The pairs team of Sofia Jarmoc and Luke Witkowski, and the ice dance duo of Annelise Stapert and Maxim Korotcov each finished fourth to pace the U.S. team at the first of seven ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series events over the weekend in Xi'An City, China.

The U.S. Junior National Team sent 13 skaters to the event, with five making their JGP debuts.

Jarmoc and Witkowski, fourth in both the short program and free skate, posted an overall score of 132.21. Their short program to "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie earned a score of 49.43, and their free skate to "Another Love" by Tom Odell posted a score of 82.78. The 2026 U.S. junior silver medalists delivered a combined three Level 4 lifts between their two programs.

The team from Boston is amid their second JGP season, having earned a bronze medal at JGP Thailand last season.

Their pairs teammates, Alena Kerr and Sam Herbert, and Baylen Taich and Nikolai Apter, made their JGP debuts, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively, with scores of 114.16 and 104.28.

In ice dance, Stapert and Korotcov placed third in the rhythm dance with a score of 56.90 for their skate to "Believer" by Imagine Dragons and "Implicit Demand for Proof" by Twenty One Pilots. Their opening diagonal step sequence generated 8.84 points, while their Level 4 sequential twizzles produced 8.83 points. In their free dance to "The Trees" by Max Richter, the Virginia-based team delivered two Level 4 lifts and received Level 4 credit for their synchronized twizzles.

Stapert and Korotcov placed fifth at both of their JGP events in 2025.

Jane Calhoun and Mark Zheltyshev finished fifth overall with 141.36 points. They placed fourth in the rhythm dance, with their opening midline step sequence and Level 4 sequential twizzle element combining for 17.71 points toward a segment score of 56.42.

In their free dance to a tango operetta, the 2026 U.S. bronze medalists placed sixth. The team, that trains in Novi, Michigan, earned a program-best 9.02 points for their diagonal step sequence to tally 84.94 on day two.

Calhoun and Zheltyshev finished fifth at JGP Azerbaijan in 2025.

Patrick Blackwell led the U.S. men, placing fifth with 202.80 points. He rallied from 12th place after the short program to finish fourth in the free skate.

The 2026 U.S. junior champion, performing a free skate in tribute to his late friend Spencer Lane, opened by landing a quad toe loop. He went on to amass big points in the middle of the program with a triple Axel-Euler-triple Salchow combination, followed by a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination. Both jumps earned a combined 22.56 points, which contributed to a free skate score of 138.79.

Blackwell, who trains in Norwood, Massachusetts, is competing in his third JGP season. He earned a silver medal at 2025 JGP Thailand.

Zachary LoPinto, making his JGP debut, finished 11th across the board en route to a score of 185.88. He earned a bronze medal last season at the 2025 Tallinn Trophy.

Annika Chao, the sole U.S. woman at the event, finished 12th overall with 157.12 points.

The California native placed fifth last season at JGP Italy. She's the 2026 U.S. junior silver medalist.

For more information on the Junior Grand Prix Series, including full results, news and more, visit the Junior Grand Prix Competition Central on the U.S. Figure Skating website.