The Men were actually very difficult. For a start, I knew who I was putting in the top 4, but wasn’t sure what order to put them in.
When I put them into absolute PB order, it seemed as sensible an order as any. So I stuck with it.
Yes, Grant hasn’t been having as good a season as he has for the past couple. But, I think he will step things up. Plus, it will help that his fiancé is competing again and has qualified for the Ladies competition. A bit of household rivalry to spur him on!
The rest, though, I was really stuck. Although I had seen most of them before, it has either been a long time since I seen them, or I just can’t remember their recent appearances.
I started with absolute PB order, and then started making changes. First was to push Ross down. He’s still a good skater, but he’s not getting near the scores he used to. I was going to slot him in where his SB would put him. But, that would have been outside the Top 10, and I don’t think he deserves that. So, I put him into 10th place.
The next guy on the absolute PB list presented a real problem. I had never heard tell of Alexander Johnson, never mind seen him before. He had a very good record in Junior GP’s, but that was 8 or 9 years ago. Since then, he hasn’t done too many international competitions – only the odd Senior B (the most is 2 a season. But more often than not, it was none in a season). But when he does, he tends to do well in them.
So, do I go with him, or promote some of the better known skaters below him?
I like a dark horse. I’ll go with Johnson as my number 5!
For the next four places, it was tough. A guy who is a regular campaigner in the Senior ranks, and three skaters who have been doing VERY well internationally at Junior level. Dolensky was 10 points ahead of the Juniors in terms of absolute PB (last year’s Nationals). But, the Juniors are the ones that are getting to stand on the podium on a regular basis.
In the end, I decided to promote one of the Juniors to have as my alternate. Vincent Zhou’s absolute PB from September’s Junior GP in Japan is only 0.14 lower than Dolensky’s SB from October’s Skate America.
As I didn’t want to push Tim down any further just in case he pulled something out of the bag, I kept the other two Juniors behind him.
When I came to Dance, it was pretty straightforward. I knew who I was putting in the Top 5 and in what order. And I knew I was putting the rest in absolute PB order, as I was not familiar enough with any of them! (Although I had seen two of the couples before at Junior GP’s, I wasn’t sure how the others compared to them).
Now, off to Canada!
Caroliza_fan
AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Men
1. Nathan CHEN
2. Jason BROWN
3. Max AARON
4. Grant HOCHSTEIN
5. Alexander JOHNSON
Just for fun
6. Vincent ZHOU
7. Timothy DOLENSKY
8. Andrew TORGASHEV
9. Tomoki HIWATASHI
10. Ross MINER
Ice Dance
1. Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI
2. Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE
3. Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES
4. Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER
5. Anastasia CANNUSCIO / Colin MCMANUS
Just for fun
6. Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT
7. Julia BIECHLER / Damian DODGE
8. Karina MANTA / Joseph JOHNSON
9. Charlotte MAXWELL / Ryan DEVEREAUX
10. Elicia REYNOLDS / Stephen REYNOLDS
11. Kseniya PONOMARYOVA / Oleg ALTUKHOV