Woohoo! The climax of the Nationals season is here. I am not American, but I always love American Nationals as it's always filled with drama, spectacular moments, hot messes and surprising results! You never really know what's gonna happen, there are so many different potential results!
Men: Probably the most unknown. While I don't think it's guaranteed by any means, I will just go with the assumption that Brown and Aaron are the top 2, as that's the closest thing to a safe bet. I could be completely wrong, but I foresee Dornbush having a good Championships, and could challenge for the top. Then, you have Abbott. He could go WAY up or WAY down- it's so unpredictable! Carriere, Miner, Razzano, Rippon and Farris all have the amount of talent that it takes to get on the podium, but could also do terribly. Then maybe the ultimate wild card is... Nathan Chen. I'll admit, I don't buy into him pulling a Polina Edmunds, but if that happens it would be exciting! I do think he'll do well, and ellipse many bigger names.
1. Max Aaron
2. Jason Brown
3. Richard Dornbush
4. Jeremy Abbott
5. Nathan Chen
6. Stephen Carriere
7. Ross Miner
8. Douglas Razzano
9. Adam Rippon
10. Joshua Farris (he could be the ultimate wild card, but all we have to go on is NHK...)
Ladies: I feel that Ashley has the momentum here, and I hope the positive GPF has affected her mentality in a positive way, and hasm't made her feel the pressure again. Gold though does have a technical advantage and maybe has the judges a little bit more (???), we'll see. I am not putting Edmunds third because I think that would be too predictable, and is hard to back up after a disappointing GP season. My personal favourite is Cesario, and so I am shamelessly letting my wishes influence my predictions. Nagasu is the most Abbott-like of the women, and I honestly don't think it will come together for her. I think Hicks will do well, and then beyond that is a real fight. Hannah Miller has impressed this season, and Mariah Bell as well. Juniors like Karen Chen and Amber Glenn will make the competition really interesting, and then you have ones like Angela Wang, Ashley Cain, Christina Gao, and Tyler Pierce who could either rise to the occasion or fall flat. It will be GOOD!
1. Ashley Wagner
2. Gracie Gold
3. Samantha Cesario
4. Courtney Hicks
5. Polina Edmunds
6. Mirai Nagasu
7. Hannah Miller
8. Karen Chen
9. Mariah Bell
10. Ashley Cain
11. Amber Glenn
12. Angela Wang
Pairs: I feel this will come down to Scimeca/ Knierim and Denney/ Frazier, and I can't come up with a compelling argument for either side. I still feel like there will be a lot of mistakes and issues, but it will be interesting to see the new teams. Castelli/ Tran and Kayne/ O'Shea might have the most to prove, as they both have some hype around them but haven't yet had much of a chance to prove it.
1. Scimeca/ Knierim
2. Denney/ Frazier
3. Aaron/ Settlage
4. Castelli/ Tran
5. Kayne/ O'Shea
6. Calalang/ Sidhu
7. Leng/ Schnapir
8. Donlan/ Bartholomay
Dance: The least interesting, I must admit. I think it will be down to Hubbell/ Donohue and Hawayek/ Baker for bronze, and I think the judges will stick with the past, and H/D will have one more year to keep themselves in the top 3.
1. Chock/ Bates
2. Shibutani/ Shibutani
3. Hubbell/ Donohue
4. Hawayek/ Baker
5. Aldridge/ Eaton
6. Cannuscio/ McManus
7. Olson/ Lorello
8. Aranow/ Brubaker
And there we have it! Can't wait for this to start!!!
) performances who were top finishers in the junior ladies at Nationals last year. I hope new stars rise and surprise us with freshness and sparkles. 
