2005 U.S. Nationals

The junior men’s short program took place on Wednesday afternoon at the Memorial Coliseum. Two of the top three skaters included their triple Axel and all three of the fourth place finishers at the three 2005 Sectionals finished in the top 6 here today.

Jeremy Abbott (the 2005 Midwest Sectional Champion) tried the triple Axel - triple toe combination in competition, landed it successfully and currently leads after the short program. He said of his accomplishment, "I was confident going into it (the triple Axel). I was surprised, but I wasn't. It was so exciting to land — just a great feeling." He also included a triple loop but lost his focus on his final jump the double Axel and fell.

He skated one of the strongest performances artistically in this event and garnered six first place ordinals along with three-second places. He finished 7th last year at these championships. He explained his problems from last season, " I had a stress fracture and was off the ice for 15 weeks in the summer and only started training two weeks before (2004 Southwest) Regionals. Being healthy this year has made all of the difference as I'm fully trained this year and have been training properly."

Abbott did not compete in the Junior Grand Prix series this season but his family and friends brought a little European flavor to these championships, ringing cow bells prior to his starting his short program to "Aranjuez Con tu Amore" by Monty Alexander. He did some of his own choreography, working with Damon Allen who won the Junior Men's title in 1991. He trains with Tom Zakrajsek, Becky Calvin & Damon Allen in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Douglas Razzano of the Coyotes SC of Arizona skated a clean short program that featured a triple Lutz - double toe combination, a triple loop and a double Axel for second place. This strong spinner trains with Doug Ladret in Scottsdale, Arizona who said of his performance today, "One of the goals was for the program to stand out from everyone else. It's an overall top quality junior men's program. I think that's why he's in second right now with three first-place ordinals."

He skated to the music "Kalinka" which the crowd seemed to enjoy, clapping along from the start. Ladret had skated to this same music with his former partner Christine Huff for the 1987-88 season. Ladret said," Douglas first suggested this music and I knew the music and character well from skating it myself so, we decided to make this program happen." This program was choreographed by Ladret and fine-tuned by Grant Rorvick.

Razzano is a champion speller and his most prized possession is his gold medal from the 2004 Triglov Trophy international competition. This is his first year competing as a junior and he placed 5th in novice at the 2004 U.S. Championships.

Craig Ratterree of the Washington FSC has skated on the junior level for the past 3 years, but this was his first trip to the U.S. national championships. When asked what made the difference for him this year, Ratterree said, "I haven't been nervous at all, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's that I've finally started to enjoy it. Now I just go out and do what I know I needs to be done. Of course, (having) the Axel helped." During his "Mask of Zorro" program, he stepped out of that triple Axel but still included the double toe loop, also landing a loop and a double Axel.

Ratterree trains with Sergei Korovin in Alexandria, Virginia who also choreographs his programs. He finished 4^th at the 2005 Eastern Sectionals and likes to dance in his spare time. His ordinals ranged from 3^rd to 10^th and he finished fourth in a tie-breaking decision over Geoffrey Varner of the Peninsula SC.

Varner trains with Barbara Williams in Newark, Delaware. His short program to movie soundtracks of "The Skulls" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was choreographed by Alexander Kirsanov & Chris Conte.

Casey McCraw of the Broadmoor SC sits in fifth place. He also trains with Tom Zakrajsek and his programs are choreographed by Becky Calvin. He portrayed the "Phantom of the Opera" for his short program, and stepped out of his triple Lutz before completing the combination but landed his triple loop and double axel.

According to Zakrajsek this was his best performance this season. McCraw placed fourth at the 2004 Midwestern Sectional championships to qualify for this event. McCraw is a member of the National Honor Society and plans to become a medical doctor after his skating career concludes. He also enjoys playing tennis.

Michael Peters of the Peninsula SC finished sixth with his "Shake Your Bones" short program that was choreographed by Oleg Epstein. Peters trains with Ken Congemi and Karina Kappel, working some of the season in both in El Segundo, California and Geneva, Illinois. His ordinals ranged from 3rd place to 8th place.

Princeton Kwong of the Peninsula SC trains in San Jose, California with Sergei Ponomarenko. Ponomarenko and his wife Marina Klimova choreographed his programs and he finds himself currently in 7th place. He skated to "To Be or Not To Be" and "Concerto for Chopsticks" for his short program. He medalled at both his junior grand prix events this season (bronze) and placed second at the 2005 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships. Kwong is also an accomplished flutist, which he considers his most prized possession. He is the 2004 Novice men's champion and included five triples in that free skate program. I look for him to move up in the standings for the final.

Jeremy Abbott who trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado won the junior men’s title in Portland at the Rose Arena on Friday, January 14. Judges gave him 8 first-place ordinals and 1-second place ordinal. He popped his triple Axel but did land a triple Lutz – double toe combination. His short program outing was more impressive than this effort for his free skating program to "Augusta, Adagio Samb Adagio" by Sadri Duo which seemed a little flat but he did skate with good speed. He said, "I feel like I've improved from regionals to sectionals to nationals," he said. "But it hasn't hit me yet that I've won."

He will skate again in Sunday’s exhibition. Damon Allen choreographed this program and Abbott trains with Tom Zakrajsek, Becky Calvin and Allen. "I'm really excited, but the program wasn't the best that it has been," he said, "The highlight for me was the triple Lutz, which I haven't done in competition this season. I was disappointed about the triple Axel because it's usually consistent." Abbott's marks ranged from 5.0 to 5.4 for technical merit and from 5.1 - 5.5 for presentation.

Michael Peters finished second in the free skate, skating to "William Tell Overture". He opened with a strong triple Axel but missed his triple Lutz. He pulled up from sixth place in the short program where he missed a double Axel to finish third overall and take home a bronze medal. He said, "I pulled a groin before Regionals so it is just a joy to be here. This year's been such a struggle so medaling is much more than I'd hoped for this season." Peters’ marks ranged from 4.9 through 5.4 for technical merit and his presentation marks ran from 5.0 through 5.3.

Peters enters college at the University of Illinois next week and he plans to ultimately be a doctor. This season he divided his training between Geneva, Illinois (Katrina Kappel) and El Segundo, California (Ken Congemi). Oleg Epstein choreographed his program.

Silver medalist Craig Ratterree started his program with a strong triple Axel but seemed to fade late in the program. He said, "This year was one of my biggest years as I finally made it to nationals. I have had bronchitis for the past three weeks so breathing was a major problem." His technical marks had a range of 4.6 -5.3 and his for presentation marks varied from 4.8 - 5.4.

He skated to "6^th Symphony " by Peter Tchaikovsky and his coach Sergey Korovoin choreographed this program. "This is an honor for me. I can’t even imagine anything like it. When I first stating skating my dream was to make it to nationals and now I’ve made it," said Ratterree of his third place finish.

Douglas Razzano performed to "Tosca" but dropped to fourth in the free skate after placing second in the short program for fourth place overall. He did not land a triple Axel. His ordinal range went from 4.4 to 5.2 for technical merit and from 4.4 through 5.3 for presentation.

Princeton Kwong performed well to music from "Atlantis the Last Empire" soundtrack and looks promising for the future. He trains in San Jose with Sergei Ponomarenko and was the 2004 novice men’s champion. Look for him again next year although we would like to see him improve his spins. His marks varied from 4.7 to 5.1 for technical merit and from 4.7 through 5.1 for presentation. He pulled up to fifth in the freeskate after placing seventh in the short program.

Short Program

Free Skating