The Haydenettes and Skyliners were selected to represent the United States at the ISU Synchronized Skating World Championships 2026 after they clinched gold and silver, respectively, at the 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah.

For the Haydenettes, the most decorated synchronized skating team in U.S. Figure Skating history, the win marked their 16th consecutive U.S. championship and 33rd total gold.

They will travel to Salzburg, Austria, as the reigning World bronze medalists. Seven-time World medalists overall, the Haydenettes have skated at every World Synchronized Championships since the event's inception in 2000.

"It means so much," said Haydenette Autumn Coulthard, who is in her seventh season with the team. "We have much greater goals, this team. We've been on the podium. We know we can do it. [Two years ago], it was getting there. Last year was about staying there, in a way. It's still that game this year, again pushing ourselves to be that first U.S. team that wins and deserves that gold medal. We know it's not going to be easy, but we are going to give everything we can over these next couple of weeks."

Punching their ticket to the World Championships for the third straight year and sixth time overall, the Skyliners earned silver in Utah. They have placed in the top three every year the event has been held since 2015.

"Throughout this whole season and definitely this weekend, we feel like we've really earned it and we're really excited for the opportunity," said Eli Lichstein, who is skating with the Skyliners for the fourth season. 

Miami University was named as the first alternate while Teams Elite was selected as the second alternate.

Earlier in the day, Miami University Collegiate Varsity continued to build their legacy in the collegiate division. Already the team with the most collegiate titles, they clinched their 24th total gold. In the intermediate division, Teams Elite claimed their third straight intermediate championship with the highest-ever intermediate score in the history of the U.S. Championships.  

This marks the third straight year that Teams Elite has swept the juvenile, intermediate, novice and junior events. They are the only team to win gold at these four levels at a single U.S. Championships more than once.  

Haydenettes on Top Once Again
Defending the gold and their winning streak, the Haydenettes claimed a total score of 231.38, which is the third-highest score in the history of the U.S. Championships and a new season's best.

Skating to "Somewhere Only We Know" by Sons of Serendip, the team out of The Skating Club of Boston gave an emotional performance that showcased the heart of the team and their love for the sport. The program emotes gratitude for every day they have together after the difficulty and loss the team faced in the last year – including injuries as well as those from their club and skating community who died from the plane crash of Flight 5342.

The Haydenettes tallied six Level 4 elements. Although they had a fall on their no hold element, they had the highest-scoring element of the competition as their group lift was awarded 11.43 points with a grade of execution of 3.43. They also secured the highest components score to generate a free skate score of 147.76, also a season's best.

"It's amazing," said Caroline Stohrer, who is in her second season with the Haydenettes, on winning gold. "To continue that legacy, it means a lot to us. It means a lot to the team. It means that we're continuing to build a strong culture and foster community and really just show how strong and amazing skating and synchro is."  

Finishing just 0.52 behind the Haydenettes in the free skate standings with 147.24 – a new season's best – the Skyliners clinched silver.

With a "winter takes it all" theme that shows the team's mentality of pushing through anything, the Skyliners earned the highest total element score of the segment with 75.15 points.

The team that trains in Fairfield, Connecticut, and represents the Skating Club of New York recorded six Level 4 elements. All nine of their elements collected GOEs of 1.49 or better and they earned more than 10 points for both their Level 4 group lift and Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection.

The Skyliners concluded the competition with a two-day total of 226.51, a season's best.

"It means a lot. Last year at nationals, we didn't have our best skate, and so I think it feels really good to be able to put out our best, or at least close to our best," Lichstein said. "I think there's still room for improvement, so I think we feel really good about it." 

It was a tight race for bronze with Miami University moving up to third and edging out Teams Elite by 0.67 points. Both scored season's bests for both their free skate and total score.
With bronze, Miami University has stood on the podium every year since 1994.

After finishing fourth in the short program, Miami jumped up to third in the free skate with 133.55 points for 203.93 points overall.

"It was really incredible," Miami University senior Flo Kranz said. "Just feeling the energy from the crowd, feeling the team all skating together one last time, that's how I wanted to end and I'm really proud of what we've accomplished tonight."

Their skate to "Le Freak (Dimitri From Paris Remix)" by CHIC included four Level 4 elements, including a group lift that tallied more than 10 points.

Teams Elite took home their second-ever medal in the senior division, tying their best result with pewter.

Their program took fans through the phases of a storm, beginning when the weather starts to shift to the peak of a ferocious storm and then coming out the other side with sunshine.

Despite starting out strong with a Level 4 move element and a Level 4 pair element worth 9.50 points and 9.20 points, respectively, Teams Elite lost two points for falls on their group lift.

"Last season we did not finish on the podium, so that was a really big goal of ours throughout the season, and we really just wanted to have a lights-out skate," said Abigail Nelson, who is skating with Teams Elite for the eighth season. "Obviously, mistakes happened, but other than that, we're really proud of our performance and we're really grateful that it led to the end result that it did."

