Skate America Men's Free Skate Results

Free Skate

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	174.20	90.84		83.36	8.46	7.93	8.57	8.36	8.36	0.00	#8
2	Max AARON	USA	162.45	90.47		72.98	7.46	6.89	7.39	7.39	7.36	1.00	#3
3	Adam RIPPON	USA	160.98	79.90		82.08	8.11	7.89	8.29	8.32	8.43	1.00	#6
4	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	159.12	72.40		86.72	8.75	8.43	8.50	8.79	8.89	0.00	#4
5	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	153.20	72.28		80.92	8.29	7.96	7.96	8.21	8.04	0.00	#5
6	Jason BROWN	USA	147.25	68.69		79.56	7.71	7.86	8.07	8.00	8.14	1.00	#7
7	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	138.35	70.35		68.00	7.04	6.50	6.75	6.89	6.82	0.00	#1
8	Alexander MAJOROV	SWE	133.75	67.03		67.72	6.82	6.57	6.79	6.75	6.93	1.00	#2

Total

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	265.38	1	1
2	Adam RIPPON	USA	241.24	3	3
3	Max AARON	USA	238.36	6	2
4	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	236.21	5	4
5	Jason BROWN	USA	231.03	2	6
6	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	230.95	4	5
7	Alexander MAJOROV	SWE	208.72	7	8
8	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	208.16	8	7

Skate America Men's Short Program

Group 1

Max Aaron, USA: 41.37 TES + 35.54 PCS -1.00 = 75.91 and into 1st place

• No audio on the feed so it will be a little hard to judge connection to the music and timing
• Fall on the opening quad attempt but it looks like he slipped off the landing edge so he might get full rotation credit
• Triple lutz + triple toe
• Decent stretch through his position but he could be lower throughout his sit spin and losing a bit of speed at the end
• Big triple axel in the bonus with a nice landing
• Good position in the twisted camel spin but not a lot of flexibility through the catchfoot
• Good speed and intensity through the footwork with lots of intricate changes of direction and one foot sequences and it's nice to see him let lose and smile a bit
• Nice back entry to the sit spin with a good broken leg and back tuck variation ending right in his ending pose

Adam Rippon, USA: 43.23 TES + 37.03 PCS = 80.26 and into 1st place

• Quad lutz just a little bit down on the landing and has to put his hand down
• Lots of speed in his twisted sit spin with nice positions
• Decent camel position into a nice catch foot with good speed maintained throughout
• Triple axel a bit wonky in the air but he fights to hang on to the landing
• Triple flip + triple toe
• Nice expression and movement quality in the step sequence with lots of use of the full body and changes of direction; the crowd is really getting into it and he's flying across the ice
• Good speed in the camel spin into an even faster sit spin and a really nice layback

Artur Gachinski, RUS: 37.24 TES + 34.57 PCS -2.00 = 69.81 and into 3rd place

• Quad toe feel slid out from under him on the landing--it just seemed like he didn't have enough going into it
• Triple lutz + triple toe hand down on the landing
• Nice triple axel
• Twisted broken leg camel into a really weak catch foot position 
• Broken leg sit spin with good speed throughout
• The audio has come back and I'm not feeling this music for him...doesn't seem to suit his style at all
• A little choppy and on top of the ice in his step sequence and a few places where the edge changes are not clean
• Twisted camel into a sit position that seemed a bit out of control and ending with an upright y spin

Alexander Majorov, SWE: 41.29 TES + 34.68 PCS -1.00 = 74.97 and into 3rd place

• Quad toe with a hard fall
• Triple lutz + triple toe with a lot of spring and height in the 2nd jump
• Decent positions in his spin but he needs more stretch through the free leg in his sit and camel positions
• Triple axel but I'd like to see a better landing position
• Really slow broken leg camel spin but a nice catchfoot position
• Interesting steps in his step sequence and the crowd seems to be enjoying it; a few bobbles here and there on the turns
• Back entry to a twisted sit position losing speed through the back tuck position
• Finishing a bit before his music

Group 2

Jason Brown, USA: 44.85 TES + 38.93 PCS = 83.78 and into 1st place

• Nice triple axel
• A lot of attention to detail in the in betweens in this program
• Triple flip was high and gorgeous but tight on the triple toe landing
• Great catch foot camel spin with his foot above his head and his free leg on his back
• Nice low sit spin position
• Triple lutz with the 'tano variation
• Nice step sequence with excellent edge changes, interesting variations on the movement and changes of direction 
• Camel spin with a twisted position into a nice sit spin and ending with a scratch spin
• Really solid Grand Prix debut from him!

