US Figure Skating Championships 2023: Thursday Results and Updated Schedule

The United States Figure Skating Championships continued Thursday at SAP Center in San Jose, California, with the junior women free skate, short programs for championship pairs and championship women and the rhythm dance for championship ice dance.

Soho Lee of Glacier Falls FSC captured gold in the junior women's event with a score of 114.80 in the free skate on Thursday coupled with her 66.34 score in the junior women short program on Wednesday for a final score of 181.14.

Keira Hilbelink of Portland ISC finished second with scores of 112.94 in the free skate and 55.05 in the junior women short program. Elyce Lin-Gracey of Pasadena FSC captured bronze with scores of 100.00 in the free skate and 65.57 in the junior women short program.

The short program for championship pairs followed the junior women short program, and the pair of Alexa Knierim of DuPage FSC and Brandon Frazier of All Year FSC finished first with a score of 81.96, which is the most ever in the U.S. pairs short.

The next pair of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe of SC of Boston didn't even come close to the top spot, finishing second with a score of 66.86.

The rhythm dance for the championship ice dance featured a number of impressive pairs, but Madison Chock of All Year FSC and Evan Bates of Ann Arbor FSC claimed first place with a score of 91.90.

Caroline Green of Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights and Michael Parsons of Washington FSC finished second with a score of 81.40, while the pair of Emilea Zingas of St. Clair Shores FSC and Vadym Kolesnik of SC of New York finished third with a score of 78.18.

Here's a look at Thursday's results, the remaining schedule and some highlights from the day's action.

---

Junior Women (Top 5; Overall)

1. Soho Lee, Glacier Falls FSC: 181.14
2. Keira Hilbelink, Portland ISC: 167.99
   
3. Elyce Lin-Gracey, Pasadena FSC: 165.57
   
4. Sherry Zhang, Glacier Falls FSC: 161.08
   
5. Katie Krafchik, SC of New York: 160.52
   

Full results available at usfigureskating.org

---

Championship Pairs: Short Program (Top 5; Free Skate to Come)

1. Alexa Knierim, DuPage FSC/Brandon Frazier, All Year FSC: 81.96
2. Emily Chan, SC of Boston/Spencer Howe, SC of Boston: 66.86
   
3. Ellie Kam, Thunderbirds FSC/Danny OShea, SC of New York: 66.75
   
4. Valentina Plazas, Panthers FSC/Maximiliano Fernandez, Arctic FSC: 63.45
   
5. Sonia Baram, Los Angeles FSC/Daniel Tioumentsev, Dallas FSC: 63.12

Full results available at usfigureskating.org

---

Championship Ice Dance: Rhythm Dance (Top 5; Free Dance to Come)

1. Madison Chock, All Year FSC/Evan Bates, Ann Arbor FSC: 91.90
2. Caroline Green, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights/Michael Parsons, Washington FSC: 81.40
3. Emilea Zingas, St. Clair Shores FSC/Vadym Kolesnik, SC of New York: 78.18
   
4. Christina Carreira, SC of New York/Anthony Ponomarenko, SC of San Francisco: 77.37
   
5. Lorraine McNamara, Peninsula SC/Anton Spiridonov, ION FSC: 76.23
   

Full result available at usfigureskating.org

---

Championship Women: Short Program (Free Skate to Come)

1. Isabeau Levito, SC Of Southern New Jersey: 73.78 
2. Bradie Tennell, Skokie Valley SC: 73.76 
3. Starr Andrews, Los Angeles FSC: 68.97 
4. Amber Glenn, Dallas FSC: 68.96 
5. Gracie Gold, IceWorks SC: 67.44

Full result available at usfigureskating.org

---

Remaining Schedule

Friday, Jan. 27

Championship Men/Short Program: 4:10 p.m. ET

Championship Women/Free Skate: 7:45 p.m. ET

Saturday, Jan. 28

Championship Ice Dance/Free Dance: 1:40 p.m. ET

Championship Pairs/Free Skate: 7:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Jan. 29

Championship Men/Free Skate: 2:45 p.m. ET

---

Highlights

The pair of Knierim and Frazier had one of the best performances of the day. It was themed to the Netflix hit series Stranger Things and highlighted by a one-handed lift that almost surely helped them capture the top spot in the short program for championship pairs.

Knierim, 31, is aiming to win her fifth U.S. title and become the first female pairs skater in her 30s to win since 1993. She won her first three titles with her husband, Chris Knierim, who retired in 2020.

Knierim won her fourth title with Frazier in 2021. They were unable to defend their title in 2022 after Frazier contracted COVID-19. The pair could be competing together for the final time this season.

"I don't like to just put it out there and say it is the last or not going to be the last because life just has that way of throwing curveballs, and you just never know," Frazier said earlier this month, per OlympicTalk. "But I would say that this is the first nationals where I'm going to go in really trying to soak up every second as if it is my last because you just don't know."