\u201cI competed last year in this event in junior and then did the (junior portion of camp) that week,\u201d said Sanchez after his short program. \u201cSo I know what to expect going into it next week, but I am excited to be part of the senior portion with all of the top athletes in the States. I\u2019m so excited to be in that mix of skaters.”<\/p>\n Sanchez\u2019s weekend was a mixed bag, with his short program to the Umbrellas of Cherbourg<\/em> going as well as it could. He landed a triple flip, triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, scoring a 78.60 in the segment and finishing within .14 of a point of front-runner Jimmy Ma.<\/p>\n His free skate to\u00a0Dune<\/em>, did not go as hoped, with a doubled Salchow to open the program and problems on his triple Axel-triple toe loop combination, dropping him to seventh in the free skate and fifth overall. However, Sanchez finished the best of all of the U.S. men entered.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s early for Sanchez, who admits he is adjusting to the senior schedule. In past years, he would get his programs right after Nationals and by August he would be ready for the Junior Grand Prix.<\/p>\n “I came to watch Senior Worlds (in March) and I got my programs done while we were here for it,\u201d said Sanchez of his\u00a0 programs, which were choreographed by Adam Blake and Rohene Ward. \u201cI’ve been just practicing it ever since. I just started doing full (programs) a month ago. So I started all the preparation kind of later than usual. But that’s because my season has started later than before, which has been really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanchez is excited for the opportunities that turning senior internationally during an Olympic season provides.<\/p>\n \u201cI think making my Senior Grand Prix debut in China is the thing I’m looking most forward to,\u201d said Sanchez. \u201cI’m very excited to be in the mix of an Olympic season and just being able to compete in my first senior season during this Olympic season with all these great skaters.\u201d<\/p>\n Canadian Stephen Gogolev was quiet and subdued around the rink before his skates, but he went out and attacked both the short and free to win the bronze medal. Despite some mistakes on footwork and spins in the short program, he never gave up on the program and skated faster and more complete than at any point last season. Then in the free skate, he scored the highest technical score of the day, thanks to landing two quad Salchows (one in combination) and a quad toe. It was a breakthrough performance for Gogolev, who has struggled over the past few seasons.<\/p>\n Skating on what he called his \u201cnew\u201d home rink, Estonia\u2019s Aleksandr Selevko had the crowd in the palms of his hands during his upbeat short program to Prince\u2019s Kiss. There was not a second of the program that he didn\u2019t sell, looking at the audience the entire time. In his Sandra Bezic and David Wilson-choreographed free skate to music by Nico Cartosio, he landed a quad Lutz and quad toe loop, and finished third in the segment to give him the silver.<\/p>\n Ma won the short program with a Firebird remix that included a quad toe and a triple Axel before he had to put an extra turn between jumps in his triple Lutz-triple toe combination. He squeaked by Sanchez for the lead.<\/p>\n Ma\u2019s Turandot free skate was not his best performance, with issues on several jumps and a fall, dropping him to seventh but the program composition showed promise. Ma spent time this summer training in Japan with the Kinoshita Skating Academy and coach Mie Hamada, and there are subtle changes in his skating that are already noticeable.<\/p>\n Levito\u2019s free skate to \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d still needs some work, but showed promise. Her triple flip-double Axel sequence caused her issues, and she also had an issue on a late program triple Lutz.<\/p>\n Kazakhstan\u2019s Sofia Samodelkina skated well in both segments of the competition, with her upbeat routine to\u00a0Czardas\u00a0setting an early standard in the short program, holding up as the leader only until Levito skated. Her Sunset Boulevard free skate leaned on some familiar dramatic music and shows promise, but underrotations were apparent on several of her jumps, something she will need to clean up as the season gets underway.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Jacob-SANCHEZ-USA-Cranberry-Cup-25-sp-sr074A0185-2.jpg\")
<\/a>For Jacob Sanchez, Cranberry Cup was the beginning of a busy and important week. After competing Saturday and Sunday, he would take part in the senior portion of U.S. Figure Skating\u2019s Champs Camp for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/a>Roman Sadovsky was the talk of the competition. His clean Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” and “Photograph” by Cody Fry free skate won him his first senior international gold medal. His performance quality and jumps looked solid, and with Skate Canada high performance director in the house both days, it was a statement finished for the sometimes-inconsistent Sadovsky.<\/p>\nWomen<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Isabeau Levito showed off two new programs at Cranberry Cup to take the senior women\u2019s title. While both are still being fine-tuned, her short program to \u201cAlmost in Your Arms\u201d and \u201czou bisou bisou\u201d carries the retro theme from last season\u2019s Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s program, which works well for Levito.<\/p>\n