Junior Worlds: Recap

Men: 
After a disastrous Canadian nationals, Andrei Rogozine was able to put together two strong programs here.  Although he didn't win either segment, his scores were good enough to give him the gold medal.  His opening triple axel + triple toe and solo triple axel in his free skate both received positive GOEs and really racked up the technical points for him.  He'll need to work on the quality and difficulty of his spins if he wants to make a splash at the senior level.  He hasn't aged out of juniors and can compete here again next season but young phenom Nan Nguyen who recently won the Canadian Junior title, will be aging in next season and could put up a big fight.

Keiji Tanaka won the free skate and the silver medal.  He had a nice GOE on his triple axel in the free skate and had Level 3s and 4s on his spins.  He could work on amping up his jump difficulty, but he is also eligible to compete as a junior next season.

Alexander Majorov became the first Swedish man to medal at the Junior World Championships with his bronze medal finish.  He has two triple + triple combos in his arsenal that give him a big technical bonus but his GOEs are barely in the positive range.  He'll be able to see how his scores compare with the best in the world when he competes at the World Championships in a few weeks.  This was his final season of junior eligibility.

Keegan Messing fell from 1st to 4th after a rough free skate in which he popped an axel and received no credit for a loop.  His short program showed off his jump arsenal and he does have a quad under his belt.  He'll be aging out of Juniors and looking to put his quad against the top men next season.

Max Aaron, who finished 5th is the only other top ten finisher who is aging out of juniors.

I had 0/3 exact predictions and picked 1/3 medal winners (Andrei Rogozine).

Ladies:
Russia's tiny phenoms proved just how good they are by finishing 1-2 at this event.  Adelina Sotnikova put together Triple Lutz + Triple Loop and Double Axel + Triple Toe combinations with positive GOEs en route to a technical victory.  She could work on the level of her steps and layback spin, but overall this young lady looks ready for an impressive debut on the Senior Grand Prix next season.  She won't be old enough for senior worlds next season, but will be looking to defend her title.

She'll be challenged by Elizaveta Tuktamisheva who took the silver medal here.  Elizaveta lacked some of the jump difficulty of Adelina, but is equal to most of the senior ladies out there.  Her step sequence is one area she could work on difficulty.  She'll likely be on the Senior Grand Prix next season as well.

Agnes Zawadzki came from behind to claim her second Junior Worlds medal.  Her normally strong jumps were judged under-rotated in some cases by a tough technical panel, but she did put out a seasons best free skate.  This is only her 4th international competition, and I've seen her confidence improve at each outing.  I wouldn't be surprised to see her take home her first Grand Prix medal next season.

Christina Gao dropped to 4th after having her double axel deemed under-rotated and in this deep field, not showing a triple-triple in her free skate cost her important technical points.  She's undergone some growth spurts this season that have caused her to adjust her jumps, but her style is more like Yuna Kim everyday.  As she gets her feet back under her again, I think she'll really start to rack up points and medals next season.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Pairs:
Discounting a fall on the side by side jumps at the beginning of their free skate, Sui and Han were perfect to claim their second Junior World title.  Their throw quad was slightly two-footed, but they've got closer to a clean landing at each competition and I expect they'll have it down by next season.  They are already one of the top senior teams in the World and can do elements that no one else in the world is doing.  If they can escape the age scandal, I expect them to continue their success as seniors next season and make a run for the World podium.

Stolbova and Klimov were able to move up a spot and claim the silver medal.  They have a lot of nice elements but are only doing double twists which will cost them a lot of points next season as seniors if they don't start executing triple twists.  They'll be on the Grand Prix next season, but they've aged out of juniors and with a very deep Russian field, they may have trouble breaking through and claiming spots at Europeans and Senior Worlds.

Takahashi and Tran took home the bronze medal.  Their free skate had several errors, including no credit on their spirals and problems on their side by side jumps.  I think the strain of so many events at the end of the season at two different levels is starting to show.  As they age out of juniors and transition solely to seniors, they'll be able to really polish their programs and perhaps repeat the success they had as seniors this season.

Cain and Reagan placed 4th with several nice elements.  She is very tall with long limbs and while this makes some of the elements harder, it also makes their lifts look fantastic.  They only execute a double twist and will need to up that element to compete with the seniors.  The US have several good pairs teams, but Cain and Reagan seem to be improving quickly and could make a mark next season at the senior level.

Other teams in the top 10 aging out are Purich and Schultz, Jones and Gaskell, Andrews and LeDuc, Gillespie and Dematte.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Dance:
Monko and Khaliavan won both segments to take home the gold medal.  They have a very nice style and nice lines while on the ice, but twizzles are one of their weaker elements.  They are aging out of juniors and will be in a good but young dance field in Russia.

Countrymates Pushkash and Guerreiro won the silver medal and will also be facing a tough field at home as they age out of juniors.  Their step sequences in their free dance only gained Level 2s but the rest of their elements were well executed and they had several high GOEs.

Lichtman and Copely took home the bronze medal to cap off a breakout season for this team to cap their junior careers.  They had all Level 3 and 4 elements except for the midline step sequence.  I expect them to continue to develop their technique under the watchful eye of Zoueva and Shpilband.  They'll do well as seniors next season, but the US dance field is so deep and almost all the top teams train with their same coaches.  These teams are also very young and not likely to retire any time soon, so it could be an uphill battle to get to Senior Worlds.

Zahorski and Miart finished a surprise 2nd in the free dance and 4th overall.  They had all Level 3 and 4 elements in their free skate and nice GOEs.  They can still compete as juniors next season and it will be interesting to see if they choose to take this momentum to the senior level or make a run for the Junior Grand Prix Final and Junior World Champion titles.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Overall: I had 9/12 exact predictions and picked 10/12 of the medal winners.