Green and Parsons Clinch Bronze at NHK Trophy

What a difference a couple of weeks can make.

Two weeks ago at Cup of China, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons left disappointed, withdrawing due to injury after Parsons suffered a fall in the rhythm dance.

Saturday at NHK Trophy, both were all smiles as they stood on the podium to accept their bronze medals, the third Grand Prix medal of their career and the first since 2023.

Green and Parsons placed third in the free dance to maintain their third-place finish in the standings. The 2022 Four Continents champions recorded 112.76 in the free dance for a two-day total of 187.90.

Skating to "Escalate" by Tsar B and "Son of Nyx" by Hozier, Green and Parsons started their performance with two Level 4 elements, a dance spin and rotational life. The highlight of the routine came halfway through with their combination lift, which was awarded a program-best grade of execution of 3.02 for 13.92 points – their highest-scoring element.

This marks Green and Parsons' second podium finish this season (bronze, 2025 Nepela Memorial) and second medal at NHK Trophy. They earned their first-ever Grand Prix medal, a bronze, at this event in 2022.

Green and Parsons' training mates in Canton, Michigan, Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski, finished with a top-five result in their Grand Prix debut, scoring 110.73 and 182.85 for their free dance and total score, both new international personal bests.  

Building on their international personal best rhythm dance score from day one, the 2025 World Junior silver medalists executed four Level 4 elements, including a set of synchronized twizzles and a combination lift worth 13.78 points. Their skate to music from the Kill Bill soundtrack and "Malagueña" by Brian Setzer finished fourth in the free dance standings for a fifth-place result overall.

Competing for the first time since the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Maia Shibutani and Alex Sibutani returned to a song they used for their free dance in the 2025-16 season, "Fix You" by Coldplay.

The two-time Olympic medalists and two-time U.S. champions were one of two teams to have more than one element earn more than 10 points. Their opening Level 3 midline step sequence and Level 4 combination lift scored 10.58 and 13.37 points, respectively.

They finished with a top-five free dance score of 108.76 and placed sixth overall with 180.50 points.

The two U.S. pairs teams ended the competition in fifth and sixth with their free skates separated by just tenths of a point.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov tallied 123.79 while Emily Chan and Spencer Howe claimed 123.58.

The reigning U.S. champions, Efimova and Mitrofanov's free skate to "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)" by Gary Valenciano was highlighted by their lifts – all three of which earned Level 4s and two of which contributed more than eight points each.

Chan and Howe, the two-time Four Continents silver medalists who earned silver at this event in 2022, skated to music from the musical Ghost. Although they had a shaky start with their jumps, they responded and skated clean the rest of the way, securing Level 4 designations on four elements, including their Axel lasso lift that generated 8.80 points.

The U.S. National Team members finished NHK Trophy with 193.00 and 187.40 points, respectively.

In the women's event, Sarah Everhardt led U.S. Figure Skating with a fifth-place finish, her best at a Grand Prix this season.

Competing in the Grand Prix Series for the second straight weekend, Everhardt came out strong with a triple Lutz-triple toe that scored 11.36 points – her highest-scoring element. Another jump combination during her skate to the Poor Things soundtrack by Jerskin Fendrix – a triple loop-double Axel – and two Level 4 spins led to a segment score of 125.28 for 186.69 points overall.

Elyce Lin-Gracey placed 10th with a final total of 162.41. She finished with a free skate score of 101.79.

Andrew Torgashev and Jimmy Ma finished the competition in ninth and 10th place, respectively

Torgashev earned a total of 212.01 after a 136.26-point free skate while Ma earned 139.12 in the free skate for 208.56 points overall.

For full results from 2025 NHK Trophy, visit the Grand Prix Central Competition Series on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.

In addition, tune in to Rinkside Olympic Season Monday for an in-depth analysis of NHK Trophy and the Grand Prix Series. Host Nick McCarvel will break down highlights from the event, preview next week's Grand Prix stop, interview athletes and more. Watch on the U.S. Figure Skating YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts Mondays at 12 p.m. ET following each Grand Prix event of the season.