2013 US Figure Skating Championships: Final results of senior division

Here are the results from the senior men's, ladies, pairs and ice dancing competition at the 2013 Prudential US Figure Skating Championships in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Top 10 results for senior pairs: (SP=Short Program; FS=Free Skate)

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Marissa Castelli, SC Of Boston/ Simon Shnapir, SC Of Boston	1	3	180.61
2	Alexa Scimeca, DuPage FSC/ Christopher Knierim, Broadmoor SC	3	1	172.75
3	Felicia Zhang, SC of New York/ Nathan Bartholomay, University of Delaware FSC	2	2	172.02
4	Lindsay Davis, All Year FSC/ Mark Ladwig, Red River Valley FSC	5	4	165.08
5	Haven Denney, Broadmoor SC/ Brandon Frazier, All Year FSC	4	6	162.27
6	Gretchen Donlan, SC Of Boston/ Andrew Speroff, SC Of Boston	7	5	159.67
7	Tarah Kayne, Southwest Florida FSC/ Daniel O'Shea, Skokie Valley SC	9	7	148.32
8	Kiri Baga, FSC of Bloomington/ Taylor Toth, DuPage FSC	8	8	148.08
9	DeeDee Leng, DuPage FSC/ Timothy LeDuc, Eastern Iowa FSC	6	10	143.71
10	Tiffany Vise, Coyotes SC of Arizona/ Don Baldwin, Los Angeles FSC	10	9	143.35

Top 10 results for senior dance: (SD=Short Dance; FD=Free Dance)

Rank	Name	SD	FD	Points
1	Meryl Davis, Arctic FSC / Charlie White, Detroit SC	1	1	197.44
2	Madison Chock, All Year FSC/ Evan Bates, Ann Arbor FSC	2	2	175.91
3	Maia Shibutani, SC of New York/ Alex Shibutani, Arctic FSC	3	3	174.21
4	Madison Hubbell, Detroit SC/ Zachary Donohue, Detroit SC	4	4	167.86
5	Lynn Kriengkrairut, All Year FSC/ Logan Giulietti-Schmitt, Ann Arbor FSC	5	5	160.01
6	Anastasia Cannuscio, University of Delaware FSC/ Colin McManus, SC Of Boston	6	6	142.32
7	Anastasia Olson, Detroit SC/ Keiffer Hubbell, Detroit SC	7	9	130.67
8	Alissandra Aronow, Arctic FSC/ Collin Brubaker, All Year FSC	9	7	130.55
9	Isabella Cannuscio, University of Delaware FSC/ Michael Bramante, SC Of Boston	8	8	129.08
10	Ginna Hoptman, IceWorks SC/ Pavel Filchenkov, IceWorks SC	10	10	119.77

Top 10 results for senior ladies: (SP=Short Program; FS=Free Skate)

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington	1	2	188.84
2	Gracie Gold, Wagon Wheel FSC	9	1	186.57
3	Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC	2	7	179.63
4	Courtney Hicks, All Year FSC	4	3	177.92
5	Christina Gao, Northern Kentucky SC	5	4	176.28
6	Yasmin Siraj, SC Of Boston	6	5	175.07
7	Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC	3	11	173.75
8	Samantha Cesario, SC of New York	7	6	170.15
9	Angela Wang, Salt Lake Figure Skating	10	8	164.76
10	Hannah Miller, Lansing SC	8	10	164.68

Top 10 results for senior men: (SP=Short Program; FS=Free Skate)

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Max Aaron, Broadmoor SC	4	1	255.00
2	Ross Miner, SC Of Boston	2	2	251.29
3	Jeremy Abbott, Detroit SC	1	3	249.33
4	Joshua Farris, Broadmoor SC	3	4	244.82
5	Adam Rippon, SC of New York	6	6	229.87
6	Richard Dornbush, All Year FSC	5	7	228.81
7	Alexander Johnson, Broadmoor SC	12	5	224.49
8	Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC	7	8	223.29
9	Brandon Mroz, Broadmoor SC	10	10	202.42
10	Stephen Carriere, SC Of Boston	17	9	201.30

Complete results for the novice, junior, intermediate and juvenile divisions can be found here. Next up...the World Championships in London, Ontario from March 11 - 17.

