Final Athletes Announced for 2019 Skate America Presented by American Cruise Lines

U.S. Figure Skating has announced its final entries for 2019 Skate America presented by American Cruise Lines. One additional athlete or team in each discipline has been selected to attend the event in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena, Oct. 18-20, 2019. Skate America is the first stop on the 2019 International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Series.

Amber Glenn will take the final spot in the ladies field this October at the Orleans Arena. The Texas-based skater will make her second Grand Prix appearance since her debut at 2017 Cup of China. Last season, Glenn finished seventh at U.S. Championships and competed internationally at 2018 Philadelphia Summer International, 2018 Lombardia Trophy and 2019 Challenge Cup.

Alex Krasnozhon will join the men’s field in Las Vegas. Also based in Texas, Krasnozhon made his Grand Prix debut last season, competing at the 2018 Helsinki Grand Prix of Figure Skating and 2018 Rostelecom Cup. The 2017 U.S. junior champion finished 5th at 2019 U.S. Championships and 11th at World Junior Championships. In addition to Skate America, Krasnozhon will be returning to Rostelecom Cup in November.

Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson will make their Grand Prix debut as a partnership in Las Vegas. The duo paired up in 2018 and placed in the top five at every competition in their first season together, including a bronze medal at 2018 Tallinn Trophy. The California-based pairs team placed fifth at 2019 U.S. Championships. They will also compete at Skate Canada International the week following Skate America.

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons round out the ice dance field and will make their Grand Prix debut as a team at 2019 Skate America. Green formerly competed with her brother, Gordon Green, and the two were crowned 2019 U.S. junior champions. She is making her senior international debut in Las Vegas. Parsons previously skater with his sister, Rachel Parsons. The duo made their Grand Prix debut last season and claimed the bronze medal at NHK Trophy. Green and Parsons will also compete at Skate Canada International.

The Grand Prix Series incorporates six international figure skating competitions as a unified point-scoring series that awards prize money to eligible skaters. At the conclusion of the Series, athletes’ points are totaled, and the top six ladies, men, pairs and ice dance teams will be eligible to compete at the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, set for Dec. 5-8 in Turin, Italy.

TEAM USA ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2019 SKATE AMERICA PRESENTED BY AMERICAN CRUISE LINES
(Lineups are subject to change.)

Ladies: Karen Chen, Amber Glenn, Bradie Tennell
Men: Jason Brown, Nathan Chen, Alex Krasnozhon
Pairs: Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy LeDuc, Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson, Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier
Ice dance: Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko, Caroline Green/Michael Parsons, Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue

INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2019 SKATE AMERICA PRESENTED BY AMERICAN CRUISE LINES
(Lineups are subject to change.)

Ladies: Veronik Mallet (CAN), Wakaba Higuchi (JPN), Kaori Sakamoto (JPN), Mako Yamashita (JPN), Elizabet Tursynbaeva (KAZ), Eunsoo Lim (KOR), Stanislava Konstantinova (RUS), Anna Shcherbakova (RUS), Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS)

Men: Keegan Messing (CAN), Boyang Jin (CHN), Michal Brezina (CZE), Romain Ponsart (FRA), Koshiro Shimada (JPN), Kazuki Tomono (JPN), Junhwan Cha (KOR), Dmitri Aliev (RUS), Roman Savosin (RUS)

Pairs: Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya/Harley Windsor (AUS), Camille Ruest/Andrew Wolfe (CAN), Cheng Peng/Yang Jin (CHN), Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin (RUS), Natalia Zabiiako/Alexander Enbert (RUS)

Ice dance: Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen (CAN), Hong Chen/Zhuoming Sun (CHN), Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac (FRA), Sofia Shevchenko/Igor Eremenko (RUS), Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin (RUS), Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS), Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz (ESP)