Jeremy Abbott was the only U.S. man to qualify for the Grand Prix Final this season. He has a very entertaining swing themed short program and a classic lyrical free skate. He has started putting the quad back in his programs but hasn't had a clean free skate yet. He has the capability to put together two amazing programs and compete with the world's best but hasn't been able to do so recently. He still has some of the highest scores of all the U.S. men and if he can stay on his feet should have an easy victory.
Adam Rippon competed in two tough fields on the Grand Prix to finish 4th at both events. He switched coaches in the off season to Sato and Dungjen who are the perfect fit for his style. He also trains alongside Jeremy Abbott, giving him a competitive environment in practice everyday. He has been working on a quad lutz and getting consistency on his triple axel.
Max Aaron set a huge score in qualifying with quads and triple axels as well as solid component scores. He is competing in his first senior nationals after winning the junior title last season. If he can keep the same pace at nationals he has a great chance at winning a medal and making a big splash in his senior debut.
Stephen Carriere is making a big comeback this season, winning bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy. He has a quad as well this season. He scored below his international marks at sectionals, mostly because of his short program. If he can skate clean in his short program, he should have one of the top scores at this event.
Ross Miner won his first Grand Prix medal this season, taking home the bronze from NHK Trophy. He has a very easy style on the ice and is enjoyable to watch. He isn't working on a quad this season but his other jumps are very consistent. He was a surprise on the medal stand last season but he is dedicated to improving his skating and I wouldn't count him out this year.
Joshua Farris has a lovely short program but his free skate hasn't quite gelled this season. He has one of the top scores in this field even though he competed as a junior internationally. With additional elements he has the potential to increase his score even more.
Richard Dornbush is the reigning silver medalist and scored well on the Grand Prix, landing quads for the first time in competition. His triple axel has been his nemesis all season and he's struggled to land it consistently in his programs. He changed his short program shortly before the Grand Prix started and while it was already showing great potential, the extra training time will only allow his program to improve.
Others skaters to watch include Keegan Messing, who won gold at Coupe de Nice, Jason Brown, the Junior Grand Prix Final Champion, Douglas Razzano, the Finlandia Trophy silver medalist, Jonathan Cassar, who finished 4th at Ondrej Nepela and Grant Hochstein who finished 5th at Ondrej Nepela.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Jeremy Abbott
Silver: Adam Rippon
Bronze: Max Aaron
Pewter: Stephen Carriere
Bios of the competitors:
Alexander Aiken: He is 21 years old and represents the Atlanta Figure Skating Club. He is the 2006 Intermediate silver medalist, finished 7th as a Novice in 2007, 5th in Novice in 2008, 7th in Junior in 2009, 10th in Junior in 2010 and is the reigning Junior Men's bronze medalist. He won bronze at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 10th best free skate score.
Wesley Campbell: He is 26 years old and represents the Colonial Figure Skating Club. He finished 7th in Juvenile in 1997, is the 1999 Intermediate Champion, finished 7th in Novice in 2000 and 2001, is the 2002 Novice pewter medalist, finished 6th in Juniors in 2003, is the 2004 Junior bronze medalist, finished 14th in 2005, 7th in 2008, 20th in 2010 and 14th in 2011. He won silver at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 5th best free skate score and 8th best total score.
Stephen Carriere: He is 22 and represents the Skating Club of Boston. He won bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy. He is the 2007 World Junior Champion. He finished 14th in Juvenile in 2001, 5th in Intermediate in 2002, 6th in Intermediate in 2003, is the 2004 Novice pewter medalist, finished 7th in Junior in 2005, is the 2006 Junior Champion, finished 9th in 2007, is the 2008 bronze medalist and finished 9th in 2009. He won gold at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 7th best short program, 3rd best free skate and 2nd best total score.
Alexander Zahradnicek: He is 20 and represents the Skating Club of Wilmington. He finished 9th in Juvenile in 2003, is the 2004 Juvenile Champion, 2005 Intermediate bronze medalist, 2007 and 2008 Novice pewter medalist, finished 5th in Junior in 2010 and is the reigning Junior silver medalist. He won pewter at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 9th best short program score.
Max Aaron: He is 19 years old and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club. He placed 5th at the World Junior Championships last season. He placed 5th at the Nebelhorn Trophy. He is the 2005 Juvenile Champion, 2006 Intermediate bronze medalist, finished 5th in Novice in 2007, 13th in Juniors in 2008, is the 2010 Junior bronze medalist and the reigning Junior Champion. He won gold at the Southwestern Regional and Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the best short program, free skate and total score.
William Brewster: He is 21 and represents the Detroit Skating Club. He is the 2002 Juvenile Champion, 2003 Intermediate Champion, finished 6th in Novice in 2004, is the 2005 Novice bronze medalist, finished 14th in Juniors in 2006, 13th in Juniors in 2007, 9th in Juniors in 2008 and 15th in 2009. He won pewter at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.
Grant Hochstein: He is 21 and represents the St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club. He placed 5th at Ondrej Nepela Memorial. He finished 10th in Juvenile in 2003, is the 2004 Intermediate pewter medalist, finished 8th in Novice in 2005, finished 12th in Juniors in 2007, 11th in Juniors in 2008, is the 2009 Junior pewter medalist, finished 7th in 2010 and 12th in 2011. He won silver at the Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 6th best short program, 9th best free skate and 7th best total score.
