrick Blackwell 212 (E) - Potomac
Aleksandr Fegan 195 (E)- Potomac
Henry Gao 187 (E) - Junior Cup
Caleb Farrington 180 (E) - Mid Atlantics
Zachary Lopinto 168 (E) - Junior Cup

Nicholas Brooks 205 (P) - Broadmoor
Ryan William Azadpour 185 (P)- Glacier Falls
Kirk Haugeto 184 (P) - Golden West
Vaclav Vasquez 175 (P)- Glacier Falls
Arsen Meghavoryan 173 (P) - Silver State
Ryedin Rudedenman 169 (P)- Golden West
Yaoshan Jiang 150 (P)- Golden West
Ethan Kormanyos 149 (P)- Silver State

Louis Mallane 182 (M)- Junior Cup
Evan Neuhaus 168 (M)- Chicagoland
Alek Tankovic 166 (M) - Chicagoland
Joshua Snyder 162 (M)- Chicagoland
Marlo Rosen 158 (M) - Chicagoland
Misha Ivanchenko 154 (M) - Chicagoland
Isaac Fulton 146 (M)- Cranberry
 
Current likely Senior Nationals Roster, based on scores and byes...

Likely byes - 8
Ilia Malinin, Camden Pulkinen, Jason Brown, Maxim Naumov, Lucas Broussard
Andrew Torgashev, Jimmy Ma, Jacob Sanchez

E- Kazanecki, Savary
M- Hiwatashi, Elano
P- Kapeikis, Xie

Next 4 Scores- Shinohara, Mindra, Endo, Kovar
 
Well, we are fast approaching the end of the NQS for another year! Here's the week's update of the Sectionals qualifiers after the two NQS comps this past weekend - only 7 left before we know who qualifies for Sectionals. Per the USFS, any skaters with 1 international assignment or 2024-25 Sectional Champions has an automatic bye to Sectionals, therefore while I'm going to include them if they've competed in an NQS comp, I'll add the next highest qualifier in their Region if they're in the top 4.

Senior - Easterns
1) Andrew Torgashev - South Atlantic - 234.45 (Nebelhorn, GPdF, NHK)
2) Lucius Kazanecki - South Atlantic - 206.31 (JGP Ankara)
3) Emmanuel Savary - South Atlantic - 203.66 (Eastern Sectional Champ)
4) Ken Mikawa - South Atlantic - 154.34

Senior - Midwesterns
1) Lorenzo Elano - Upper Great Lakes - 220.45 (JGP Riga)
2) Taira Shinohara - Upper Great Lakes - 210.47
3) Antonio Monaco - Upper Great Lakes - 176.15
4) Kai Kovar - Southwest - 174.98 (Cranberry Cup)
3) Max Lake - Eastern Great Lakes - 151.87
4) Alexander Liu - Southwest - 145.42

Senior - Pacific Coasts
1) Liam Kapeikis - NW Pacific - 208.19 (Cranberry Cup, Nebelhorn)
2) Michael Xie - Central Pacific - 207.37 (Robin Cousins Cup)
3) Goku Endo - SW Pacific - 194.73 (Kinoshita Group Cup)
4) Samuel Mindra - NW Pacific - 193.04 (Robin Cousins Cup)
5) Dmitri Murphy - NW Pacific - 133.22

Junior - Easterns
New England -
1) Patrick Blackwell - 212.31 (JGP Bangkok)
2) Brendan Man - 137.36
3) Luke Witkowski - 132.67
3) Jonas Costanza - 95.85

North Atlantic
1) Aleksandr Fegan - 195.28 (JGP Varese)

South Atlantic
1) Caleb Farrington - 180.92
2) David Lu - 124.84
3) John Liu - 115.47
4) Van Pierson - 103.09

Junior - Midwesterns
Eastern Great Lakes
1) Joshua Snyder - 162.56
2) Mikhail Mokhov - 132.91
3) Colin Motley - 130.13

Upper Great Lakes -
1) Evan Neuhaus - 168.42
2) Marlo Rosen - 158.15
3) Mykhailo Ivanchenko - 154.41
4) Sam Tomczik - 144.61

Southwest -
1) Louis Mallane - 180.72
2) Alek Tankovic - 166.27
3) Isaac Fulton - 146.63
4) Connor Williams - 117.01