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN: 38.15 TES + 39.60 PCS = 77.75 and into 3rd place

• Quad toe a little tight on the landing
• Nice triple axel
• Losing a bit of centering on the entrance to his camel spin but good low sit position and nice timing with the music
• Triple lutz stepped out of the first jump and can't tack on the combo
• Nice camel position
• Good flying sit spin but losing speed through the back tuck position
• Good speed and flow through the footwork sequence and he even seems to pick up speed toward the end--a bit of ice spray on some of the turns

Tatsuki Machida, JPN: 50.08 TES + 41.10 PCS = 91.18 and into 1st place

• Nice opening quad toe + triple toe
• Beautiful triple axel
• Good camel spin with a nice change of leg although a bit slow
• He has really nice connection and flow with his music
• He could use more stretch through his free leg in the sit spin
• Nice triple lutz but I would have liked to see him hold the landing a bit longer
• Nice flow through his step sequence although a bit bobbly on some of the turns and losing speed and flow toward the end
• Camel spin into a broken leg sit and ending with a back scratch spin

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: 35.84 TES + 42.25 PCS -1.00 = 77.09 and into 5th place

• Quad toe two footed and then falls
• Nice camel but he could use more flexibility through the catch foot; after the change of foot he could use more height in his free leg as well
• Triple axel really tough landing and had to put his toe pick down after a half turn
• Triple lutz + double toe with no oomph behind it and he has to step back on the landing of the toe
• Finally he starts to look like Dai here at the end of his program--he seemed to be going through the motions the first half and didn't really connect with the music or the program
• A rough outing for Takahashi but he fought for everything

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	91.18	50.08		41.10	8.14	7.96	8.43	8.25	8.32	0.00	#7
2	Jason BROWN	USA	83.78	44.85		38.93	7.57	7.64	7.79	7.89	8.04	0.00	#5
3	Adam RIPPON	USA	80.26	43.23		37.03	7.57	7.18	7.50	7.39	7.39	0.00	#2
4	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	77.75	38.15		39.60	8.21	7.75	7.75	7.93	7.96	0.00	#6
5	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	77.09	35.84		42.25	8.57	8.32	8.18	8.54	8.64	1.00	#8
6	Max AARON	USA	75.91	41.37		35.54	7.18	6.89	7.11	7.18	7.18	1.00	#1
7	Alexander MAJOROV	SWE	74.97	41.29		34.68	6.86	6.71	6.93	7.04	7.14	1.00	#4
8	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	69.81	37.24		34.57	7.11	6.61	6.89	7.00	6.96	2.00	#3

Skate America Men's Preview

Denis Ten was the surprise silver medalist at last year's World Championships.  He has often shown moments of greatness but hasn't been able to put all of the pieces together to ascend the podium.  He very nearly stole the gold medal away from Patrick Chan and many thought that his free skate was enough to put him on top.  He set new personal best in all segments of the competition and finished between 60 and 90 points higher than his previous events that season.  He'll also have to deal with the pressure of being a front runner instead of an underdog .  

Daisuke Takahashi started off the season well winning two silver medals to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won gold.  He did struggle in the last half of the season though only placing 7th at Four Continents and 6th at Worlds.  His Worlds score was 30 points lower than the Grand Prix Final.  He had two quads planned in his free skate last year but his score fluctuations were largely due to jump issues.  He also seemed to be lacking his signature style and personality in his programs last year, especially his free skate and never seemed to really find his groove.

Takahiko Kozuka qualified for the Grand Prix Final after winning a gold and silver on the circuit but didn't make the Four Continents or Worlds teams.  He is a former World Silver Medalist but hasn't been able to replicate his 2010-2011 season.  Tatsuki Machida also went to the Grand Prix Final last year on the strength of an impressive performance at Cup of China but was left off the Worlds and Four Continents rosters.

Max Aaron is making his Grand Prix debut after a breakout season that saw him win the US title and finished 7th at Worlds right behind Daisuke Takahashi.  He has three quads planned in his free skate along with two triple axels and triple + triple combinations.  He also backloads his free skate and has some of the most difficult content planned.  He has been working with Pasquale Camerlengo to improve his program components and he's admitted that he wasn't happy with his artistic performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Classic.  

