2008 U.S. NationalsJunior Men
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All photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano |
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2008 U.S. NationalsJunior Men
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All photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano |
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Adam Rippon skated first, and set the standard for the rest of the event. He opened with a clean triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination, followed by a strong double Axel and stronger triple loop. Skating to a modernized version of Bach's "Toccata and Fuge in D Minor," he gave a well choreographed, mature performance for which he received Program Component marks in the mid to high sixes. The only weakness in his program, if you can even call it that, was his closing flying sit spin which was called only a level 2, whereas his other elements were levels 3 and 4. Second in the Short Program was Curran Oi, skating to "Phantom of the Opera." He opened with a fine double Axel (scored at plus one), followed by a clean triple flip - triple toe loop combination. One judge marked it at minus one, but the vast majority of the panel gave it zero to plus two. His program Components were in the low to mid fives, with Transitions and Interpretation coming in at a few hundredths below six. His program was a fairly standard rendition of this music, a little short on connecting moves and intensity, but well skated and presented. Brandon Mroz also got credit for a triple-triple, but it wasn't pretty. The landing of the triple toe loop in the Lutz-toe combination was poorly controlled and he but his hand down to keep from falling, resultingin GoEs of minus one and minus two. He followed up with a well done triple loop, and later in the program completed a well done double Axel. The remaining elements were all called levels 3 and 4 and were scored positive. Also choosing a common piece of music, "Night on Bald Mountain" his Program Components spanned the high fives to the low sixes. Completing the top four, Andrew Gonzales opened with a fine triple toe loop - triple toe loop combination. His triple loop jump looked fairly clean, but three judges scored it at minus one, while two had it at plus one. Go figure. His double Axel was also cleanly executed with GoEs of zero and plus one. His matador routine, which is now a little long in the tooth, was skated capably, with good speed and energy, earning Program Component marks in the low to mid fives. Not far behind the top four, Alexander Johnson scored fourth best for Program Components, but a fall on triple loop cost him four points, and one place in the standings. Also outside the top four, but still a threat in the Free Skate is Keegan Messing. He opened with a strong triple Lutz - double toe loop combination, but on triple loop was scored down by five judges, from minus one to minus three. The other four had the element at zero. Again, go figure. Currently nearly three points behind the medal places, he does have a triple Axel that he reserves for the Free Skate -- leaving him in the running for a medal for this event. |
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Rippon Rings Up Gold in Junior Men By Liz Leamy Adam Rippon captured the gold in the Junior Men’s event late this afternoon with a breathtaking free program to “Moonlight Sonata” which earned him a total score of 213.76 and put him more than10 points ahead of the rest of the competition. All the way from the beginning to the end of his exquisite performance, Rippon was right on top of his game. His choreography was fantastic, and comparable to that of a top-ranked international senior man. Although he did not do a triple Axel, all of his jumps through the Lutz were of a textbook quality and featured smooth and fast entries, nice spring and an opening delayed position, among other things. He did a triple flip-triple toe loop, triple Lutz, triple loop, double Axel, triple Lutz-double toe loop-double loop, triple flip, double Axel-half loop-triple Salchow and a double Axel. Rippon was awarded plus ones and plus twos for all of his triple jumps. “I’m happy with how my free skate went today. I was a little bit nervous because I heard the response to Brandon’s performance and I knew he skated well,” said Rippon. Asked whether he would be excited about skating on the 2008 Junior World team, he answered with a hearty ‘yes.’ “If I were to be named to the Junior World team, the thing I would have to stay focused on is to skate clean, strong programs and focus on my skating.” Brandon Mroz of the Broadmoor SC skated away with second and scored a total of 203.63. Mroz, who was the silver medalist in this same event last year, exceeded the 200-point limit with his techno-infused program. He did a triple Axel in which he touched down on the landing, triple loop, double Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe loop, triple flip-double toe loop, triple Salchow and triple Lutz. Mroz received plus ones for most of his jumps. “For me, I wanted to bring a new step of intensity up in the long program and this is a new personal best in the long for me,” he said. Andrew Gonzales of the Al Year FSC was third with a total score of 182.27. He skated a clean program that featured a nice double Axel-triple toe loop, triple loop, triple flip, triple Lutz, among other things. “Since Pacific Coasts, I sat down and really realized I’d need to step it up. I knew I’d have to get these programs to a high level,” he said. And a note added by Dr. George Third to skate in the event, Richard Dornbush, who placed twelfth in the Short Program, moved up eight places to finish fourth overall. His third place finish in the Short Program was fueled by a new triple Axel, which has been added to his program since Sectionals. He also landed a triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination. Dornbush landed a total of eight triples, matching Brandon Mroz in that statistic. Of the eight men who landed triple-triples this evening, the best combination goes to Keegan Messing, who landed a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination. |
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