6 Next Best -
1) Anton Yakunin - 132.00

Junior - Pacific Coasts
Northwest Pacific -
1) Ryan William Azadpour - 185.64
2) Ethan Kormanyos - 149.21

Central Pacific -
1) Arsen Meghavoryan - 173.50

Southwest Pacific -
1) Kirk Haugeto - 184.87
2) Nicholas Brooks - 179.43 (JGP Varese)
3) Vaclav Vasquez - 175.50
4) Ryedin Rudedenman - 169.59
5) Yaoshan Jiang - 150.85

6 Next Best -
1) Brian Tokuda - 140.89
2) Sergei Evseev - 138.39
3) Chase Cuaron - 105.37
 
Van Pierson (Junior Men) isn't registered for NQS and is thus ineligible for sectionals. As far as I can see he skates mostly collegiality. There are no other South Atlantic NQS-registered skaters other than the top 3.
 
It's wild that all 31 junior men qualify for sectionals. There needs to be more boys in skating.

By my count, there are only three notably missing junior men who have yet to put up an NQS score:
  • Zachary LoPinto (E/NE, PB: 186.44, ISP)
  • Thomas Chen (M/UGL, PB: 165.91, ISP)
  • Alvin Luu (M/SW, PB: 146.66, Lapsed ISP)
Three's also one former internationally assigned skater that had a poor season last year that doesn't have any recorded activity since last year. They may be injured or retired:
  • Nhat-Viet Nguyen (M/SW, PB: 179.75, Lasped ISP)

There may be others that make an appearance, but these are the only three that have some level of competitive activity in recent months.
 
Last edited:
Capt. DeSoto said:
It's wild that all 31 junior men qualify for sectionals. There needs to be more boys in skating.

By my count, there are only three notably missing junior men who have yet to put up an NQS score:
  • Zachary LoPinto (E/NE, PB: 186.44, ISP)
  • Thomas Chen (M/UGL, PB: 165.91, ISP)
  • Alvin Luu (M/SW, PB: 146.66, Lapsed ISP)
Three's also one former internationally assigned skater that had a poor season last year that doesn't have any recorded activity since last year. They may be injured or retired:
  • Nhat-Viet Nguyen (M/SW, PB: 179.75, Lasped ISP)

There may be others that make an appearance, but these are the only three that have some level of competitive activity in recent months.
Click to expand...
Henry Gao also hasn't put up an NQS score (Jr Cup was his only domestic competition). He has a bye through the NQS due to his JGP Riga assignment, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't compete at the Boston Open in a few weeks (one of the last two NQS comps this season). Same with Zachary LoPinto.
 
Karen-W said:
Henry Gao also hasn't put up an NQS score (Jr Cup was his only domestic competition). He has a bye through the NQS due to his JGP Riga assignment, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't compete at the Boston Open in a few weeks (one of the last two NQS comps this season). Same with Zachary LoPinto.
Click to expand...

That's right, I didn't bother tracking JGP participants and totally forgot about Gao.
 
Capt. DeSoto said:
That's right, I didn't bother tracking JGP participants and totally forgot about Gao.
Click to expand...
I wasn't either until last night when I was reminded that the top 2 NQS scores in each section earn points toward the USFS' ISU Championships Selection Pool calculation table, so I went back and added all of those skaters (Torgashev, Andrews, von Felten, etc) to my Sectionals qualification tracking spreadsheet.
 
Karen-W said:
I wasn't either until last night when I was reminded that the top 2 NQS scores in each section earn points toward the USFS' ISU Championships Selection Pool calculation table, so I went back and added all of those skaters (Torgashev, Andrews, von Felten, etc) to my Sectionals qualification tracking spreadsheet.
Click to expand...
Oh, that is news to me, thanks. Does that even apply to junior worlds selection though? I sounds like just senior, otherwise I don’t see how they would handle junior international skaters who are domestic seniors.
 
Karen-W said:
Yes, it applies to all ISU Championships.

Click to expand...
I just read through that, thank you. To be precise the NQS score (of any rank) is a small factor, and the scores of a top two sectional finish is a factor. It’s a very small distinction, but it’s not the NQS score of the top two sectional finishers but the sectional competition score of those two finishers. Based on what you said I was thinking that improving your NQS rank played a very big role but thankfully it doesn’t (though every NQS point counts to a small extent). But having at least one NQS score is indeed somewhat important.
 
