More than 900 skaters competed at the 2026 Excel National Festival and Final in Norwood, Massachusetts, this past week. Hosted at The Skating Club of Boston, the event provided competitive experience with on- and off-ice educational sessions designed to enhance athletes' skills and prepare them for future competitions.  

In the senior events, Piper Linn stood on top of the podium in the women's competition. Anton Fomin won the men's gold medal. 

Charlotte Lipka and Carson Kandas claimed gold in the junior women's and men's events, and Alexa Brittell and Brody Weck earned titles in the novice women's and men's events, respectively. 

Below are results from the senior, junior and novice events of the Excel National Final. For full results from the 2026 Excel National Festival and Final, click here. 

Senior Women 

Linn (independent member) skated to music from The Hunger Games. She performed five elements that each received four points, including a Level 4 choreographic sequence and a Level 4 flying change-of-foot combination spin. She secured positive GOEs on all but one element for a total of 80.56 points. 

"It's so exciting," Linn said. "I love figure skating so much, and being able to share the joy that I feel through my skating is special." 

Adelyn Hoo (North Jersey FSC) claimed the silver medal. Her performance to "Never Love Again" by Lady Gaga opened with a double flip-double toe loop-double toe loop combination, her highest-scoring element at 4.48 points. She went on to earn Level 4s and more than four points for two of her spins, finishing with a total score of 78.90.  

Separated by 0.55 points, Emily Brown (Atlanta FSC) earned the bronze medal while Gwendolyn Vignato (SC of New York) placed fourth.  

Brown's performance to music from The Master and Margarita produced 75.60 points. Her flying change-of-foot combination spin garnered a Level 4 and she received positive GOEs on every element.  

Vignato performed to "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli. Vignato has competed at the Excel Final every year since the event's inception in 2019.  

Senior Men 

Fomin (North Jersey FSC) tallied 63.34 points in his Excel Final debut. His program to "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess was highlighted by a double loop-single Axel-single Axel sequence in the second half of the program and ended with a choreographic sequence that generated 3.50 points.  

Fomin had taken a break from the sport due to injury, and returned through the Excel program. 

"Getting back on the ice, jumping and spinning again, is something you don't experience in everyday life," Fomin said. "It's also been great seeing the same people and competing again. It feels like reconnecting with a part of myself, and I like that." 

Creed Ford (Peaks FSC) secured the silver medal with a score of 53.91. The 2025 Excel junior silver medalist earned three or more points on three elements in his performance to "Telephone" by Lady Gaga: a double flip-double loop, double Salchow-double loop combination and his choreographic sequence.  

Junior Women 

Three of the four medalists in this event shared the podium at the same event last year.  

The pewter medalist in 2025, Lipka (North Star FSC) captured gold this year. Her performance to "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables featured a Level 4 layback spin and a double Lutz-single Axel-single Axel sequence and choreographic spin, both of which tallied more than four points. Her event-high program component score of 40.37 contributed to a total score of 73.41.  

Allis Hong (Pasadena FSC) also stood on the podium for the second year in a row, recipient of the silver medal. The 2025 champion, Hong delivered a score of 70.78. The highlight of her performance to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was a double Lutz-single Axel-double loop sequence that yielded 5.71 points, the highest element score of the event. 

With a score of 69.25, Pinwei Che (Colonial FSC) claimed her second straight bronze medal in the event. Performing to "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, Che earned a Level 3 on her change-of-foot combination spin in the first half of her program.  

Summer Brizuela (SC of New York) secured  the pewter medal with a score of 69.02 for her performance to music from The Greatest Showman.  

Junior Men 

Kandas (Alaska Association of Figure Skaters) claimed gold just one year after winning the novice men's title at this competition. His free skate, set to "El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge!, included a double Lutz-single Axel-single Axel sequence that earned 5.50 points and his choreographic sequence contributed 4.50 points en route to a total score of 67.52. He earned positive GOEs on all but one element.  

"I have a lot of friends here. I'm from Alaska, so I don't get to travel often or see a lot of other skaters on a regular basis. It's nice to come here and feel like part of the skating community," Kandas said.  

The Skating Club of Boston's Cole Rocco secured his third consecutive podium finish in the junior men's event, placing second The highest-scoring element in his program set to "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne was a double flip-double toe loop-single Axel sequence worth 3.57 points; he finished with a total score of 39.86.  

Novice Women  

Brittell (Dutchess FSC) took home the top prize. Her program set to "Carry You" by Ruelle opened with an Axel followed by a Level 3 flying sit spin and ended with a Level 3 flying change-of-foot combination spin. Her double Lutz-single Axel-single Axel sequence was the highest-scoring element of the event at 4.99 points; she posted all positive GOEs. Her score of 64.58 was a personal best.  

"I was so excited just to qualify and win a medal, so to stand on top of the podium is more than I ever could have hoped for," Brittell said. "I felt like I wasn't nervous at all. I was just able to go out there and skate my program." 

Mia Ci (SC of Boston) won the silver medal with her skate to "Stay" by Rihanna. She opened with a double flip-double toe loop combination and then scored nearly five points for her double loop-single Axel-single Axel sequence. She finished with 63.44 points.  

Also skating to "Carry You" by Ruelle, Minnie Grace Carr (Glacier Falls FSC) clinched the bronze medal. Her opening double flip-double loop and double Lutz-double toe loop combinations contributed a combined 6.85 points and a total score of 62.28.  

Palmer Bedwell (Tampa Bay SC) garnered 59.82 points to claim the final spot on the podium. She skated to "Warbringer" by TheFatRat.  

Novice Men 

Weck (SC of Houston) made his Excel Final debut. His performance to the iconic "Purple Rain" by Prince garnered 52.55 points to clinch the gold medal by a margin of 0.76 points.  

The performance was highlighted by his choreographic sequence, which tallied 3.75 points. His change-of-foot combination spin earned Level 3, but it was his program component score of 29.90 that bested the competition. Weck was the only skater to earn more than four points for any program component, which he achieved in the skating skills category.  

"It's exciting," Weck said. "It's a lot of hard work."  

Timothy Yang (Harvard University) secured the silver medal. Skating to "Lost in the Waves" from the musical Out of Your Heads, his technical element score of 24.07 was the highest of the event. His highest-scoring elements were his choreographic sequence and double loop-single Axel sequence, which tallied 3.75 and 2.93 points, respectively.  

Jack Sarno (North Shore SC) earned a score of 48.83 to claim bronze with his skate to "Throne of Eldraine" from Magic: The Gathering. His double loop-single Axel-single Axel sequence produced 4.08 points.  

Skating to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, Jackson Golling (Peaks FSC) scored 44.92 points to repeat as the pewter medalist. 

Excel National Camp and Festival  

The Excel National Camp and Festival gave skaters the opportunity to participate in on-ice edge classes and off-ice movement classes taught by Olympians Ashley Cain, Gracie Gold, Maxim Naumov and Polina Edmunds, as well as U.S. National Team athletes Sean Rabbitt, Elyce Lin-Gracey and Camden Pulkinen. These classes guide participants to build stronger fundamentals and become more well-rounded skaters. 

"I remember being a young skater at Nationals and meeting older athletes that I looked up to. Now, getting to be that person for the next generation feels like a real full-circle moment," Edmunds said. "Seeing how eager the kids are to learn makes teaching incredibly rewarding." 

Are you interested in learning more about U.S. Figure Skating's Excel program? Click here for more information.