Some cities wait decades to host another U.S. Championships. Such is not the case for Greensboro. It was only back in January 2015 that the North Carolina town last hosted the competition. They hosted in 2011 as well.
This gives locals the opportunity to track the progress of juniors and below rising to seniors, and veteran seniors continuing to push the boundaries of the sport. Let's take a look at the familiar faces who will be returning to the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Pay close attention because some skaters have taken on new roles.
Ladies
A large portion of the senior ladies competing next month will be on familiar turf.
Gracie Gold will be making her much-anticipated return to championship ice. During her 2015 trip, she placed second with 138.52 points behind
Ashley Wagner, who has since taken a break from competition. Gold knows what it takes to win gold. She won the top prize in 2014 and 2016.
Karen Chen rounded out the podium in 2015 taking third with 135.13 points. The Cornell freshman returns after missing the event in 2019 and is looking to re-gain the title, which she won in 2017.
Veteran seniors
Mariah Bell,
Courtney Hicks and
Amber Glenn undoubtedly seek to improve on the placements they earned the last time they were in Greensboro, placing sixth, eighth, and 13th, respectively.
Bradie Tennell, who took the championship crown in 2018 and recently represented Team USA at the Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy, stood atop the podium in Greensboro in 2015 as the junior ladies champion with 176.36 points. Joining her in the juniors was Paige Rydberg who placed eighth and has since graduated to championship competition. Two women who competed at the Intermediate level in 2015—Maxine Marie Bautista (second place) and Sierra Venetta (10th place)—have also qualified to compete in the championship division this year.
Reigning U.S. ladies champion
Alysa Liu hadn't burst on the scene yet in 2015. Liu has since won the U.S. title at intermediate (2016), junior (2018) and championship (2019) levels, breaking numerous records along the way. This year, the 14-year-old reigning champion will look to become the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the U.S. Championships.
Men
Both the championship and junior men to win in 2015 will be going for the gold in Greensboro.
Jason Brown won the top title with 181.62 points and
Andrew Torgashev won juniors with 225.24 points. Both will face stiff competition from three-time and reigning U.S. champion
Nathan Chen. The quad king placed eighth in 2015 with 154.79 points, but has since mastered an arsenal full of consistent quadruple jumps. Most recently, Chen won his third consecutive Grand Prix Final title and set a world record with his 224.92-point free skate.
Sean Rabbit, Jordan Moeller and
Jimmy Ma previously competed in Greensboro as seniors, placing 12th, 13th and 18th, respectively. In 2015, audiences saw now-seniors
Tomoki Hiwatashi take fifth in juniors, William Hubbart place eighth in novice and
Ryan Dunk get fourth in intermediate.
Pairs
Here's where things get complicated. Flashback to 2015, Ashley Cain (now going by Ashley Cain-Gribble since getting married in June) was a singles skater and placed 14th at the U.S. Championships. Since partnering with Timothy LeDuc, she currently wears the gold around her neck and hopes to add a second to her collection in Greensboro.
The top three senior pairs teams from 2015 have remained intact and will be present in Greensboro once again.
Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim placed first with 210.49 points, followed by
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier in second with 199.92 points. (Denney and Frazier are bringing back their
Lion King theme this January in Greensboro). Rounding out the top three were
Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea with 185.31 points.
Fifth place finisher Jessica Calalang skated with Zack Sidhu in 2015, but is now competing with Brian Johnson. Johnson won silver with former partner Chelsea Liu in the junior division.
Perhaps the biggest leap up the ranks has been taken by Audrey Lu. Following a seventh place finish as a juvenile girl in 2015, she gave pairs a shot and just five years later will be competing as a senior with Misha Mitrofanov. Mitrofanov competed as a novice with former partner Emily Chan, placing eighth. Chan has since joined forces with new partner Spencer Howe, who finished in sixth place in the junior men's competition in 2015.
Ivan Mokhov has also made the transition from singles to pairs too. In 2015, he placed 10th in novice men and will be competing with his sister Maria Mokhova in senior pairs next month. Joshua Santillan is currently partnered with Jessica Pfund after placing 11th with Olivia Oltmanns five years ago. 2015 junior ladies silver medalist Olivia Serafini switched to pairs skating, teaming up with Mervin Tran. Tran placed sixth in senior pairs in 2015 with former partner Marissa Castelli. Justin Highgate-Brutman, who placed 11th with Kailey Matkin as a junior pairs team in 2015, hopes to move on up the rankings with Allison Timlen on the senior level.
Ice Dance
For the most part, U.S. ice dance teams have remained consistent. Only Michael Parsons has made a switcheroo. In 2015, he placed second with sister Rachel Parsons in the junior competition and now skates as a senior with Caroline Green.
Three of the top four senior teams from 2015 will be vying for the coveted 2020 title.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates won gold with 111.11 points above
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue's bronze with 99.31 points, and
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker's pewter with 98.50 points. Maia and Alex Shibutani won silver in 2015, but have taken a break from competitive skating in the last two seasons.
Two junior-level teams from 2015 to keep your eyes on this year are junior champions
Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter who earned gold with 155.39 points.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko came in fifth in the junior competition.
The 2020 TOYOTA U.S. Figure Skating Championships take place from Jan. 20-26 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. For event and ticket information, go to
ncskate2020.com.
