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

[Sylvia]

Nice to see that 2 Richmond, Virginia local news stations have publicized Ken Mikawa's upcoming Nationals debut : https://www.wric.com/news/local-new...e-skater-qualifies-for-national-championship/

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond native figure skater Ken Mikawa has made local history after qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating National Championships.
Twenty-two-year-old Mikawa will represent the Richmond Figure Skating Club in the Senior Championship level at the competition. This is the first time a skater has qualified for Nationals at this division in club history, per a release.
Mikawa, also a Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) alum, started skating at four years old through the Learn to Skate program at SkateNation Plus. He earned national recognition after qualifying and competing at the U.S. Nationals in 2013 at the juvenile level.

Richmond figure skater Ken Mikawa is heading to U.S. Figure Skating Nationals

Richmond figure skater Ken Mikawa will represent the Richmond Figure Skating Club in the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in St. Louis.

www.wtvr.com

“This is an incredible moment for Richmond skating,” said Lea Rizer, Skating Director at SkateNation Plus. “Ken’s dedication, growth, and love for the sport have brought him to this point, and we could not be more proud.”
His coaching team, Rizer and Tracey Solomons-Henn, will travel with him to St. Louis for support.
“I’ve grown up on the ice here in Richmond,” said Mikawa. “To be able to represent my hometown at Nationals in the Championship division is an honor. I’m grateful to my coaches, the local skating community, and everyone who’s supported me since I first put on skates.”

 

[Sylvia]

Dec. 19, 2025 in Ilia's fan thread:

Ilia was at Great Park Ice this week, working with Shae-Lynn Bourne - she and Raf both spoke to a CBS LA sports reporter (posted by Great Park Ice): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSdUnfTEk1j/

CBS LA uploaded the video to YT on 12/22/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_vpojnXQXs

I think I've seen some of Ilia's skating and interview footage before? This 2-minute segment, uploaded to YT today, also includes Jason talking about Ilia's 7 quads, filmed at Champs Camp in Boston - WOOD-TV Sports Director Jack Doles on Ilia's "Journey to Italy": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4hP9HHOFWQ

 

[Sylvia]

I came across Chicago Sun-Times' Instagram post with lovely photos of Lorenzo Elano:

Chicago Sun-Times on Instagram: "You haven’t heard of Lorenzo Elano. He’s hoping to change that. Elano is the reigning U.S. junior champion in figure skating and will make his senior debut at the national championships in St. Louis in January, whic

412 likes, 2 comments - chicagosuntimes on January 2, 2026: "You haven’t heard of Lorenzo Elano. He’s hoping to change that. Elano is the reigning U.S. junior champion in figure skating and will make his senior debut at the national championships in St. Louis in January, which will feature 18...

www.instagram.com

Link to his Jan. 2nd feature article by Mitch Dudek and photos by Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere:

Chicago skater Lorenzo Elano prepares to glide into the national spotlight

Although the teen skater — who is the reigning U.S. junior champion — may not be in the conversation for the upcoming Olympics in Italy, he has already set his sights on 2030.

chicago.suntimes.com

 

[ice coverage]

Junior Men update for U.S. Nationals:

Aleksandr Fegan (Eastern Final, junior) - withdrew 1/3
Henry Gao - added 1/3

https://usfigureskating.org/news/20...e-skating-championships-lineup-announced.aspx​

I'm sad for Sasha Fegan ... and happy for Henry.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Junior Men update for U.S. Nationals:

Aleksandr Fegan (Eastern Final, junior) - withdrew 1/3​

Henry Gao - added 1/3​

​

https://usfigureskating.org/news/20...e-skating-championships-lineup-announced.aspx​

I'm sad for Sasha Fegan ... and happy for Henry.

I feel the same. I like them both.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

Junior Men update for U.S. Nationals:

Aleksandr Fegan (Eastern Final, junior) - withdrew 1/3​

Henry Gao - added 1/3​

Wouldn’t Marlo Rosen be next in line before Henry Gao? Do alternates come from the same section, or the next highest score nationally? I thought it was the latter. If so, I guess Marlo turned it down. Or is it just wildcards that pull from the national pool?

