The junior pairs short program event opened up the competition Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Little Caesars Arena. Laiken Lockley, 16, and Keenan Prochnow, 21, from the DuPage Figure Skating Club currently sit in first with a three-point lead.
"We got some good elements, so we're really happy with it," Lockley said.
The duo from Illinois skated to "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. Their 61.52-point program featured a triple twist and a throw triple Salchow, two elements the team said they've been working on.
"Lately, the twist has been hard for us," Prochnow said. "It's been a strength in the past, but lately we've been struggling with it a lot."
Lockley said they had to work on different changes with the element because of their growth spurts, but they feel they've improved throughout the season. They recently placed fourth at Junior Grand Prix Austria.
Kate Finster (Northern Kentucky Skating Club) and Balazs Nagy (Broadmoor Skating Club) secured the second place spot with a season's best 59.65 points. Their program also featured a triple twist and throw triple Salchow.
"We performed the best that we could despite some trips," Finster said after their skate.
The 15- and 20-year-olds said they are looking forward to a good free skate tomorrow. Finster and Nagy, and Lockley and Prochnow both competed at the Junior Grand Prix Czech Republic, where they placed ninth and sixth, respectively.
Isabelle Martins (Chicago Figure Skating Club) and Ryan Bedard (Northern Ice Skating Club) are currently in third with 52.16 points. Their program set to "Arms" by Christina Perri featured three Level 4 elements as well as a throw triple Salchow.
"We performed and got a little nervous, but we worked through it," Martins said.
The duo has been together for four years, and this is their fourth time at U.S. Championships.
Maria Mokhova, 12, and Ivan Mokhov, 19, from the Chelsea Figure Skating Club secured the fourth place position with 48.47 points.
"Our goal was to skate clean," Mokhov said. "It went really well."
Junior pairs competition concludes with the free skate tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. ET with live, on-demand and commercial-free coverage on
NBC Sports Gold with the Figure Skating Pass.
