Who will break out at 2017 US Nationals?

[Alchamei]

Don't even get started about the ladies, nearly all of them are having problematic season so far or are not consistent. I really have no idea how I am going to make my predictions

 

[Tavi...]

I really hope Jordan Moeller does well - he broke his leg a year ago, and this is his first comp back (except for sectionals, of course).

Not sure if it's realistic, but it would be great if he could make top ten.

 

[slider11]

US Nationals will be very interesting this year, setting up for the Olympic year. The Ladies, to me, are up for grabs. I would expect Gracie, Ashley in some 1-2 order although they have both been an enigma this year, esp Gracie. I am pulling for Mirai in the mix if she can strengthen those jumps and be rewarded for the artistry that is so close to excellent. The men will be another nail biter. Probably Adam, Jason and Max in some order but with only 2 worlds spots, hard to say. In pairs, I am a Castelli and Tran fan. Scimeca and Knierim may be the sentimental fav with the tough year that Alexa has had. Lots of strength in dance with my view as Shibs, Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donahue third but Hawayek and Baker very close to third.

 

[ice coverage]

Men: The poster upthread who said that the top 4 in the men's standings are pretty solid is correct. But, I would not be surprised if Max Aaron upends the apple cart. I don't think he will beat Nathan Chen, but he might be on the World Team. Max underwent Hernia surgery last year and it affected his performances, but I noted that even so, his marks went up all season while Jason Brown and Adam Rippon each had some strong performances but still struggle w/ the quad. If Max can do a couple of 4Sal and a 4toe, while Jason and Adam struggle, he could move ahead of them....

In fact, Max's hernia surgery was only seven months ago (in late May 2016), and as time has passed since then, his results this season have improved :agree:.
Plus at Nats, Max will have his new SP, which looks very promising . Go, Max :yay:.

And really: Go, everyone :yay: -- in every discipline.
Very good reasons to root for soooo many different skaters.

---

Off topic, but I was touched sad4: in a good way) by this short USFS video from Colin McManus about how inspiring it was to attend his first Nats as an eleven-year-old spectator . The context in his tweet makes his reminiscence and skating journey all the more endearing .

https://twitter.com/ColinJMcManus/status/812767603521359872 (Dec 24)​

 

[sheetz]

For ladies maybe Amber Glenn. Her jumps look solid and she doesn't seem to have a problem with UR. For men I think Andrew Torgashev making a splash if he lands his jumps. Unfortunately that's a pretty big if.

 

[karne]

Men: The poster upthread who said that the top 4 in the men's standings are pretty solid is correct. But, I would not be surprised if Max Aaron upends the apple cart.

In fact, Max's hernia surgery was only seven months ago (in late May 2016), and as time has passed since then, his results this season have improved :agree:.
Plus at Nats, Max will have his new SP, which looks very promising . Go, Max :yay:.

I would love nothing more than for Max to upset the apple cart. The amount of exploding heads would be glorious. Let's throw in Jason making the Worlds team alongside him for good measure and watch a total meltdown ensue.

I really hope Jordan Moeller does well - he broke his leg a year ago, and this is his first comp back (except for sectionals, of course).

Not sure if it's realistic, but it would be great if he could make top ten.

I would love to see Jordan do well, too. I'm not sure if top ten could happen straightaway, but it would still be great to see him back on Nationals ice :yes:

 

[Nathan13]

I would love nothing more than for Max to upset the apple cart. The amount of exploding heads would be glorious. Let's throw in Jason making the Worlds team alongside him for good measure and watch a total meltdown ensue.

I do think Max's new Short is going to give him an advantage in the SP, anyways, because its fresh and its anticipated (at least by the people who have watched him this year)...I already know it will be better than Adam's short I also think his free is going to go over well with an American audience (I don't think he's skated it yet on American ice?) because Americans do love their Disney classics, and its the only music of the top 4 men that will be instantly recognizable to most of the audience. While I do think Nathan is pretty much guaranteed a spot with a podium finish because of his GPF placement, the second is totally up for grabs. *I'm secretly hoping Jason brings back his Secret Garden SP (or anything else, really), because I'm not a fan of his Sam Smith one, and Vincent Zhou has the same music and I don't want to hear it twice in one night*

 

[ice coverage]

I do think Max's new Short is going to give him an advantage in the SP, anyways, because its fresh and its anticipated (at least by the people who have watched him this year)... I also think his free is going to go over well with an American audience (I don't think he's skated it yet on American ice?) because Americans do love their Disney classics, and its the only music of the top 4 men that will be instantly recognizable to most of the audience. ... *I'm secretly hoping Jason brings back his Secret Garden SP (or anything else, really), because I'm not a fan of his Sam Smith one, and Vincent Zhou has the same music and I don't want to hear it twice in one night*

Max debuted his FS to The Lion King at U.S. Collegiates in late July. (But unfortunately, no video from this year's Collegiates ever surfaced, AFAIK.)

IIRC(?), Max did say something in an interview thereafter about feeling gratified that the audience at Collegiates had a positive response to TLK.

