U.S. Men 2026-27 Discussion - Of Ice and Men

spin2win said:
And the final results from US Junior Team Cup: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2026/37080/CAT001SEG002.html

Farrington wins albeit with some difficulty (FCSSp4 was invalidated?, popped quad, 3 other negative GOE passes).
Blackwell won the free skate and finishes 2nd overall, landing 4T and 3A+Eu+3S+2A sequence worth 19.87 points
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Blackwell also popped his solo 3A and had negative GOE on his last two jumping passes.
Farrington landed a 3A+3T (slightly negative GOE).

Overall, both were messy but head & shoulders above the rest of the field. It's a good thing they have 5-6 weeks to continue training and preparing for their first JGP assignments. It'll be interesting to see how the USFS doles out the rest of the assignments.
 
Karen-W said:
Have you followed his career at all? Hitting the 3A to open then popping the solo 3z & biffing the combo is par for the course with him. This is his 3rd season competing with a 3A & quads and he is actually old enough to compete senior now.
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Yes and I still stand by my statement.
 
I see from the protocols that instead of just doing his planned 3a, Caleb decided to put it in combination. I don't know why he did it, but good call -- it helped him pull out the win despite the spin problem.
 
Wyliefan said:
I see from the protocols that instead of just doing his planned 3a, Caleb decided to put it in combination. I don't know why he did it, but good call -- it helped him pull out the win despite the spin problem.
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Don't look at planned elements. It only lists one combination for him which would be throwing away points if it were actual fact. This is probably his intended layout with 3A+3T.
 
Re-posting here from the 2026 Likely U.S. JGP Entries discussion thread in the Trash Can:
haribobo said:
FYI, Lorenzo Elano is no longer in USFS ISP.
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While I'm sorry that "Renzo" Elano will no longer represent the USA internationally, I wish him the very best in his next chapter (assume with the Philippines? no indication on his Instagram profile yet). His last international (https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00117793.htm) was his silver in the Tallinn Trophy Junior Men's event that ended on Nov. 28, 2025.

ETA that I posted a well written Chicago article before Elano's Senior debut at Nationals in St. Louis here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-the-mere-mortals.112914/page-18#post-6858737
 
There are 39 men currently listed in USFS' ISP as of today 7/12/26:

Grand Prix assignments (1 TBD at Skate America):
Jason Brown - SkAm & NHK
Ilia Malinin - SkAM & NHK
Jacob Sanchez - France & China
Andrew Torgashev - SCI & Finland
Liam Kapeikis - SCI
Lucius Kazanecki - GP debut in China
Jimmy Ma - France

Senior international pool, for now, includes the above as well as:
Goku Endo S13 at Nationals (162.33 at Skate Milwaukee this weekend)
Kai Kovar S10
Daniel Martynov S7
Arsen Meghavoryan PC-J8 - turned 19 in May: https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00124350.htm
Samuel Mindra S15 (status?)
Maxim Naumov S3 (status?)
Emmanuel Savary S16 (retired?)
Jared Sedlis E-S5
Taira Shinohara M-S4 - (189.17 at All Year Open); landed 1st clean 4T in comp. in SoCal Interclub SP - his video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr1pc3Zmbfw
Shinohara shared his FS music in his All Year Open FS video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUSbTfqAlmY
i think about you not thinking about me Piano solo | far
Nagareyuku kisetsu | haruka nakamura
The Great Collapse | Joe Hisaishi
Every Living Breathing Moment | Grant Stellar

Competed at U.S. Junior Team Cup in Milwaukee (20; final placement included below along with last season's domestic results):
Ryan Azadpour [JTC-14; J10] - landed 1st (IIRC) clean 3A in his JTC FS
Patrick Blackwell [JTC-2; 2 JGPs last yr/J1 Nationals] - also ISU Senior age-eligible (68.42 in Senior SP at Colonial Open: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2026/36742/SEGM015.html)
Zenith Chen [JTC-17; M-N2/J15]
Caleb Farrington [JTC-1; 2 JGPs/J2] - also ISU Senior age-eligible
Isaac Fulton [JTC-11; M-J6]
Henry Gao [JTC-12; JGP/E-J5/J9]
Kirk Haugeto [JTC-3; J7; JGP in 2022]
Michael Khavin [JTC-16; E-N2/J16]
Daniel Koppel [JTC-5; PC-N3]
Zachary LoPinto [JTC-7; J5]
Louis Mallane [JTC-4; JGP/J3]
Evan Neuhaus [JTC-13; M-J9] - landed clean 3A in comp. for 1st time last month & in his JTC SP
Marlo Rosen [JTC-8; M-J5]
Ryedin Rudedenmen [JTC-10; J13]
Josh Snyder [JTC-15; J8]
Hitonari Tani [JTC-6; E-N1/J17]
Vaclav Vasquez [JTC-9; PC-J5] - has competed Senior domestically (165.81 at All Year Open)
Mike Weng [JTC-19; M-N1/J18]
David Zhao [JTC-18; E-N2 in Nov. 2024]
Jesse Zhong [JTC SP only; PC-N1/J14]

