Above: Photo Courtesy of Melanie Heaney Photography
The 2023 U.S. Collegiate Championships and Invitational concluded in San Jose, California yesterday with four skaters earning their first U.S. Collegiate Championship titles.
Held at the Sharks Ice in San Jose, the competition brought together collegiate athletes from all over the country to represent their school and earn a combined total of $17,000 in scholarships.
Senior Women
Rising sophomore Wren Warne-Jacobsen (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities) claimed the top spot on the podium after finishing third last year, this time with a lead of 10 points and a final score of 157.11. Her Beatles-inspired short program earned level 4 distinctions on all spins and a score of 53.49. After finishing second in the short program, Warne-Jacobsen took the lead after her free skate to “Scheherazade, Op 35: The Young Prince and the Young Princess” by the Mariinsky Orchestra thanks to a triple toe loop-double Axel sequence in the second half of her program.
In second place was Lindsay Wang (Arizona State University). She skated a clean short program to earn 58.10 points. Her free skate was highlighted by a triple loop-double Axel combination, earning her the silver medal and a total score of 147.36.
Brynn Roberts (University of Denver), who opened her free skate with a triple loop-double loop combination followed by a triple loop, earned bronze with an overall score of 147.09.
Erica Machida rounded out the podium with the pewter medal and a final score of 140.66.
Senior Men
Incoming freshman Michael Xie (University of California, Berkeley) emerged victorious in the senior men’s competition. In his short program to “Inamorata” by Vas, Xie successfully landed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination as well as a triple Lutz to earn 73.71 points. In the free skate, Xie’s highest scoring elements were a triple Axel-double Axel sequence and a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination that contributed to a free skate score of 148.82. Overall, Xie collected 222.53 overall points to win gold.
Close behind in second place was Eric Sjoberg with the silver medal. After finishing first in the short program with 82.65 points and kicking off his program with a triple Axel, Sjoberg gave another solid performance in the free skate to earn a free skate score of 138.93. Both scores added up to a total of 221.58.
Goku Endo (University of California, Los Angeles) secured bronze with an overall score of 215.43. His free skate which earned 151.82 points included a triple flip-double Axel-Double Axel combination.
Lucas Altieri (Boston University) finished fourth to clinch the pewter medal with a total score of 184.83.
Junior Women
Incoming freshman Lindsay Byer (Lynn University) stood on top of the podium in the junior women’s competition with 117.14 total points. Her short program to “Seisouso” from Cirque du Soleil which earned a score of 43.39 featured a successfully executed triple toe loop-double toe loop combination. In the lead going into the free skate, Byer skated a clean program featuring a triple toe loop- single Axel sequence which contributed to her free skate score of 73.75, extending her lead in the overall standings to almost 12 points.
Taking home the silver medal was Talia Lerner (New York University), who earned an overall score of 105.24. She finished sixth in the short program but climbed her way up the leaderboard to second place following the free skate portion of the competition. Her free skate opened with a double flip-single Euler-double Salchow combination giving her a free skate score of 70.16.
Jayna Hosman (Joliet Junior College) took home the bronze medal with an overall score of 104.08. She earned her highest program component scores by landing a double Lutz-double toe loop followed by a double flip-double loop in her free skate.
Grace Clifford (Clackamas Community College) scored 100.71 total points, earning her the pewter medal.
Junior Men
Incoming freshman Andriy Kratyuk (University of Utah) won the junior men’s title with an upbeat short program to “Jessie’s Girl” by Rich Springfield which earned positive grades of execution for every element and Level 4 marks on all spins. His impressive free skate to “Stairway to Heaven” by Rodrigo y Gabriela secured his spot on top of the podium and put him in the lead by over 15 points with a final score of 151.19.
Standing next to Kratyuk on the podium was Kevin Li (University of California, Berkeley) who earned silver and 135.50 overall points. His free skate which totaled 91.22 points earned positive grades of execution for all elements and opened with a triple toe loop-double toe loop combination.
Earning bronze was Samir Mallya (University of California, Los Angeles) who secured a free skate score of 83.24 and an overall score of 127.41.
Zachary Fogt (Ohio State University) finished with 124.02 overall points and the pewter medal.
For a full list of results, click here.