The team from Northbrook, Illinois, totaled 131.03 points in the free skate and 203.26 points overall.

Miami University Wins 24th Straight Collegiate Title
Miami University Collegiate Varsity continues to shine as the most decorated collegiate team in the history of the U.S. Championships, winning the 24th U.S. title in the team's history.

Skating to a Michael Jackson "Thriller" theme, the gold medalists executed four Level 4 elements. The second element of their program was a Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection that generated 9.11 points. Their twizzle element, traveling element and synchronized spin also received the highest level from the judges and all but one element generated GOEs of 1.26 or higher.

For Miami University, this skate reflected the values of the Miami University collegiate team and what it means to be a RedHawk.

"We talk about the champion standard a lot, which is a Miami thing, and we take the ice to represent our school and our team," current junior Gillian Maten said. "It means showing up to every practice with 100% and giving everything to yourself and your teammates so we can have moments like this." 

That standard showed in their score. The 122.81 points scored by Miami University is the highest point total in the history of the collegiate division. They broke their own record of 117.04 previously set in 2024.

Overall, it was a successful night for the top five collegiate teams as all five scored more than 100 points, tying the record for most teams with more than 100 points set in 2024.

After missing out on the podium the last two seasons, the University of Michigan returned to claim silver with their best-ever score at the U.S. Championships, 107.42 points.

Looking to do something different than their program with a slower tempo last year, this year the team brought the energy to entertain the crowd with their "halftime show" theme.

"We wanted to give everybody a show out there," Emma Niszczak, a senior at the University of Michigan said. "The Superbowl halftime is something that people look forward to every year, and everyone's eyes are always on it, and that's how we feel. Being students at the University of Michigan, we're expected to excel and perform no matter what, and that's what we do best, so we wanted to bring that to our skating."

Just like the halftime show, the team ended with a bang, earning Level 4s and over eight points on their final two elements – their Level 4 twizzle element and Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection.

Western Michigan University finished with bronze to secure their fifth consecutive podium finish.

Telling the story of sadness turned to revenge, their lady killer "femme fatale" program killed it with five Level 4 elements and four elements collected over eight points for 105.46 points in total. 

The support they felt from the crowd and from each other was what propelled them through their skate.

"We felt a lot of really good energy from our teammates," Western Michigan University junior Colleen Paisley said. "It's almost like we can feel the support out there from both our fans and [from each other]. As we're skating, we always encourage each other, so it's definitely a really fun experience."  

The Northernettes secured pewter, their third consecutive podium finish at the U.S. Championships. The highlight of their program to "Chandelier" by Sia was a Level 4 twizzle element that scored a program-high 8.30 points toward a total score of 104.38. Their second intersection and traveling element were also awarded Level 4 distinctions.

For the seniors on the team like Lilly Composto, the skate was an impactful way to end their season and collegiate skating career.  

"We've been waiting so many years for this moment our senior year and it's just awesome to get to do that with our best friends," Composto said. "It's incredible to be on the podium with all of the amazing collegiate teams."

Teams Elite Dances to Third U.S. Intermediate Gold
Teams Elite continued their dominance at the developmental levels with their third straight and fifth total intermediate win.

With a total score of 92.89, Teams Elite became the first-ever intermediate team to break the 90-point mark at the U.S. Championships.

Skating to an "evolution of dance" theme, incorporating songs with iconic dances such as "The Twist," "Macarena" and "Singles Ladies," the team out of Northbrook, Illinois, was the only team to score Level 4s on three elements: their move element, intersection and no hold element. Their move element was awarded the highest grade of execution of any element in the competition at 1.80. 

Like Teams Elite, each of the three teams that rounded out the remaining spots on the podium tallied their highest-ever scores in the intermediate division at the U.S. Championships. Capital Ice Chips earned silver while DC EDGE and Team Del Sol took home bronze and pewter, respectively.

Standing next to Teams Elite on the podium with silver for the third straight year was the Capital Ice Chips. The team has finished in the top three every year the event has been held since 2020.

The team didn't let the pressure get to them during their skate with a "pressure of perfection" theme. They scored positive GOEs on every element and finished strong with two Level 4 elements for a total score of 88.83.

Just 0.75 points behind with 88.08 points, DC EDGE claimed bronze, their first medal at the U.S. Championships since 2015.

Their skate with a "queen of hearts" theme featured a Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection that tallied 9.11 points and was the highest-scoring element of the event.

This marks DC EDGE's second win of the week after their adult team secured gold on Thursday.

Team del Sol rounded out the podium with pewter, their first U.S. Championships medal since 2018 when they also claimed a medal of the same color. 

They collected 82.03 points. Their skate to music from the Broadway show & Juliet was highlighted by a Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection worth 8.25 points and a Level 3 move element that generated 7.11 points.

For full results, bio information and more, visit the 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships competition central.