Interviews by Anne Calder, Ice-Dance.com
Article by Gina Capellazzi, Team FSO website administrator
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO — While Figure Skaters Online‘s Gina Capellazzi and Maura Sullivan Hill were traveling to St. Louis for Nationals, Ice-Dance.com Anne Calder caught up with the junior and novice skaters following their free skates at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. Here are what the medalists and others in the junior men and women’s event said about their skates at Nationals.
Women
Angela Shao, U.S. junior champion
Age: 15
Coach: Tammy Gambill
Training Town: Colorado Springs, CO
About: Angela qualified for Nationals by finishing third at the Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final.
Thoughts on your first medal?
“I’m just really surprised. I’m just truly grateful for this experience because I worked really hard to achieve this. I like to thank all my coaches, friends, my family, of course, for supporting me. It has just been a really fun journey.”
Thoughts on your free skate?
“I think I really delivered what I wanted to deliver, and did the best I could in the situation that I was in.”
Thoughts on your Nationals experience as a whole?
“I was liked really stressed, which is normal. I’m really glad I overcame that fear and did as well as I could.”
What did you learn from this competition?
“Bend my knees, don’t stress out, and breath.”
What was it like at your first Junior Grand Prix in Latvia?
“It was a new experience. I really enjoyed it. I really put myself out there to the world. I got to eat the breakfast buffets there. It was really fun. I met a lot of new people and I really hope I see them again.”
What is it like training at altitude in Colorado?
“I think that is what is really great about Colorado. The altitude makes it harder to breath there and when I come down, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders a little bit. Like at least I don’t have to worry about breathing, you know.
Annika Chao, U.S. junior silver medalist
Age: 16
Coaches: Chris Pottenger, Grant Hochstein, Russ Scott, Anthony Evans, Caroline Zhang
Training Town: Anaheim, CA
About: Annika qualified for Nationals by winning the Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final. This season, she won the Santa Claus Cup on the junior level. She was fifth at the Junior Grand Prix in Italy.
Thoughts on your free skate?
“Obviously, I messed up my second lutz, but my ultimate goal was to skate as hard as I could and perform as hard as I could. I got up from that lutz and I just wanted to skate so strong and perform to my best ability and I’m really glad I did that. I’m just overjoyed because this is my first medal at Nationals. I have come in fifth for two years in a row. It’s just so amazing that my wok is showing and paying off.”
Thoughts on Nationals as a whole?
“It has been great. The staff here have been so wonderful. Thank you to all the volunteers who have been helping out with this event because it is no easy task to run this event, but thank you for the beautiful job. Nationals is always such a special experience for me.”
What are your highlights from Nationals?
“I love watching my friends. Also, when I hit my ending pose, I showed myself that I could do it and that I could perform and give it my all into the performance and I’m so glad that I did it.”
What did you learn from this competition?
“Even if I fall down, I can still get back up and I can keep going and pushing myself, and I can still do amazing.”
Hannah Kim, U.S. junior bronze medalist
Age: 14
Coach: Laura Lipetsky
Training Town: Artesia, Calif.
About: Hannah qualified for Nationals by finishing third at the Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final. She did make her Junior Grand Prix debut this season.
Thoughts on your free skate?
“I was actually really proud of it. I felt like I have been through so much this year and I’m so happy to place. I think after I finished all my jumps, I was in disbelief because it is actually all over now, the season is done. I felt like this season was really tough on me and I really needed that skate.” (Hannah said this will fighting through “happy tears.”)
How does it feel to win a medal at Nationals?
“It is unreal. I never could have imagined it. I’m in disbelief right now.”
What has your Nationals experience been like?
“It has been so much fun. I get so excited for Nationals every year because I get to see all my friends from all around the country. It’s so fun competing with all my friends, and medaling now.”
What did you learn from this competition?
“I learned to not give up because every point matters. So I have learned to fight to the end, no matter what.”
How was your experience at your first Junior Grand Prix in Azerbaijan?
“It was a learning experience. It wasn’t my best skate there but meeting people from all around the world was so much fun.”
How do you plan to celebrate your medal?
“All nighters or sleep overs. Late night binge eating.”
Jessica Jurka, U.S. junior pewter medalist
Age: 15
Coach: Leif Gislason
Training Town: Colorado Springs, CO
About: Jessica qualified for Nationals by finishing second at Midwestern Sectionals Singles Final. This season, she also finished second at the Santa Claus Cup on the junior level. She made her Junior Grand Prix debut this season.
Thoughts on the free skate
“It’s not the best I have ever done, but I have been dealing with a lot before this. About a week ago, I had some head trauma. I had a mild concussion and I wasn’t able to train for a bit. So considering that, I’m pretty happy with how I did today.”
Thoughts on Nationals as a whole?
“This is the first year that they have done the separate venues, which I think is pretty nice because I think we get a little more attention for the juniors as well. So I like the set-up of that. Everyone I have met here has been really great.”
Highlight of your free skate?
“Honestly, hitting my triple toe. It’s my favorite jump and I really liked how I landed it.”
What did you learn from this competition?
“Always try your best, no matter if it something is going wrong, just keep on preserving and you will get what you want.
How will you feel if you medal at this competition? (Note: This question was asked to Jessica before the final results)
I will be really happy. I still remember the moment when I realized I would get a medal last year. I was just crying because I was so happy. So I think it would be great to relive some of those memories. This is my final junior year.”
What was your experience like at the Junior Grand Prix in Thailand?
“It was amazing. It is not like any other competition that I have ever done. The people were so kind. It was my first time in Asia too and I always wanted to go there. So I’m just really happy that I got the opportunity.