Jason Brown is also making his Grand Prix debut after winning the silver medal at Junior Worlds last season.  He has long been known for his program components but his one weakness has been the triple axel.  He had some success with it last season but it is still a work in progress and he'll need it to hang with the top competitors here who will be executing multiple triple axels and quads.  He won the silver medal at his senior debut at Nebelhorn Trophy with new personal best scores.  

My podium predictions:
Gold: Daisuke Takahashi
Silver: Takahiko Kozuka
Bronze: Max Aaron

Bios of the competitors:
Takahiko Kozuka, JPN: He won gold at Skate America and silver at Rostelecom Cup last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th.  He is the 2011 World Silver Medalist, 2009 Four Continents Bronze Medalist and 2006 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 258.41.  He is 24 years old.

Tatsuki Machida, JPN: He won bronze at Skate America and gold at Cup of China last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 6th.  He is the 2010 Four Continents Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 236.92.  He is 23 years old.

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: He finished 6th at Worlds and 7th at Four Continents.  He won silver at Cup of China and NHK Trophy last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won gold.  He is the 2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 2010 World Champion, 2007 and 2012 World Silver Medalist, 2008 and 2011 Four Continents Champion, 2012 Four Continents Silver Medalist, 2005 Four Continents Bronze Medalist and 2002 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 276.72.  He is 27 years old.

Denis Ten, KAZ: He is the reigning World Silver Medalist and placed 12th at Four Continents.  He placed 6th at Skate America and 9th at Rostelecom Cup last season.  His personal best is 266.48.  He is 20 years old.

Artur Gachinski, RUS: He placed 9th at Skate Canada and 7th at Rostelecom Cup last season.  He is the 2011 World Bronze Medalist, 2012 European Silver Medalist and 2010 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 246.27.  He is 20 years old.

Alexander Majorov, SWE: He finished 18th at Worlds and 6th at Europeans.  He placed 10th at Skate America last season.  He is the 2011 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 211.88.  He is 22 years old.

Max Aaron, USA: He placed 7th at Worlds and 4th at Four Continents.  This is his Grand Prix debut.  His personal best is 238.36.  He is 21 years old.

Jason Brown, USA: He is the reigning World Junior Silver Medalist.  This is his Grand Prix debut.  He won silver at JGP France and gold at JGP Turkey last season to qualify for the JGP Final where he finished 4th.  He is the 2012 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 228.43.  He is 19 years old.  

Adam Rippon, USA: He placed 4th at Cup of China and 8th at NHK Trophy last season.  He is the 2010 Four Continents Champion and 2008 and 2009 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 233.04.  He is 23 years old.

Junior Worlds Men's Free Skate Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Jason BROWN	USA	154.09	81.03		73.06	7.14	7.14	7.50	7.25	7.50	0.00	#24
2	Joshua FARRIS	USA	152.48	82.70		70.78	7.14	6.86	7.14	7.11	7.14	1.00	#23
3	Shotaro OMORI	USA	133.52	70.46		63.06	6.43	6.07	6.32	6.39	6.32	0.00	#22
4	Boyang JIN	CHN	129.76	69.98		59.78	6.32	5.82	6.00	6.00	5.75	0.00	#20
5	Mikhail KOLYADA	RUS	128.44	68.24		61.20	6.18	5.96	6.14	6.07	6.25	1.00	#14
6	Shoma UNO	JPN	125.42	62.12		63.30	6.25	6.11	6.54	6.32	6.43	0.00	#17
7	Michael Christian MARTINEZ	PHI	124.63	65.51		59.12	5.93	5.64	6.07	5.96	5.96	0.00	#21
8	Alexander SAMARIN	RUS	123.89	63.25		60.64	6.18	5.93	6.14	6.07	6.00	0.00	#19
9	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	119.15	61.51		57.64	5.89	5.64	5.79	5.82	5.68	0.00	#12
10	Ryuju HINO	JPN	119.14	66.58		53.56	5.89	5.18	5.18	5.32	5.21	1.00	#13
11	He ZHANG	CHN	117.76	60.54		58.22	6.11	5.68	5.75	5.82	5.75	1.00	#18
12	Martin RAPPE	GER	114.88	59.74		55.14	5.71	5.32	5.64	5.54	5.36	0.00	#16
13	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	112.06	62.28		50.78	5.32	4.86	5.00	5.14	5.07	1.00	#8
14	Luiz MANELLA	BRA	109.23	60.13		50.10	5.29	4.86	4.93	5.11	4.86	1.00	#10
15	Mitchell GORDON	CAN	107.57	55.33		54.24	5.68	5.36	5.29	5.50	5.29	2.00	#11
16	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	105.54	52.40		53.14	5.64	5.14	5.32	5.36	5.11	0.00	#15
17	Victor BUSTAMANTE	ESP	101.53	52.45		49.08	5.04	4.57	4.89	5.00	5.04	0.00	#5
18	Matthias VERSLUIS	FIN	98.65	51.77		46.88	4.86	4.54	4.79	4.68	4.57	0.00	#3
19	Simon HOCQUAUX	FRA	98.47	49.33		51.14	5.18	4.89	4.93	5.25	5.32	2.00	#7
20	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	97.11	49.97		49.14	5.07	4.89	4.79	4.96	4.86	2.00	#9
21	Slavik HAYRAPETYAN	ARM	95.21	51.07		44.14	4.64	4.04	4.64	4.46	4.29	0.00	#2
22	Antonio PANFILI	ITA	90.94	45.58		45.36	4.61	4.36	4.43	4.57	4.71	0.00	#4
23	Chih-I TSAO	TPE	84.27	42.47		42.80	4.61	4.18	4.25	4.36	4.00	1.00	#1
24	David KRANJEC	AUS	80.19	39.49		42.70	4.71	3.96	4.25	4.36	4.07	2.00	#6

