At the beginning of this season, Lucius Kazanecki could not have imagined how quickly his competitive stock would be on the rise. The 17-year-old was coming off a 16th-place finish in his senior debut at the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas, and was simply looking to expand his technical arsenal. Should he stick with the plan, Kazanecki thought, the results should come.
 
So, as the off-season came to a close, the 2024 U.S. junior men's champion entered the Cardinal Classic in nearby Woodbridge, Virginia, to test the waters. Competing in the senior category, Kazanecki proved his hypothesis with two stellar programs that showcased all of his hard work, highlighted by a total of three quadruple jumps over the course of the event. In recognition of his progress, the New Jersey native was invited to compete at the Junior Grand Prix event in Ankara, Turkey.
 
"My goal in Turkey was to do enough to earn a second invitation," Kazanecki said. "At first, I really wasn't expecting to earn a place on the podium, so I didn't feel any pressure. When I finished with the bronze medal, I began to think about what it might take to earn a place in the Junior Grand Prix Final."
 
Soon after, Kazanecki learned that his next event would be in the United Arab Emirates, the final event of the season's Junior Grand Prix circuit. It was an opportunity that the high school senior had hoped would come to fruition, not only to have the chance to compete for a berth in this week's Final in Nagoya, Japan, but also to fulfill a goal to travel to this part of the world.
 
"When I saw that Abu Dhabi was on the list of hosts for this season's events, I thought it would be a cool experience to compete there," he said. "During the event, I was obviously stressed, but I didn't really show it. I've never been someone who freaks out at competition and usually can control myself pretty well."
 
In fourth place after the short program, Kazanecki catapulted to the top of the leaderboard after winning the deciding free skate, earning his first international title and a coveted place in the six-person Final.
 
"I definitely wasn't expecting to win," said the gold medalist. "I was crazy happy and was in disbelief that I would be going to Japan. I enjoyed my experience at both events, not only in the rink, but also to be able to see such amazing places was cool. I am looking forward to doing the same in Japan since I have never competed there before."
 
With his Final qualification, Kazanecki earned a bye into the draw at the upcoming U.S. Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. To keep his competitive muscles flexed between events, Kazanecki and his coaches, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, decided it would be advantageous to compete at the Eastern Sectional Singles Final. It was a low-risk opportunity to dust off his senior-level programs in advance of the championships.

"Because you cannot do quads in a junior short program, I wanted the opportunity to try it before the U.S. Championships," Kazanecki, who finished in second place, said. "Also, with two months between events, it was important to me to have the chance to compete again before the Final."
 
Kazanecki is aiming for a podium finish in Nagoya, but it is not necessarily the main objective for the first-time finalist. His primary goal is to skate clean and then see what happens in this tough field that includes the last two junior World Champions.
 
"I respect everyone who will be there. Everyone there is so good, and I have no issue if I do not podium," he said. "I am obviously going into the event planning to give it everything that I have to skate clean because I have quads, and that might give me an advantage."
 
Though he realizes it would be a stretch for this season, Kazanecki's ultimate goal is to earn a berth on a U.S. Olympic Team. It is a desire that he has in common with his two siblings, Julius, a short track speedskater who has competed in the Youth Olympic Games, and Olimpia, who also competes in short track, and competes on the ISU Junior World Cup series.
 
"It would be a cool brag to be able to say that we are all Olympians," he said with pride. "It would be a one-of-a-kind thing, but we all know how tough it is to qualify. If we were all at the same Olympics, that would be amazing for our family."
 
Looking ahead to the U.S. Championships, Kazanecki's main focus is to vastly improve his placement from last season and finish in the top five. While he understands that this is a lofty goal in a season where the more experienced competitors will be in the spotlight, Kazanecki hopes that there is some room for him.
 
"I want to skate clean, obviously, and I don't know that it's too much to ask for a top five placement," he shared. "If I skate clean with quads, that would be a dream for me. I want to push and make a name for myself. If that does not pan out, it will be just further motivation to get back to work and continue to push myself."