Men
Editor’s Note: The photos of the men are file photos. We will replace these photos after the Olympics when we receive them from our photographer.
Patrick Blackwell, U.S. junior champion
Age: 17
Coaches: Annette Blackwell, Aleksey Letov, Olga Ganicheva
Training Town: Norwood, MA
About: Patrick qualified for Nationals by finishing first at the Eastern Sectional Singles Final. This season, he also won Tallinn Trophy on the junior level and finished second and fourth at his two Junior Grand Prix assignments.
Thoughts on the free skate and winning the gold
“I felt great. Feels pretty good to get a good long program and a decent short program done at Nationals, and I’m really happy to walk away with gold medal here.”
How does it feel to have now have a gold medal around there?
“I mean, it feels amazing, but gotta remember, it’s not just for me. It’s the ones who passed a year ago (Flight 5342). So that’s kind of my gift to Spencer (Lane), his dad and every other family member, you know, being able to bring gold home to a place where a lot of lives were lost.”
Your program was a tribute to them. How did it feel to perform that?
“It helped me for the second half of my program to really push through. Even when I was tired, to get through that damn program, I was not gonna regret it in any way.”
What did you learn from this competition?
“I’m definitely gonna look at it as I can do everything that I have planned and continue training hard, and even though it was a great performance, there is room for improvement. Spins, jumps, you name it. It can all be improved.”
What is it like to skate at the Skating Club of Boston that has so much history in figure skating?
“I mean, it’s great, especially the environment. To being able to train with all Olga (Ganicheva) and Aleksey (Letov) is the group with my mom, the head coach, and then, of course, my training partners, like Jimmy (Ma) and Max (Naumov), the top people that I look at and inspire to be like, it’s really inspiring to me to be able to train in that environment, but also knowing what did come from an environment of Boston and when I could potentially be.”
Caleb Farrington, U.S. junior silver medalist
Age: 17
Coaches: Oleg Makarov, Larisa Selezeva, Patch David
Training Town: Newburgh, NY
About: Caleb qualified for Nationals by finishing second at the Eastern Sectional Singles Final. This season, he also won Santa Claus Cup on the junior level and finished third and fifth at his two Junior Grand Prix assignments.
Thoughts on the free skate
“It was mediocre because I fell. I kind of hoped that I would stay up on that (quadruple) toe, but nothing that I can do about it now. The rest of the program was good because I stood up on everything.”
Thoughts on Nationals as a whole?
“This one is different. This one is special because we get two facilities – junior and senior. Magically things happen at the U.S. Championships. There are so many stories. I tried the triple Axel in short program. That jump has gone missing four times this season. I wasn’t able to do it without landing on the downgrade until the week before, and then I landed it here on the first practice ice, and now it’s consistent. I feel it in my body finally, and that happened to my teammate in San Jose (at the 2023 U.S. Championships). So I don’t know, good things happen at the Championships. Let’s just say that.
Louis Mallane, U.S. junior bronze medalist
Age: 16
Coaches: Amy Evidente, Jonathan Cassar
Training Town: Lakewood, CA
About: Louis qualified for Nationals by winning the Midwestern Sectional Singles Final. He made his Junior Grand Prix debut this season.
How do you feel about your free skate?
“It feels like the hard work finally paid off. It just means a lot to see everyone come and pay to see you so I definitely wanted to do my best. And it is really cool to see all the competitors, who are really good.”
How does it feel to medal?
“I was not expecting to be on the podium at all. My goal was to do just what I do in training. I did it so I’m really excited with the placement.”
What was it like to compete in your first Junior Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix Solidarity Cup?
“It was not the best and not exactly what I wanted to do but it was a great experience and I learned a lot. It was really cool to see everyone from different countries compete.
Did you try any Polish food?
I went to a really Polish restaurant and I tried pierogies and they were really good.
Zachary LoPinto, finished in fifth place
Age:17
Coaches: Aleksey Letov, Olga Ganicheva, Sergey Minaev, Boyko Alexiev
Training Town: Norwood, MA
About: Zachary was
Thoughts on free skate
“It wasn’t my best, but I was happy that I was able to fight through the whole program and get it down. A little disappointing because I knew I could do a lot better.”
Thoughts on U.S. Nationals experience as a whole
“It has been an amazing experience. This is my second time coming back and it has been a few years. It feels very nice to be able to skate on the national stage again. I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”
On what he learned from this competition
“I’m going to take trusting the training process. I’m really going to work more in training and make sure I can more confidently do the programs and just be more confident overall next season.”
“I want to improve on the quality of my base triples, like triple lutz, triple flip, and add more difficult jumps, like triple Axel and quadruple jumps. I just want to stay a little stronger with all those elements, especially in the second half.”
Alek Tankovic, finished in sixth place
Age: 18
Coaches: Tammy Gambill, Damon Allen
Training Town: Colorado Springs, Co.
About: Alek was second at the 2026 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final
Thoughts on free skate
“I felt good. It was a fight for sure, but just happy to be out there. It was fun.”
Thoughts on U.S. Nationals experience as a whole
“It was great. The venue is great. It was organized very well. It has been really fun, honestly, it always fun going to Championships.
Highlights from the U.S. Nationals
“My short (program) yesterday was definitely a big highlight. Running a clean short (program) here feels great.”
On what he learned from this competition
“I definitely think I learned to enjoy the moment more here than in my past competitions. I just want to carry that over into the rest of the season.”
“It is so good. It is so much easier to breath down here, but it is a blessing to be able to train up there.
