US Figure Skating Championships 2016: Thursday Results and Updated Schedule
Thursday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships was the proverbial calm before the weekend storm. With the novice, juvenile, junior and intermediate events nearly in the books, the competition commenced two short-program events in the ladies' and pairs divisions at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Polina Edmunds took a commanding 7.69-point lead in the ladies' program, while Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea finished first in pairs.
Here is a look at Thursday’s results.
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| First | Polina Edmunds | 70.19 | — | 70.19 |
| Second | Gracie Gold | 62.50 | — | 62.50 |
| Third | Tyler Pierce | 62.45 | — | 62.45 |
| First | Tarah Kayne, Danny O'Shea | 69.61 | — | 69.61 |
| Second | Alexa Scimeca, Christopher Knierim | 67.35 | — | 67.35 |
| Third | Marissa Castelli, Mervin Tran | 64.12 | — | 64.12 |
In the ladies' short programs, Edmunds ran away with a remarkable 70.19-point performance, positioning her favorably heading into Saturday's free-skate round nearly eight points ahead of second-place Gracie Gold, who tallied a 62.50 score. Tyler Pierce was right behind her with 62.45 points.
Edmunds' score—a personal best—was the highest mark in history following the short program event at the national championships, per Nick Zaccardi of NBC Olympic Talk:
Edmunds wasn't the favored Olympian entering Thursday, but her teammates from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia—Gold and Ashley Wagner, who each medaled in Sochi—couldn't keep pace with the 17-year-old Edmunds. Gold singled her first jump, and Wagner fell on her opening jump, finishing in fourth with a score of 62.41.
Carly Gold, the twin sister of Olympic medalist Gracie Gold, finished 15th in her U.S. Figure Skating Championships debut with 42.41 points. Though she is out of podium contention, she took to Twitter to thank her fans and teammates for their support:
Kayne and O’Shea skated a clean short program, which they crafted in merely a month, with a score of 69.61, building a 2.26-point cushion over the second-place tandem of Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim, the defending champions.
The duo approached coach Jim Peterson with their ambitions after winning the bronze medal at the 2015 Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia on Dec. 8. After pondering the change for a while, they finally made the switch from a Latin theme to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church," which they debuted Thursday.
"There had been an idea in our minds for a while," O'Shea said, per Lynn Rutherford of Icenetwork. "The music was something we talked about using maybe next season. But shorts just weren't going that well for us this season.”
Knierim and Scimeca entered Thursday as the heavy favorites but have ground to make up after Knierim fell on their side-by-side triple salchow.
"We're disappointed in our program," Scimeca said, per Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune. "But we're optimistic and looking forward to our free program. It's a close point difference between the top three, and we know if we throw down a great long, we'll be fine."
Marissa Castelli is gunning for her third national title but her first with partner Mervin Tran. After losing points because Castelli doubled a salchow when going for a triple, they sit in third with 64.12 points.
"I second-guessed myself going [into the triple salchow] and lost my energy right in that moment," Castelli said, per Rutherford. "It was a big mistake for me, but I know I'm not going to do it again. I know I can that do that jump; I've been doing it all week. It was just a fluke.”
The deficit between first and third is a mere 5.49 points heading into Saturday’s free skate, and all three trios boasted smiles following Thursday’s event, per Nancy Yang of Minnesota Public Radio:
The event will continue Friday with the short dance and the men’s short program along with the free dance to cap off the junior medal category.
Here is a look at the remaining schedule:
| Championship Pairs Free Skate (Group 1), Championship Free Dance (Group 1) | 10 a.m. |
| Championship Pairs Free Skate (Groups 2 & 3), Championship Free Dance (Groups 2 & 3) | 2:30 p.m. |
| Championship Ladies Free Skate | 7 p.m. |
| Championship Men's Free Skate | 2 p.m. |
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