Total

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Joshua FARRIS	USA	228.32	1	2
2	Jason BROWN	USA	224.15	3	1
3	Shotaro OMORI	USA	204.34	2	3
4	Boyang JIN	CHN	192.58	6	4
5	Michael Christian MARTINEZ	PHI	191.64	4	7
6	Mikhail KOLYADA	RUS	189.94	8	5
7	Shoma UNO	JPN	187.08	7	6
8	Alexander SAMARIN	RUS	186.96	5	8
9	He ZHANG	CHN	178.18	9	11
10	Ryuju HINO	JPN	176.85	12	10
11	Martin RAPPE	GER	174.32	11	12
12	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	172.58	16	9
13	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	166.21	13	13
14	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	165.27	10	16
15	Luiz MANELLA	BRA	161.71	17	14
16	Mitchell GORDON	CAN	161.61	15	15
17	Simon HOCQUAUX	FRA	152.61	14	19
18	Victor BUSTAMANTE	ESP	151.23	21	17
19	Matthias VERSLUIS	FIN	149.66	19	18
20	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	148.84	18	20
21	Slavik HAYRAPETYAN	ARM	143.48	23	21
22	Antonio PANFILI	ITA	136.96	24	22
23	Chih-I TSAO	TPE	132.84	22	23
24	David KRANJEC	AUS	130.56	20	24
25	Petr COUFAL	CZE	FNR	25
26	Sondre ODDVOLL BOE	NOR	FNR	26
27	Kamil DYMOWSKI	POL	FNR	27
28	Ondrej SPIEGL	SWE	FNR	28
29	Jamie WHITEMAN	GBR	FNR	29
30	Kristof FORGO	HUN	FNR	30
31	Iassen PETKOV	BUL	FNR	31
32	Samuel KOPPEL	EST	FNR	32
33	Nicola TODESCHINI	SUI	FNR	33
34	Julian Zhi Jie YEE	MAS	FNR	34
35	Catalin DIMITRESCU	ROU	FNR	35
36	Marco KLEPOCH	SVK	FNR	36
37	Giray SENOL	TUR	FNR	37