2013 US Figure Skating Championships: NBC schedule

NBC and icenetwork.com are providing complete coverage of the 2013 US Figure Skating Championships in Omaha, Nebraska. Below is NBC's schedule.

All times are Eastern.

Saturday, January 26: Live pairs free skate and ice dance free dance 3 - 6 pm

Saturday, January 26: Live ladies free skate 8 - 11 pm

Sunday, January 27: Live men's free skate 3 - 5 pm

Saturday, February 2: Smucker's Skating Spectacular 1 - 3 pm

 

2013 US Figure Skating Championships icenetwork schedule

The 2013 US Figure Skating Championships are well underway in Omaha, Nebraska. The juvenile, intermediate, novice and junior skaters are currently competing -- check out icenetwork.com for live coverage and complete results. Below is icenetwork's live broadcast times for the seniors. A season pass (about $40) is required to watch.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, January 24 
5:00 p.m. - Senior pairs short program
8:35 p.m. - Senior ladies short program

Friday, January 25
3:00 p.m. - Senior short dance
8:30 p.m. - Senior men's short program^

Saturday, January 26
12:00 p.m. - Senior pairs free skate (early groups)
1:05 p.m. - Senior free dance (early groups)
2:25 p.m. - Senior pairs free skate* (This portion of the event will be shown on your local NBC affiliate and be available on icenetwork.com on-demand.)
4:15 p.m. - Senior free dance* (This portion of the event will be shown on your local NBC affiliate and be available on icenetwork.com on-demand.)
6:45 p.m. - Senior ladies free skate (early groups)
8:00 p.m. - Senior ladies free skate (late groups)* (This portion of the event will be shown on your local NBC affiliate and be available on icenetwork.com on-demand.)

Sunday, January 27
1:15 p.m. - Senior men's free skate (early groups)
3:00 p.m. - Senior men's free skate (late groups)* (This portion of the event will be shown on your local NBC affiliate and be available on icenetwork.com on-demand.)

*These events will be shown on your local NBC affiliate and be available on icenetwork.com on-demand ONLY starting Tuesday, January 29, at noon ET.

Gracie Gold juggles and then skates

The US Figure Skating Championships begin on Sunday, January 20, in Omaha, Nebraska. (Click here for icenetwork.com's live streaming schedule.) 17-year-old Gracie Gold (at right, photo credit IMG and Getty Images) from Chicago makes her senior debut at Nationals (she won juniors last year) and so much has already been written about this young lady! There was a lot of hype surrounding her two Grand Prix assignments -- Skate Canada and Cup of Russia. A dismal seventh place finish at Skate Canada left critics wondering "Maybe we've built her up too much." But then Gracie came roaring back at Cup of Russia and won the silver medal which left critics asking "Is she the next US star?" 

Nationals should be very interesting this year with Ashley Wagner defending her title and all eyes on Gracie to see if she'll take one of the two spots on the World Team. (Worlds are in March in Canada.) Yesterday, two-time US champion Alissa Czisny withdrew from Nationals due to a hip injury. The ladies field is now wide open with Gracie, Christina Gao, Mirai Nagasu, Agnes Zawadzki, Caroline Zhang and others vying for the podium. Click here for complete list of ladies, men, pairs and ice dance entrants.

Gracie took the time do a fun little Q&A with me in a segment I like to call "Get to know Gracie in 20 questions..."

When was the last time you laughed really really hard?
GG: While playing with my new puppy, Yoshi #cutest,funniestpuppyever

What is your favorite food?
GG: Sushi

What is your favorite color?
GG: Red is my power color!

What is your favorite television show?
GG: This is a three way tie: Bones, Modern Family, and my latest fav Downton Abbey.

Who are your favorite actors or actresses?
GG: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams

Who are your favorite singers?
GG: Ellie Goulding, Alicia Keyes and Lea Michele

If you could be any skater (past or present) for a day, who would it be and why?
GG: Hmmm. I think Mao Asada, so I know what a triple axel really feels like!