 

[Karen-W]

Wouldn’t Marlo Rosen be next in line before Henry Gao? Do alternates come from the same section, or the next highest score nationally? I thought it was the latter. If so, I guess Marlo turned it down. Or is it just wildcards that pull from the national pool?

No, for juniors it's by section - top 4 junior men & top 2 novice men in each section qualify for Nats. Withdrawals would be replaced by the next highest placed junior or novice man in the section.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

No, for juniors it's by section - top 4 junior men & top 2 novice men in each section qualify for Nats. Withdrawals would be replaced by the next highest placed junior or novice man in the section.

Wasn’t Ava Ziegler’s replacement from out of section?

 

[Karen-W]

Wasn’t Ava Ziegler’s replacement from out of section?

Technically, no.

When you list all of the Sectional Results for the Senior Women, the list looks like this:

1) Nemirovsky 200.62 - Mids - M1
2) von Felten 192.31 - Easterns - E1
3) Higase-Chen 173.35 - Mids - M2
4) Hilmer 173.35 - Mids - At-Large 1
5) Ziegler 171.53 - Easterns - E2
6) Gewalt 166.63 - Mids - At-Large 2
7) Machida 165.40 - Easterns - Originally At-Large 3 moves up to E2
8) Shen 153.69 - Pac Coasts - PC1
9) Bonillo 152.24 - Mids - Originally At-Large Alt 1 moves into At-Large 3 spot
10) Erne 151.66 - Mids - Now At-Large Alt 1
11) M Lee 147.48 - Easterns - if another Eastern section skater withdraws then she would slot into the E2 spot
12) Gasparotto 147.21 - Mids - Now At-Large Alt 2
13) Levine 144.52 - Mids - Now At-Large Alt 3
14) Clarke 143.60 - Easterns - see M Lee
15) Wallace 142.79 - Pac Coasts - PC2
16) S Lee 142.20 - Pac Coasts - if a PC section skater withdraws, she would slot into the PC2 spot
17) Wang 142.14 - Pac Coasts - see S Lee

So, Machida is Ziegler's replacement and Bonillo then takes Machida's At-Large spot which is not dictated by the section you're from. Theoretically, the only way for Kendall Erne to get a spot ahead of Michelle Lee or Soho Lee is if one of the 5 women from the Midwestern Section were to withdraw.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

So, Machida is Ziegler's replacement and Bonillo then takes Machida's At-Large spot which is not dictated by the section you're from.

Ah, I see. It wasn't clear to me that there were intermediate slot promotions mixed in there. Thanks.

 

[Sylvia]

Congratulations to the 2026 U.S. Junior Men's medalists! GOLD Patrick Blackwell, SILVER Caleb Farrington, BRONZE Louis Mallane and PEWTER Nicholas Brooks.
In the FS on Monday night, Patrick landed 4T, 4S (his 1st attempt in competition, IIRC), 3A+3Aq, 2T+1Eu+3S, 3Lz+3T, 3F & 3Lo and the audience gave him a standing O afterwards.
Caleb fell on his 3A (1st attempt in competition, IIRC) and 4Tq attempts in his SP & FS, respectively, but I was excited to see him successfully landing 4T & 3A in practices.

NBC6 South Florida's news story/video on Andrew Torgashev (Jan. 6): https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local...pot-on-team-usas-figure-skating-team/3733541/

Emmanuel Savary (Jan. 4):

Skater Emmanuel Savary sharpens routines for the 2026 U.S. Championships

Emmanuel Savary aims to make his mark at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, as it may be his final U.S. nationals. Read about his journey and goals.

afro.com

 

[Jammers]

Hopefully Patrick will move up to Seniors next year and not just at Nationals but internationally he's a raw talent who just needs to harness it and get the coaching he needs and he will be a force by 2030.