Junior Worlds Men's Short Program Results

Pl.	Qual.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Q	Joshua FARRIS	USA	75.84	41.45		34.39	6.93	6.54	6.89	6.96	7.07	0.00	#32
2	Q	Shotaro OMORI	USA	70.82	39.75		31.07	6.36	5.96	6.36	6.18	6.21	0.00	#34
3	Q	Jason BROWN	USA	70.06	36.62		33.44	6.61	6.36	6.75	6.79	6.93	0.00	#31
4	Q	Michael Christian MARTINEZ	PHI	67.01	36.73		30.28	6.00	5.79	6.21	6.07	6.21	0.00	#37
5	Q	Alexander SAMARIN	RUS	63.07	34.78		28.29	5.86	5.46	5.68	5.68	5.61	0.00	#22
6	Q	Boyang JIN	CHN	62.82	36.08		27.74	5.82	5.21	5.61	5.64	5.46	1.00	#24
7	Q	Shoma UNO	JPN	61.66	31.45		30.21	6.00	5.86	6.07	6.07	6.21	0.00	#27
8	Q	Mikhail KOLYADA	RUS	61.50	34.10		28.40	5.89	5.43	5.61	5.68	5.79	1.00	#23
9	Q	He ZHANG	CHN	60.42	31.64		28.78	5.82	5.46	5.86	5.75	5.89	0.00	#30
10	Q	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	59.73	32.59		27.14	5.68	5.21	5.50	5.39	5.36	0.00	#35
11	Q	Martin RAPPE	GER	59.44	32.59		26.85	5.57	5.18	5.43	5.46	5.21	0.00	#26
12	Q	Ryuju HINO	JPN	57.71	30.14		27.57	5.86	5.39	5.32	5.61	5.39	0.00	#29
13	Q	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	54.15	28.19		26.96	5.61	5.18	5.32	5.46	5.39	1.00	#28
14	Q	Simon HOCQUAUX	FRA	54.14	29.38		24.76	5.04	4.61	5.04	4.96	5.11	0.00	#17
15	Q	Mitchell GORDON	CAN	54.04	28.19		25.85	5.32	4.96	5.18	5.21	5.18	0.00	#21
16	Q	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	53.43	24.97		29.46	5.93	5.57	5.82	6.07	6.07	1.00	#33
17	Q	Luiz MANELLA	BRA	52.48	31.20		23.28	4.93	4.43	4.64	4.71	4.57	2.00	#13
18	Q	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	51.73	28.37		23.36	4.86	4.32	4.89	4.68	4.61	0.00	#18
19	Q	Matthias VERSLUIS	FIN	51.01	28.33		23.68	4.89	4.50	4.68	4.82	4.79	1.00	#19
20	Q	David KRANJEC	AUS	50.37	27.66		23.71	4.96	4.36	4.89	4.75	4.75	1.00	#14
21	Q	Victor BUSTAMANTE	ESP	49.70	25.85		23.85	4.89	4.46	4.89	4.79	4.82	0.00	#15
22	Q	Chih-I TSAO	TPE	48.57	26.32		23.25	4.71	4.36	4.79	4.71	4.68	1.00	#12
23	Q	Slavik HAYRAPETYAN	ARM	48.27	25.70		22.57	4.64	4.29	4.50	4.57	4.57	0.00	#11
24	Q	Antonio PANFILI	ITA	46.02	21.19		24.83	4.93	4.79	4.93	5.04	5.14	0.00	#25
25		Petr COUFAL	CZE	43.85	19.93		24.92	5.14	4.82	4.89	5.14	4.93	1.00	#36
26		Sondre ODDVOLL BOE	NOR	43.77	22.19		21.58	4.25	4.25	4.36	4.36	4.36	0.00	#8
27		Kamil DYMOWSKI	POL	43.55	21.72		21.83	4.54	4.18	4.39	4.43	4.29	0.00	#7
28		Ondrej SPIEGL	SWE	42.66	19.55		23.11	4.75	4.39	4.61	4.68	4.68	0.00	#20
29		Jamie WHITEMAN	GBR	42.48	21.23		22.25	4.50	4.43	4.29	4.57	4.46	1.00	#9
30		Kristof FORGO	HUN	40.96	21.35		21.61	4.57	4.00	4.32	4.29	4.43	2.00	#5
31		Iassen PETKOV	BUL	40.77	22.23		19.54	3.96	3.79	3.93	4.04	3.82	1.00	#2
32		Samuel KOPPEL	EST	39.24	19.95		20.29	4.14	4.07	4.04	4.11	3.93	1.00	#1
33		Nicola TODESCHINI	SUI	39.16	18.01		21.15	4.32	4.00	4.18	4.36	4.29	0.00	#16
34		Julian Zhi Jie YEE	MAS	38.16	18.13		20.03	3.96	3.79	3.96	4.07	4.25	0.00	#6
35		Catalin DIMITRESCU	ROU	37.61	18.36		19.25	4.07	3.61	3.86	3.96	3.75	0.00	#10
36		Marco KLEPOCH	SVK	36.85	17.92		18.93	3.93	3.57	3.89	3.86	3.68	0.00	#3
37		Giray SENOL	TUR	36.64	19.17		17.47	3.54	3.32	3.50	3.61	3.50	0.00	#4

Junior Worlds Men's Preview

In what promises to be a tough event, two of the three medalists from last season have returned along with four of the six competitors from the Junior Grand Prix Final.  To land on the podium, these skaters will need a triple axel and possibly even a quad.  