Last edited:
Capt. DeSoto said:
I just read through that, thank you. To be precise the NQS score (of any rank) is a small factor, and the scores of a top two sectional finish is a factor. It’s a very small distinction, but it’s not the NQS score of the top two sectional finishers but the sectional competition score of those two finishers. Based on what you said I was thinking that improving your NQS rank played a very big role but thankfully it doesn’t (though every NQS point counts to a small extent). But having at least one NQS score is indeed somewhat important.
Click to expand...
Ultimately, it really isn't much of a factor in determining which athletes wind up in the Top 5 of the calculation table.

The NQS or Sectional scores put Hiwatashi, Williams/Lewer and Wolfkostin/Tsarevski into the Selection Pools in their respective disciplines. So, at best, it helps put a middle-of-the-pack ISP skater into consideration.
 
Thanks. I'm a little more focused on the junior worlds calculations, but I'm having a little trouble deciphering the calculations. The linked Excel spreadsheet doesn't clear it up. My biggest hangup is that It appears to count current and previous years US Championships, but it seems as if it is only counting it at the senior level? Am I reading that right? Nearly every other line of the appendix goes out of the way to state that it's both jr. and sr. (and sometimes nov.) but when it comes to current year and previous year US Championships it says nothing which leads me to believe that it's Sr. only? If so, that seems very unfair to domestic juniors of having any hope of Jr. Worlds if there's a domestic senior of two years that is also an international junior.

Is anyone else reading it that way?
 
Capt. DeSoto said:
Thanks. I'm a little more focused on the junior worlds calculations, but I'm having a little trouble deciphering the calculations. The linked Excel spreadsheet doesn't clear it up. My biggest hangup is that It appears to count current and previous years US Championships, but it seems as if it is only counting it at the senior level? Am I reading that right? Nearly every other line of the appendix goes out of the way to state that it's both jr. and sr. (and sometimes nov.) but when it comes to current year and previous year US Championships it says nothing which leads me to believe that it's Sr. only? If so, that seems very unfair to domestic juniors of having any hope of Jr. Worlds if there's a domestic senior of two years that is also an international junior.

Is anyone else reading it that way?
Click to expand...
It depends on the discipline, IMO. Sophie Joline von Felten was sent to Jr Worlds along with Elyce Lin-Gracey and she won Jr Nats last year. Same with Moss/Galbavy who won the Jr Pairs title - they were sent to Jr Worlds along with Flores/Wang (who stayed Jrs & finished 2nd at Nats) and Williams/Lewer.

All this table does is put some additional skaters into the selection pool for consideration.

Last year with the Juniors, here's who made it into the Top 5 Selection Pool Calculation for Jr Worlds (* = competed Sr at Nats)-
Men - Sanchez*, Blackwell, Fegan, Shinohara*, Elano
Women - Everhardt*, von Felten, Higase-Chen*, Lin-Gracey*, J Lee*
Pairs - Flores/Wang, Williams/Lewer*, Moss/Galbavy, McDanold/Felberbaum, Carpenter/Maravilla
Dance - Wolfkostin/Tsarevski*, Peal/Peal, Neset/Markelov*, Aboian/Veselukhin, Mullen/Mullen

Additionally, per the Jr Worlds Selection Pool Criteria -
Top 3 age-eligible from Juniors -
Men - Elano, Fegan, Blackwell
Women - von Felten, Jurka, Nemirovsky
Pairs - Moss/Galbavy, Flores/Wang, Carpenter/Maravilla
Dance - Aboian/Veselukhin, Peal/Peal, Mullen/Mullen

Top 3 age-eligible from Seniors -
Men - Sanchez, Martynov, Kovar
Women - Everhardt, Zhang, J Lee
Pairs - Williams/Lewer
Dance - Wolfkostin/Tsarevski, Neset/Markelov

Top 10 from 2024 Jr Worlds -
Men - Sanchez
Women - Zhang
Pairs - Flores/Wang, Williams/Lewer
Dance - Neset/Markelov, Peal/Peal