In any case, I like your prediction that The Lion King will go over well with the crowd at Nats in KC. Hope so :yay:.

---

BTW, per his previously announced intention, Nathan is visiting Canton at the moment.
He has a sense of humor about his triple axel (and Patrick's) ... but at the same time, they're strutting their stuff (SBS):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOh1jkOh_o5/?taken-by=nathanwchen (Dec 27)​

And speaking of SBS 3A and of Vincent, here he is in Colorado Springs with U.S. junior Camden Pulkinen:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOX86--AwH_/?taken-by=govincentzhou (Dec 23)​

(Vincent and Andrew Torgashev both visited CS this month in preparation for Nats.)

 

[karne]

I do think Max's new Short is going to give him an advantage in the SP, anyways, because its fresh and its anticipated (at least by the people who have watched him this year)...

Max does not have a great track record with program debuts recently though. Debut of Nessun Dorma - crashed the WTT stream altogether (didn't come back until he was done). Debut of Lion King - crashed the Lombardia stream (which teased us by showing flashes of his program before collapsing altogether at the start of the footwork). And given his new SP will be shown on IceNetwork... :hopelessness:

I have to admit, right now I'm equally curious about the costume as I am about the choreo, since Max said he had a "really neat" idea but he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do it yet.

 

[ice coverage]

I found the quote from Max re the audience response at U.S. Collegiates to The Lion King. (It was in a Lynn Rutherford article from Champs Camp.)

... Aaron debuted his new free skate, choreographed by Phillip Mills to music from The Lion King, at the 2016 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships at the end of July and was thrilled with the audience response.

He said, "When the music started, you could hear a lot of whispering and chatting in the crowd, and I was like, 'Everybody knows this music.' I love that. I want people to sing along."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/08/29/197784636 (Aug 29)​

Hope Nathan13 is right that the KC audience also will have an immediate positive reaction to the music .

---

Max does not have a great track record with program debuts recently though. Debut of Nessun Dorma - crashed the WTT stream altogether (didn't come back until he was done). Debut of Lion King - crashed the Lombardia stream (which teased us by showing flashes of his program before collapsing altogether at the start of the footwork). And given his new SP will be shown on IceNetwork... :hopelessness: ...

I know you want to see Max's new SP live [ETA: and I do hope IN will be working well] ... but a bit of good news is that Universal HD will broadcast the men's SP live in the U.S., so maybe we will get lucky with a YT upload after the fact.

http://usfigureskating.org/events?id=84206​

 

[skatelikewind1966]

It has been a challenging year across the board for many skaters so I think this year is really up for grabs and look for Ashley, Karen, Mirai and Mariah to perform quite well with Gracie as my wild card.

 

[merrywidow]

My money is on Vincent Zhou & for the pairs: Stellatto & Bartholomay.

 

[Zhenya is DIVINE]

Oh my word, Krasnozhon is gorgeous. Torgashev too! The future of US men's skating looks very bright indeed! :luv17:

 

[Olympic]

Max and Jason? I can do Max and Nathan. I just really want Nathan on the team.

The chips will fall where they may, though.

 

[snowflake]

My money is on Vincent Zhou & for the pairs: Stellatto & Bartholomay.

Hope you're right. I like what I've seen from Vincent this season. 'Just' needs two clean skates

 

[Layback11]

Ladies: Mariah Bell is in a perfect position to make a charge for the podium, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see her on the World team. Karen Chen's consistency has been improving. On the Junior side, several ladies have semi-reliable 3-3s, namely Starr Andrews and the Texan Ashleys (Kim and Lin), but Alexia Paganini could make a run for it as well. Haley Beavers is an absolutely delightful skater who, if she could skate two clean programs, would definitely be up there.

Men: I have a gut feeling that Andrew Torgashev is going to have the skate of his life here, and I have absolutely no idea why, but I'm going to stick with that.

Dance: #HawayekBakerForWorldTeam2k17
(Their SD is really fun and, as is their M.O., their FD is top-of-the-class.)

Pairs: I remember thinking that Erika Smith/AJ Reiss had potential last season. Chelsea Liu/Brian Johnson have a solid track record on the junior circuit and could definitely challenge for the top 6-ish (since it seems like the podium is locked up with D/F, K/O, S/K and C/T in some order). Cain/LeDuc showed promise earlier this season.

I hope I don't jinx anyone .

 

[breadstal]

I hope Mariah and Karen

 

[shiroKJ]

Um...I just impulsively bought a ladies FS ticket so....I hope everyone has a break out skate

 

[Ares]

Oh my word, Krasnozhon is gorgeous. Torgashev too! The future of US men's skating looks very bright indeed! :luv17:

With Russian imports dear Wally

 

[karne]

Max and Jason? I can do Max and Nathan. I just really want Nathan on the team.

The chips will fall where they may, though.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down there. Two multi-quad capable skaters? Remember, this is the USFS we're talking about. Let's not go toooooo crazy, people might think the USFS is actually getting with the times.