As competitive as this event promises to be, there are several notable absences.  Maxim Kovtun won the Junior Grand Prix Final and holds the top junior score for the season but will be heading to Senior Worlds instead.  Nathan Chen set the 2nd highest junior score of the season at his lone JGP event but injury and illness kept him from qualifying for the team.  Harrison Choate has the 9th best junior score of the season but also did not qualify for one of the three US men's slots.  

Joshua Farris settled for silver by the slimmest of margins at last year's Junior Worlds.  He has come back stronger this season, adding a quad to his free skate and showcasing consistent triple axels.  In addition to his jumping capability, he has good artistic skills, musicality and a nice style on the ice.  He recently won the pewter medal at the US Championships.  Since he competed as a senior at nationals, he also is reverting to a junior program.  His biggest competition would have come from Han Yan and Maxim Kovtun but as both of them are making the trip to senior worlds, this is his event to lose.

Jason Brown won the bronze medal last season.  While he has added a triple axel to his programs it is not always consistent and a pop could cost him points.  He did land a triple axel + triple toe at nationals.  Unfortunately for him, he's still a bit behind the technical curve as the other top men have mastered the triple axel and moved on to quads.  He'll need to land all of his jumps and then rely on his PCS if he wants to keep pace with Yan and Farris.  

Boyang Jin burst onto the scene this season, winning gold at JGP France and silver at JGP Slovenia.  He has already Jason Brown in head to head competition.  However, he slipped to 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  His scores have been fairly consistent all season and he'll need to improve if he wants a shot at the podium here.  He has quads in his repertoire and likely just needs more experience to develop everything else.  

Ryuju Hino won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix to qualify for the JGP Final and just edged out Jason Brown for the final spot on the podium.  His performance at the Final was a personal best and 13 points higher than his best JGP performance this season.  If he can repeat or improve on that, he'll be in the running for a medal.

Alexander Samarin is only fourteen years old but his two JGP bronze medals make him a dark horse for this event.  He hasn't competed internationally since JGP Germany and I'd expect to see a big improvement in his scores at this event.  However, he is a young skater at his first ISU Championship with little competitive experience.  If he can handle the nerves and fly under the radar, he should have a strong showing.

Shoma Uno has show improvement this season going from 6th at his first JGP assignment to the silver medal at JGP Germany.  He competed at the same events as Samarin and they flip-flopped results.  He also hasn't competed internationally since Germany and was a late replacement for this event but should be able to improve on his 10th place finish last year.

He Zhang is the third Chinese skater at this event and has sat out this season due to injury.  He finished 6th at Junior Worlds last season.  If he is back to last season's form, he could give China three skaters in the top 10.  

My podium predictions:

Gold: Joshua Farris

Silver: Jason Brown

Bronze: Boyang Jin

Bios of the competitors:

Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He placed 18th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 26th at Junior Worlds last season.  His personal best is 128.97.  He is 16 years old.

David Kranjec, AUS: He finished 23rd at Four Continents.  He placed 12th at JGP Slovenia and 10th at JGP Croatia.   His personal best is 150.20.  He is 18 years old.

Pavel Ignatenko, BLR: He placed 30th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 13th at Europeans.  He finished 7th at JGP Turkey and 11th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 171.18.  He is 17 years old.

Luiz Manella, BRA: He placed 16th at Junior Worlds last season.  His personal best is 162.53.  He is 18 years old.

Iassen Petkov, BUL: He placed 11th at JGP Turkey and 18th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 136.61.  He is 19 years old.

Mitchell Gordon, CAN: He placed 8th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 162.62.  He is 16 years old.

Nam Nguyen, CAN:  He placed 13th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 9th at JGP France and won bronze at JGP Turkey.  His personal best is 171.56.  He is 14 years old.

Boyang Jin, CHN: He won gold at JGP France and silver at JGP Slovenia to qualify for the JGP Frinal where he finished 5th.  His personal best is 194.13.  He is 15 years old.  He has the 9th best short program, 7th best free skate and 7th best total scores.

