Liu, Nguyen and Kolesnik Lead After Day Two at Junior Grand Prix Lake Placid

The United States' Alysa Liu leads the ladies field while Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik top the ice dance competition in day two at the Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid, New York. Additionally, all three U.S. skaters finished in the top seven in the conclusion of the men’s competition on Friday night.  

Ilia Malinin followed his strong short program with a personal best free skate, scoring 130.38 points to finish third in the segment. In his James Bond-inspired routine, the 2019 U.S. novice bronze medalist landed seven triple jumps, including two clean triple Axels. With 201.72 total points, the 14-year-old finished in fourth place overall in his JGP debut, less than two points off the podium.

Moving up from sixth to fifth place overall, Ryan Dunk scored 124.50 points in his free skate to claim a total score of 188.39. The 2019 U.S. junior champion executed seven triple jumps and two Level 4 spins in his free skate.

Rounding out the U.S. contingent, Joseph Klein finished eighth in the free skate and seventh overall, scoring 116.36 and 182.88, respectively. In his JGP debut, the Chicago-based skated collected personal bests for all three of his scores.

Japan’s Shun Sato claimed the gold medal with 217.12 total points. Stephen Gogolev of Canada earned the silver (203.70) and Russia’s Gleb Lutfullin took home bronze (203.50).

Liu won the ladies short program in her highly-anticipated junior international debut in Lake Placid Friday afternoon. The newly-14-year-old scored 69.30 points in her skate to “Don’t Rain on My Parade” by Barbra Streisand, topping her previous international best by nearly 20 points (50.25 at 2018 Asian Open, advanced novice). The 2019 U.S. champion landed all of her jumps, including three triples, and completed three Level 4 spins. Liu had positive Grades of Execution for all seven elements in her clean skate.

Also representing the United States, Jessica Lin earned 52.80 points for her short program in her international debut. The Texas-based skater opened with a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and closed with a Level 4 combination spin. Lin is currently in eighth place.

Finishing in 13th place, Emilia Murdock scored 50.67 points in her JGP debut. The 2019 U.S. junior bronze medalist completed three Level 4 spins in her short program set to "Black and Gold" by Brenna Whittaker.

The Republic of Korea rounds out the top three with Seoyeon Ji in second place with 67.23 points and Yeonjeong Park in third with 64.35.

Nguyen and Kolesnik are also in podium position after day two in Lake Placid, winning the rhythm dance with a score of 66.17, a new career best. The 2019 U.S. junior silver medalists secured a Level 4 mark for their rotational lift in their Aladdin-themed program. The team leads by over four points heading into the free dance.

In fifth place after the rhythm dance, Ella Ales and Daniel Tsarik scored 57.73 points for their Cabaret-themed routine, topping their previous best international score by nearly five points. The duo notched Level 4 marks for their straight-line lift and twizzles in the JGP debut.

Also making their JGP debut, Anna Lavrova and Maxwell Gart sit in eighth place after their King and I rhythm dance. The Connecticut-based team received Level 4 marks for their twizzles, scoring 47.31 points for their program.

In the top three, Nguyen and Kolesnik are followed by Russia’s Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin in second place (62.12), and Canada’s Miku Makita and Tyler Gunara in third (61.32).

Competition concludes on Saturday, Aug. 31 with the free dance and pairs and ladies free skate. Be sure to catch the latest Team USA updates on U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone's competition central.

Full Results