Do you have any rituals before you compete?
GG: I juggle as part of my warm up.

What is the first thing you notice about people?
GG: Their eyes.

What are you listening to right now?
GG: I'm listening to people talking and laughing (I'm sitting in a lobby!)

Are you a mountain cabin person or beach house person?
GG: Beach house, although they both sound appealing.

Other than skating, favorite sports to watch or play?
GG: I love watching gymnastics and diving.

What was the last movie you saw?
GG: Les Miserables. Loved it!

What is your favorite type of movie -- comedy, drama, horror?
GG: Comedies and dramas, depending on my mood.

Are you reading a book now?
GG: I am reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (it's a psychological thriller!)

Favorite city thus far since you've traveled so much for skating?
GG: Hard to choose. I guess Tokyo, but I have loved traveling to every place I've been able to visit.

Hidden talent that people don't know about?
GG: I am amazing at Hide and Seek and a jigsaw puzzle wizard.

If you weren't a skater, you would probably be...
GG: A gymnast.

To get away from the pressures of being an elite skater, you relax by...
GG: Reading, watching movies, and knitting.

Your advice to all the aspiring skaters out there who want to be in your position one day is this:
GG: "Champions keep playing until they get it right." Billie Jean King. Strive for excellence, not perfection!

Video below, Gracie Gold skates at Rockefeller Rink for the Today show on Friday, January 11.

Johnny Weir withdraws from US Nationals, needs more time to compete with the best

Johnny Weir (at right) just announced on his website that he is withdrawing from US Nationals, which will be held in Omaha, Nebraska in January 2013. Reason? He's just not ready to skate with the top athletes. He came in fourth at the Finlandia Trophy (and kind of a distant fourth), withdrew after his short program at his first Grand Prix assignment citing injury, and then withdrew from his second Grand Prix event to fully recover. Originally Johnny's reason for his comeback (his last competition was at the 2010 Vancouver WInter Olympics) was for the joy of skating for himself and his fans. But that attitude soon changed after he actually started competing. It wasn't enough that he skated two decent programs -- he wanted to skate two great programs and win! Thus, today he announced that he is stepping back to prepare more so that he can actually be a contender at these competitions. Johnny's full statement is below and yes, he does say that he will be ready to seek a spot at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. I think everyone, Johnny fan or not, feels a little sad over this news. At the end of the day, putting aside his reality show, outrageous statements, costumes, personality and nonskating endeavors, you knew that Johnny had a deep deep respect for skating, skaters and skating fans. 

JOHNNY WEIR STATEMENT:

It is with deep regret that I announce my withdrawal from the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Omaha, Neb.

Since my return to competition this fall, I have seen my competition and what more I wanted from this sport clearly. I worked very hard to compete this season, with many obstacles and detours, but I made good on my promise to return to competition, and I am very proud of that. My performances so far have not been to my satisfaction and, combined with the stress of competing, I feel that I need to take a step back, prepare more and be ready for the Olympic season, beginning next fall.

After seeing the level of my competitors and how much stronger I needed to be to be competitive, my original plan of competing just for my fans and myself changed. The level of competition has increased dramatically since I left the sport in 2010, and although I was prepared to the best of my abilities, competing relit the fire in me, not only to compete and perform but also to win. Winning takes greatness, and I hope with the time I’m allowing myself to improve my skills, I will return next fall with a clear shot at competing in the next Olympic Games as a favorite.

I want to thank my fans all over the world for supporting my comeback and supporting me in person at so many events and exhibitions. I will still be performing, and I hope you can come to see my exhibitions and galas this spring and summer.

I want to thank my coach, Galina Zmievskaya; my family; my manager, Tara Modlin-King and her company, Fireworks Sports Marketing; my friends; and my silent supporters for your love and generosity. I would like to thank U.S. Figure Skating; its president, Patricia St. Peter; and its executive director, David Raith, for their continued support of my career.

I wish all the competitors luck for the rest of the season, and I pray for your individual success.

— Johnny Weir