Top 24 Current Season Jr World Rankings -
Men - Sanchez, Blackwell
Women - J Lee, Higase-Chen
Pairs - Flores/Wang, Carpenter/Maravilla, Hansen/Church, Moss/Galbavy, McDanold/Felberbaum
Dance - Wolfkostin/Tsarevski, Aboian/Veselukhin, Peal/Peal, Mullen/Mullen, Ilin/Cain

So, the complete Athlete Selection Pool for Jr Worlds included:
Men - Sanchez (x4), Blackwell (x3), Fegan (x2), Shinohara (x1), Elano (x2), Martynov (x1), & Kovar (x1)
Jr Worlds team - Sanchez, Blackwell; alternates - Fegan, Elano, Kovar

Women - Everhardt (x2), von Felten (x2), Higase-Chen (x2), Lin-Gracey (x1), J Lee (x3), Jurka (x1), Nemirovsky (x1), Zhang (x2)
Jr Worlds team - von Felten, Lin-Gracey; alternates - Higase-Chen, Zhang, J Lee

Pairs - Flores/Wang (x4), Williams/Lewer (x3), Moss/Galbavy (x3), McDanold/Felberbaum (x2), Carpenter/Maravilla (x3), Hansen/Church (x1)
Jr Worlds team - Flores/Wang, Williams/Lewer, Moss/Galbavy; alternates - Carpenter/Maravilla, McDanold/Felberbaum, Hansen/Church

Dance - Wolfkostin/Tsarevski (x3), Peal/Peal (x4), Neset/Markelov (x3), Aboian/Veselukhin (x3), Mullen/Mullen (x3), Ilin/Cain (x1) Jr Worlds team - Wolfkostin/Tsarevski, Aboian/Veselukhin, Mullen/Mullen; alternates - Peal/Peal, Ilin/Cain, Deych/Hu

There were valid arguments to be made in favor of selecting Sanchez (reigning JGPF champ), WolfTsar (reigning JGPF silver medalists), and WilLew (reigning Jr Worlds bronze medalists) despite them competing Senior domestically. And, ultimately, with the exception of the Women, almost ALL of the skaters selected for the Jr Worlds team or as alternates competed in Juniors at 2025 Nats. With respect to the women, there was a LOT of discussion about who would be selected & there were solid arguments in favor of sending Sarah, Sophie Joline, Logan, Elyce, or Sherry; with lesser arguments for Josephine, Jessica or Emilia. Ultimately, I think Sophie Joline's unexpected JGP gold in Gdansk is what earned her the spot - mind last season was her first competing internationally for the US.

Bringing it back to the men and this year in particular... If Blackwell (as an example) qualifies for the JGPF again, there's no reason to believe he won't also get the Jr Worlds assignment again despite competing in Juniors domestically again. Meanwhile, Kazanecki hadn't competed internationally in a couple of seasons and if he, too, can medal again at his 2nd JGP, even if he doesn't qualify for the JGPF, has set himself up quite nicely as a leading contender for the Jr Worlds team.

Domestic skaters, in any discipline, who are lucky to get 1 JGP assignment or maybe offered a Jr B Int'l are always going to struggle with being in the mix for consideration. The International Committee is going to do what it's going to do and some domestic junior who pulls off the Jr equivalent to Ross Miner in 2018 at least has some context before the Int'l Committee even meets as to their actual chances of selection with the detailed Selection Pool criteria.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

  • ... and 1 more.
    • Total: 9 (members: 4, guests: 5)

    Similar threads

    Sylvia
    U.S. Men 2024-25 news & updates
    50 51 52
    Replies
    2K
    Views
    280K
    Karen-W
    Karen-W
    haribobo
    2025-26 Grand Prix Assignments Discussion
    6 7 8
    Replies
    213
    Views
    37K
    Karen-W
    Karen-W
    haribobo
    2025 US Nationals Senior Men and Women Projected Entries
    Replies
    8
    Views
    4K
    Sylvia
    Sylvia
    Sylvia
    • Locked
    U.S. Men 2023-24 news & updates
    19 20 21
    Replies
    614
    Views
    158K
    Capt. DeSoto
    C
    Karen-W
    USFS Team Envelopes 2024-26 Updated
    2
    Replies
    47
    Views
    16K
    barbk
    B
    Back
    Top
    Do Not Sell My Personal Information