ISU Junior age-eligible but did not compete at Junior Team Cup:
Nicholas Brooks [listed as WD; JGP/J4]
Aleksandr Fegan [JGP/J-wd]
Michael Jin [PC-N2/J12]
 
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Re-posting here from Maxim's fan thread - he and Danny O'Shea were among the group of Olympians in Washington D.C. earlier this month who appeared on PBS' A Capitol Fourth - his interview clips:
www.instagram.com

A Capitol Fourth on Instagram: "@TeamUSA figure skater @MaximNaumov_ reflects on representing the United States on the world stage and shares what makes him proud to be an American as we celebrate America's 250th birthday. Watch #ACapitolFourth's tr

2,232 likes, 66 comments - july4thpbs on July 8, 2026: "@TeamUSA figure skater @MaximNaumov_ reflects on representing the United States on the world stage and shares what makes him proud to be an American as we celebrate America's 250th birthday. Watch #ACapitolFourth's tribute to Team USA and...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

The Excel National Final competition & Festival is being held at SCoB in Norwood, MA this week and competitors have the opportunity to take part in on- and off-ice training sessions at the Finalist Camp that will be led by U.S. men such as Naumov, Camden Pulkinen (back on the ice in NYC: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Day5K87OHy0/), Tomoki Hiwatashi (recently landed a 3A after a long break from the ice in an Instastory he shared), and Sean Rabbitt. ETA - found a photo of Max off ice and Tomoki on the ice with Sean behind him yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da1ckF7Fpdr/
 
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PRlady said:
Yikes. He couldn’t get DWTS? This sounds just awful!
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Personally, I think it's rather cool. If he does well, (and there's no reason to think he won't) then it could make figure skating a sport that more boys & men are willing to try out or at least stop labeling it as effeminate. It changes the perception of the sport to that demographic. That's a good thing for the sport in the US long term.
 
Karen-W said:
Personally, I think it's rather cool. If he does well, (and there's no reason to think he won't) then it could make figure skating a sport that more boys & men are willing to try out or at least stop labeling it as effeminate. That's a good thing for the sport in the US long term.
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Shawn Johnson did it with her husband last season. Yeah pretty tough. Rumor is participating gets them $100k - not sure if that real, but I can understand why Max might do it
 
Karen-W said:
Personally, I think it's rather cool. If he does well, (and there's no reason to think he won't) then it could make figure skating a sport that more boys & men are willing to try out or at least stop labeling it as effeminate.
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Let's hope that he at least beats George Santos and all the reality tv stars.

I doubt that Adam Rippon winning that Mars show with all it's mission changed much about the perception of figure skating. I don't think a straight male figure skater will do that much more here.

Hopefully, Max did make some good money and had fun in the process.

Is this tv show the reason he didn't do any SOI shows?
 
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Allskate said:
Let's hope that he at least beats George Santos and all the reality tv stars.
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I was really surprised at how tough Gia Guidice was last season. People can surprise you!
Allskate said:
Hopefully, Max did make some good money and had fun in the process.

Is this tv show the reason he didn't do any SOI shows
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Doing the show would have conflicted with some of the tour - I think it takes a couple of weeks to do it, plus the recovery from it on the other end. And if it had a $100k paycheck, well, that would definitely be more than Stars on Ice.
 
Naumov was one of the SC of Boston group that returned to demonstrate at the seminar in Bangkok in late May - clips from his SP performance there: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY6iNUXpT3W/
It would make sense that he filmed the Fox show in Malaysia beforehand.

Re-posting here from Max's fan thread:
Kiki5375 said:
www.instagram.com

Jimmy Ma on Instagram: "T H A I L A N D but from my (unhinged) perspective"

1,167 likes, 12 comments - jimmy_mf_ma on June 15, 2026: "T H A I L A N D but from my (unhinged) perspective".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
Thanks to Jimmy Ma. Don't miss slide 9 and 14
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skatfan said:
I was really surprised at how tough Gia Guidice was last season. People can surprise you!
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I don't doubt it, but @Karen-W n was hoping that Max would change the image of figure skaters amongst a certain group of people, and I don't think that losing to reality stars or George Santos would help in that regard.
 
