Junior Grand Prix Newcomer Farrington Captures Bronze in Azerbaijan

Caleb Farrington put on a solid free skate performance to win his first JGP medal, earning a bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series event in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 23-26.
 
He was the lone U.S. Junior National Team athlete to stand atop the podium at the competition held inside the Heydar Aliyev Sports & Concert Complex. A total of 8 U.S. athletes competed at the fifth of seven Junior Grand Prix events.
 
Farrington dazzled the crowd with his free skate to music from the Fantastic Beasts series by James Howard Newton, recording a personal best free score. He finished second by landing the only quad among the 22 competing skaters, scoring 11.54 points for his toe loop. His triple Lutz-double Axel-double toe loop sequence in the second half of the program added another 10.62 points, and he claimed Level 4s on each of his spins. He totaled 139.83 points to jump from fourth in the short to bronze medal position.
 
The Newark, Delaware, native also set a new personal best in the short program, tallying 70.83 points. Skating to "Otoño Porteño" by Ástor Piazzolla, he received neutral or positive grades of execution on every element with the performance being highlighted by a triple Lutz-triple toe in the second half that generated 12.29 points – the highest-scoring element by any skater in the segment.
 
Overall, Farrington ended the competition with 210.66 points, locking in the bronze for his first JGP medal and crushing his previous personal best by more than 41 points.

After securing silver at his first Junior Grand Prix of the season in Thailand earlier in the month, reigning U.S. junior bronze medalist Patrick Blackwell picked up right where he left off, placing second in the short program. He opened with a strong triple Axel that was awarded 10.40 points. His triple Lutz-triple toe combination in the second half of the program added another 10.77 points, and his program set to "Uprising" by Muse scored an international personal best of 75.86.
 
However, in the free skate Blackwell dropped to sixth, finishing just off the podium with a fourth-place result and 193.15 points in total.
 
Ice dancers Jane Calhoun and Mark Zheltyshev placed fourth in both the rhythm and free dance, recording a fifth-place finish in their Junior Grand Prix debut. The result ties their best international finish (2025 Lake Placid Ice Dance International).
 
Calhoun and Zheltyshev received all positive GOEs in both programs, which propelled them to international best scores across the board with 56.05 in the short, 84.63 in the free and 140.68 overall.
 
In the rhythm dance, Calhoun and Zheltyshev's highest-scoring element was their Level 4 sequential twizzles at 8.54 points. On the second day of the ice dance event, they secured Level 4 designations on four elements.
 
Getting the crowd excited with their rhythm dance performance of "Jump" by Kriss Kross and "Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men, Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo notched a level 4 curve lift en route to their personal best score of 51.19. They finished eighth in the short and 13th in the free dance for 11th place overall with 115.41 total points.
 
Hannah Kim and Jiaying Ellyse Johnson finished 20th and 21st, respectively, in their first JGP appearances.

For full results from Junior Grand Prix Thailand, visit the 2025 Junior Grand Prix Series Competition Central.