Alexander Johnson: He is 21 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club. He finished 16th in Juvenile in 2002, 12th in Juvenile in 2003, 13th in Intermediate in 2004, 5th in Intermediate in 2005, 9th in Novice in 2006, is the 2007 Novice silver medalist, finished 7th in Juniors in 2008, is the 2009 Junior bronze medalist, finished 17th in 2010 and 16th in 2011. He won pewter at Southwestern Regionals. He has the 5th best short program score and 10th best total score.
Jonathan Cassar: He is 25 and represents the All Year Figure Skating Club. He placed 4th at Ondrej Nepela Memorial. He finished 12th in Juvenile in 2000, 5th in Intermediate in 2002, 8th in Juniors in 2006, 9th in 2007, 16th in 2009, 12th in 2010 and 11th in 2011. He won silver at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 8th best short program, 2nd best free skate and 4th best total score.
Scott Dyer: He is 20 and represents the Columbia Figure Skating Club. He is the 2006 and 2007 Novice pewter medalist, 2010 Junior pewter medalist and finished 13th in 2011. He won the pewter medal at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 7th best free skate and 9th best total score.
Keegan Messing: He is 19 and represents the Alaska Association of Figure Skaters. He finished 4th at the World Junior Championships last season. He won gold at Coupe de Nice. He placed 5th in Juvenile in 2004, 6th in Intermediate in 2005, 9th in Intermediate in 2006, is the 2007 Novice bronze medalist, finished 5th in Juniors in 2008, is the 2009 Junior silver medalist, finished 9th in 2010 and 8th in 2011. He won bronze at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 3rd best short program, 6th best free skate and 5th best total scores.
Douglas Razzano: He is 23 years old and represents the Coyotes Skating Club of Arizona. He won silver at Finlandia Trophy. He is the 2003 Intermediate pewter medalist, finished 5th in Novice in 2004, is the 2005 Junior pewter medalist, finished 12th in Juniors in 2006, 5th in Juniors in 2007, 16th in 2008, 14th in 2009, 15th in 2010 and 10th in 2011. He won gold at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals. He has the 4th best short program, 4th best free skate and 3rd best total score.
Jeremy Abbott: He is 26 and represents the Detroit Skating Club. He is the reigning Four Continents bronze medalist. He won gold at Cup of China and bronze at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 5th. He finished 9th in Juvenile in 1998, 6th in Intermediate in 2000, 6th in Novice in 2002, 7th in Juniors in 2004, is the 2005 Junior Champion, is the 2007 and 2008 pewter medalist, 2009 and 2010 Champion and is the reigning pewter medalist. He has the 4th highest short program, 5th highest free skate and 5th highest total score internationally.
Jason Brown: He is 17 and represents the Skokie Valley Skating Club. He placed 7th at Junior Worlds last season. He won gold at JGP Australia and silver at JGP Italy to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he won gold. He is the 2007 Juvenile Champion, 2008 Intermediate Men's silver medalist, 2009 Novice bronze medalist, 2010 Junior Champion and finished 7th in 2011. He has the 3rd best short program, 2nd best free skate and 2nd best total Junior score internationally.
Richard Dornbush: He is 20 and represents the All Year Figure Skating Club. He placed 9th at Worlds last season. He finished 4th at Skate America and 6th at Cup of China. He finished 11th in Juvenile in 2002, is the 2003 Juvenile Champion, finished 5th in Intermediate in 2004, 5th in Novice in 2005, 6th in Novice in 2006, 8th in Juniors in 2007, is the 2008 Junior pewter medalist, finished 11th in 2010 and is the reigning silver medalist.
Joshua Farris: He is 17 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club. He won gold at JGP Estonia and Poland to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he won bronze. He is the 2006 Juvenile Champion, finished 9th in Intermediate in 2007, is the 2008 Intermediate Men's Champion, 2009 Novice Champion, 2010 Junior silver medalist and finished 21st in 2011. He has the best short program, 3rd best free skate and 3rd best total Junior score internationally.
Armin Mahbanoozadeh: He is 20 and represents the Washington Figure Skating Club. He placed 7th at Four Continents last season. He placed 10th at Skate America and 8th at NHK Trophy. He finished 16th in Intermediate in 2004, is the 2005 Intermediate silver medalist, finished 7th in Novice in 2006, is the 2007 Novice Champion, finished 8th in Juniors in 2008, 6th in Juniors in 2009, 8th in 2010 and 6th in 2011.
Ross Miner: He is 20 and represents the Skating Club of Boston. He placed 11th at Worlds last season. He finished 6th at Skate Canada and won bronze at NHK Trophy. He finished 8th in Intermediate in 2005, is the 2006 Intermediate Champion, 2008 Novice silver medalist, 2009 Junior Champion and reigning bronze medalist.
Brandon Mroz: He is 21 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club. He placed 9th at Rostelecom Cup and NHK Trophy. He finished 18th in Juvenile in 2002, 11th in Intermediate in 2003, 7th in Novice in 2004, is the 2006 Novice silver medalist, 2007 and 2008 Junior silver medalist, 2009 silver medalist, finished 6th in 2010 and 7th in 2011. He won silver at Southwestern Regionals. He has the 2nd best short program, 8th best free skate and 6th best total score.
Adam Rippon: He is 22 and represents the Skating Club of New York. He placed 5th at Four Continents last season. He placed 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard and Skate Canada. He is the 2010 Four Continents Champion and the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Champion. He placed 7th in Juvenile in 2003, 6th in Intermediate in 2004, is the 2005 Novice silver medalist, finished 11th in Juniors in 2006, 6th in Juniors in 2007, is the 2008 Junior Champion, finished 7th in 2009, 5th in 2010 and 2011.
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