Allskate said:
I don't doubt it, but @Karen-W n was hoping that Max would change the image of figure skaters amongst a certain group of people, and I don't think that losing to reality stars or George Santos would help in that regard.
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I've never watched this show but having watched my fair share of reality competition shows over the years, I'd say that it all depends on "how" he loses, if he doesn't win. If he flames out spectacularly in the first episode, that's not going to move the needle at all, but if he makes it deep into the season and is eliminated in a close contest, there's a level of respect that will come with it.
 
Lucas Broussard posted a clip of himself doing a lutz/loop (in Seattle):

www.instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

He keeps teasing me. :lol:

I think Cranberry entrants should be posted within the week. I still haven't found a list for Cactus Classic.
 
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^^^ Smooth 3Lz+3Lo by Lucas in his Instastory! :)

USFS' Collegiate Championships recap article (July 19):
usfigureskating.org

Shinohara Repeats as U.S. Collegiate Men’s Champion - U.S. Figure Skating

Taira Shinohara (University of California, Irvine) captured his second consecutive senior men's title at the 2026 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships in
usfigureskating.org usfigureskating.org

Senior Men's final standings: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2026/36470/CAT017SEG006.html
Taira Shinohara & Lorenzo Elano both landed a clean 3A in FS; good to see Joe Klein landing a few triples again! (apparently his 3rd surgery took place in late January).

Taira has uploaded his Collegiates programs on his YT channel:
SP to "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZvIqfIdpwo
FS to music from Studio Ghibli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u09akiyefTQ
Taira shared his 2026-27 FS music tracks in an earlier video on his channel (listed in post #69 above).

Junior Men's final: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2026/36470/CAT019SEG009.html
Ryan Azadpour (Washington University in St. Louis) scored 30 points higher here than at Junior Team Cup! SP jumps were 3A fall, landed 3F+3T & 3Lz; his 3A was called rotated in both programs.

From USFS' article - Lorenzo Elano's 2026-27 music is "Oh, Love and Fear" by Wylder (SP) and "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber (FS); choreo. by Tommy Steenberg, I've heard. Azadpour's Junior program music is "David's Writings" by Christopher Willis (new SP from The Personal History of David Copperfield film soundtrack) and he kept last season's "He Lives in You" (from The Lion King soundtrack by Lebo M) for his FS.
 
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Allskate said:
I still haven't found a list for Cactus Classic.
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I just checked USFS' EMS and there are only 2 Junior & 2 Novice men listed for NQS Cactus Classic, July 24-25 - none in Senior (starting orders are not yet posted - maybe by tomorrow? will cross-post names here from the NQS comps thread in Kiss & Cry).

Glacier Falls Summer Classic in Anaheim, CA usually attracts the most NQS Senior & Junior men - 13 are registered for each level, July 31-Aug. 1 (names not yet known).
 
Heard 2 rumors and turns out one was kind of hiding in plain sight on the front page of the Patriot Figure Skating Club website: https://www.patriotfsc.org/home
US National team member, Caleb Farrington, took first place at the 2026 U.S. Junior Team Cup. Congratulations Caleb!

Caleb represents The Patriot Figure Skating Club and trains full time at The Patriot Ice Center.
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This would suggest that Farrington has made a change of some kind since neither of these are listed in his ISU/USFS bios.

The other rumor is that Lucius Kazanecki may have changed coaches. Less clear, but I've spotted him training in the last 3 Jacob Sanchez training youtube vlogs both at Jacob's home rink and also what looks like a group bootcamp in Lake Placid.
 
spin2win said:
interesting. I guess to share -- the full rumor was Priscilla Hill/Roland Burghart coaching tandem, and Johnny Weir choreographed a program.
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Yes, someone that seemed like an area skate parent had posted on one of the Reddit Jr. Team Cup threads that Priscilla and Roland are coaching him, and Johnny was helping out with choreo on at least one of the programs. It makes sense since his hometown is listed as Newark Delaware (same town as Patriot FSC). Training up north of NYC must have been a hell of a commute last season. I almost posted it to the Coaching Change thread when I saw that, but, after reading a page or two of that thread it seemed like it wasn't really necessary to be posting about juniors in there.
 
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Capt. DeSoto said:
It makes sense since his hometown is listed as Newark Delaware (same town as Patriot FSC). Training up north of NYC must have been a hell of a commute last season.
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Very true! IIRC, Priscilla Hill is semi-retired but I think it's great that she is involved with coaching Caleb! :)
 
I’m not familiar with Roland Burghart. Hope it’s a good move for Caleb because he is a special skater.

I’ve also watched the Jacob Sanchez videos that show Lucius Kazanecki training in the same summer camp in Lake Placid, and I wondered whether he switched to Jacob’s coaching team. If so, they can really help him with skating skills!
 
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