More than 900 skaters competed at the 2025 Excel National Final in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this past week. The event provided valuable competitive experience along with on- and off-ice educational sessions designed to enhance athletes' skills and prepare them for future competitions.
In the senior events, Tongxi Liu won the men’s gold for the second consecutive year while Dalia DeLaura secured her first win in the women’s event.
Ashlyn Brown and Rhett Hounsell claimed gold in the junior women’s and men’s events, and Ailis Hong and Carson Kandas captured gold in the novice women’s and men’s events, respectively.
Below are results from the senior, junior and novice events of the Excel National Final. For full results from the 2025 Excel National Final and Festival, click here.
Senior Women
Dalila DeLaura (SC of New York) won gold in the senior women’s event. Her score of 80.46 led the rest of the field by nearly five points. She tallied over four points on five of her elements during her skate to “What a Wonderful World” by Lexi Walker and The Piano Guys, including a double flip-double loop followed by a double Lutz-double toe loop-single Axel sequence then a Level 4 flying change of foot combination spin.
Aniya Vivanco (Vegas Golden Knights Center of Excellence) scored 75.50 points to claim the silver medal. Her performance set to “Wait for Now” and “Arrival of the Birds” by The Cinematic Orchestra opened with a double Lutz-double loop followed by a double Salchow-double toe loop-double loop combination that contributed 4.01 and 4.30 points, respectively.
Competing in her home state, Alani Hayes (Denver Colorado FSC) earned the highest element score of the event at 38.91 points with an event-high 5.50 points awarded for her double Axel-single Axel-single Axel sequence and Level 4 marks allocated for two of her spins for 73.51 points.
Also representing the Skating Club of New York, Gwendolyn Vignato secured the pewter medal with 73.20 points. This marked her first podium finish after placing sixth in this event last year.
Senior Men
Tongxi Liu (Glacier Falls FSC) is no stranger to the top of the podium at the Excel Final as he claimed the senior men’s title for the second year in a row. His skate to a Bruno Mars medley featured a change of foot combination spin, choreographic sequence and a double loop-single Axel-single Axel sequence that all earned over four points. Liu dominated the competition as the only athlete to earn over 4 points for any element, winning by 12.23 points and a total score of 67.19.
Isaiah Darr (Denver Colorado FSC) skated to the silver medal with his performance to “Hold Back the River” by James Bay. The Colorado native opened his program with his highest-scoring element – a double flip-Euler-double Salchow combination that was awarded 3.72 points. Darr tallied a total score of 54.96.
Brian Crimy (Frederick FSC) took home his third straight medal at the Excel Final – a bronze. He previously clinched silver in the junior event in 2024 and bronze in the novice division in 2023. The highlight of his program was a Level 4 flying sit spin that was allocated 3.30 points for a final score of 39.10.
Junior Women
In a tight race to the finish, the junior women’s podium was only separated by 2.18 points.
Ashlyn Brown (Sun Valley FSC) was victorious in the junior women’s event, claiming gold by just 1.28 points with a score of 69.54. Her skate to “The Secret History” by The Chamber Orchestra of London, Andrew Skeet and Kerry Muzzey, “Angel by the Wings” by Sia, and Icarus by “Ivan Torres” shined thanks to Level 4 distinctions on all three of her spins. Though two of her three opening elements earned negative grades of execution, Brown finished strong and received positive GOEs on every remaining element.
Angela You (SC of San Francisco) claimed the second step of the podium and 68.26 points in total. The highest-scoring elements in her skate to Romeo & Juliet by Abel Korzeniowski were a double flip-single Axel-single Axel sequence worth 4.70 points and her choreographic sequence that collected 4.00 points. Her flying sit spin was awarded a Level 4 mark as well.
Abigail Owczarek (St. Clair Shores FSC) captured bronze with 67.70 points. Her program component score of 40.05 was the highest of the event as she was the only skater to receive over five points for her program components, which she secured in two of the three categories.
Kaitlyn Brittell (Dutchess FSC) rounded out the podium with the pewter medal and a score of 67.36.
Junior Men
Rhett Hounsell (individual member) claimed gold in the junior men’s event with 55.04 total points. With his program set to “Eleanor Rigby” by Cody Fry, the 2024 novice men’s pewter medalist scored nearly five points for his double Lutz-single Axel-double loop combination – the highest-scoring element of the event.
Creed Ford (Peaks FSC) was awarded the silver medal. Skating to music by Hans Zimmer from the motion picture Sherlock Holmes, he opened with a double Salchow-double loop and went on to earn Level 3 marks on two of his spins. His single Axel-single Axel-single Axel sequence in the second half of his program contributed 3.48 points to a total score of 53.91.
David Fleming (Columbia FSC) claimed the bronze with 52.09 points. His skate garnered an event-high program component score of 33.80 as he was the only skater to receive over four points for each program component.
Cole Rocco (SC of Boston) earned his second consecutive podium finish at the Excel Final. The 2024 junior men’s bronze medalist tallied a score of 46.85 points to take the pewter medal.
Novice Women
Ailis Hong (Pasadena FSC) clinched the gold in the novice women’s event with a score of 66.60. Her skate to “The Hollywood Wiz” from Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour featured three elements that scored over four points, including a double flip-single Axel-double loop sequence in the second half of her program. She also achieved Level 3 distinctions on all three spins.
Marlowe Hennin (Los Angeles FSC) secured the silver medal with 64.57 points. Skating to “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, Henning received Level 3 marks on all three spins and 4.00 points for her choreographic sequence.
Pinwei Che (Colonial FSC) was awarded the bronze medal and 61.94 points. In the second half of her program, Che tallied 4.00 points for her choreographic sequence followed by a double Lutz-double toe loop combination worth 3.74 points.
Finishing just 0.06 points behind third, Charlotte Lipka (North Star FSC) scored 61.88 points to secure the pewter medal.
Novice Men
Carson Kandas (Alaska Assoc of Figure Skaters) claimed the novice men’s title, capturing the lead by a margin of 7.41 points with a score of 55.48. His program set to music from the Dune 2 soundtrack featured a Level 3 change of foot combination spin and his choreographic sequence was the highest-scoring element of his program at 4.50 points.
Carter Schopf (Shaker FSC) received a total score of 48.07 points to capture the silver medal. The starring element of his program set to “Your Song” from Moulin Rouge was his choreographic sequence which garnered 3.83 points.
Duncan Robertson (Glacier Falls FSC) captured the bronze medal with 43.34 points while Jackson Golling (Peaks FSC) scored 40.26 to claim the pewter medal.
Are you interested in learning more about U.S. Figure Skating’s Excel program? Click here for more information.