He Zhang, CHN: He finished 6th at Junior Worlds last season.  His personal best is 193.97.  He is 16 years old.

Chih-I Tsao, TPE: He finished 23rd at Junior Worlds last season.  He placed 11th at JGP USA and 9th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 155.30  He is 15 years old.

Petr Coufal, CZE: He placed 17th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 4th at JGP Austria and 7th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 175.72.  He is 18 years old.

Samuel Koppel, EST: His personal best is 94.11,  He is 17 years old.

Matthias Versluis, FIN: He placed 21st at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 13th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Germany.  His personal best is 143.20.  He is 18 years old.

Simon Hocquaux, FRA: He finished 10th at JGP France.  His personal best is 143.71.  He is 17 years old.

Martin Rappe, GER: He placed 11th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 9th at JGP USA and 5th at JGP Germany.  His personal best is 171.38.  He is 19 years old.

Jamie Whiteman, GBR: His personal best is 115.56.  He is 18 years old.

Kristof Forgo, HUN: He placed 16th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 131.02.  He is 19 years old.

Antonio Panfili, ITA: He placed 16th at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 128.05.

Ryuju Hino, JPN: He placed 9th at Junior Worlds last season.  He won bronze at JGP France and silver at JGP Austria to qualify for the JGP Final where he won bronze.  His personal best is 198.92.  He is 18 years old.  He has the 6th best short program, 6th best free skate and 5th best total scores.

Shoma Uno, JPN: He finished 10th at Junior Worlds last season.  He placed 6th at JGP Slovenia and won silver at JGP Germany.  His personal best is 188.48.  He is 15 years old.  He has the 8th best short program, 9th best free skate and 8th best total scores.  

Julian Zhi Jie Yee, MAS: He finished 20th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds last season.  He placed 21st at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 112.93.  He is 15 years old.

Sondre Oddvoll Boe, NOR: He placed 15th at JGP France and 12th at JGP Austria.  His personal best is 134.88.  He is 15 years old.

Michael Christian Martinez, PHI: He placed 15th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 16th at Four Continents.  He finished 4th at JGP USA and 6th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 178.08.  He is 16 years old.

Kamil Dymowski, POL: He finished 28th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 12th at JGP Turkey.  His personal best is 128.77.  He is 17 years old.

June Hyoung Lee, KOR: He finished 18th at Junior Worlds last season.  He placed 17th at Four Continents.  He placed 5th at JGP USA and 9th at JGP Turkey.  His personal best is 176.48.  He is 16 years old.

Catalin Dimitrescu, ROU: He finished 22nd at JGP Turkey.  His personal best is 101.33.  He is 14 years old.

Mikhail Kolyada, RUS: He placed 6th at JGP France.  His personal best is 177.55.  He is 18 years old.

Alexander Samarin, RUS: He won bronze at JGP Slovenia and JGP Germany.  His personal best is 183.03.  He is 14 years old.  He has the 10th best total score.

Marco Klepoch, SVK: He placed 16th at JGP Austria and 22nd at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 109.36.  He is 15 years old.

Victor Bustamante, ESP: He placed 15th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 12th at JGP France and 7th at JGP Germany.  His personal best is 149.21.  He is 18 years old.

Ondrej Spiegl, SWE: He placed 15th at JGP Slovenia and 15th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 142.25.  He is 19 years old.

Nicola Todeschini, SUI: He finished 14th at JGP Austria and 10th at JGP Germnay.  His personal best is 128.98.  He is 15 years old.

Giray Senol, TUR: He placed 16th at JGP Turkey and 23rd at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 136.33.  He is 15 years old.

Ivan Pavlov, UKR: He placed 8th at JGP France and JGP Turkey.  His personal best is 149.87.  He is 14 years old.  

Jason Brown, USA: He is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  He won silver at JGP France and gold at JGP Turkey to qualify for the JGP Final where he finished 4th.  His personal best is 214.90.  He is 18 years old.  He has the 5th best short program, 5th best free skate and 6th best total scores.

Joshua Farris, USA: He is the reigning Junior World Silver Medalist.  He won gold at JGP USA and gold at JGP Slovenia to qualify for the JGP Final where he won silver.  His personal best is 221.97.  He is 18 years old.  He has the 2nd best short program, 3rd best free skate and 3rd best total scores.

Shotaro Omori, USA: He finished 4th at JGP Turkey and 4th at JGP Germany.  His personal best is 172.56.  He is 17 years old.