Photo credit Melanie Heaney
By Troy Schwindt
Jason Brown competed his 2014 Olympic classic “Riverdance” program on Friday night and finished fifth in the short program at 2025 Saavta Skate America in Lake Placid, New York.
Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe paced the three U.S. pairs teams and finished fifth in the short program. The competition marks the fifth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.
The two-time Olympian Brown performed “Reel Around the Sun” by Bill Whelan inside the legendary 1980 Herb Brooks Arena, a program that became a viral sensation during the 2013-14 season and helped to propel his career.
“This is so special,” Brown said. “My first Grand Prix ever I performed ‘Riverdance’ and I cannot believe that that was 12 years ago — like 2013 Skate America. To be back 12 years later and getting to perform this program, I feel so proud and honored. It speaks to that longevity and my love of the sport, being able to share this moment with the crowd and hear the reaction of them clapping along. …”
Brown received Level 4s for two spins and his step sequence. Two of his jumping passes received negative GOEs, leading to a score of 82.69.
“I wish it was a cleaner skate,” he said. “That said, it felt great to finally compete this program in front of a U.S. crowd and just get it out there in a Grand Prix and early on in the season – keep learning and growing. My confidence has grown, and I can feel that from the senior Bs, so that is the positive. Those technical errors are frustrating; that’s what I hate but will compete again in a week.”
Brown is competing at Skate America for the sixth time, but first since 2019. He has won four Grand Prix medals.
His teammate Liam Kapeikis performed to the classic “Unchained Melody” by Boyce Avenue and finished eighth overall with a score of 74.28.
“Overall, it was a pretty good skate; I was hoping for a bit of a higher score,” Kapeikis said. “I’m not too super happy with the score, but I’ll go back and watch the video and go over the detailed sheets and figure out where I lost the points.”
Kapeikis admitted nerves might have played a role in his performance.
“That program was actually a bit harder than it normally is at home,” he said. “Even yesterday I ran the short program and didn’t have to work for anything. All three jumps were very easy. Just a little bit of nerves.”
In the pairs short program, Chan and Akira Howe posted a score of 61.51, skating to “Nyah” by CH2. The 2025 U.S. pewter medalists team fell on their side-by-side triple toe loops and received negative GOE for their throw triple loop, but rallied with Level 4 scores for their reverse lasso lift, step sequence and combination spin.
“It could have gone better but it could have gone a lot worse,” Akira Howe said.
“We are trying our best to be resilient,” Chan added. “We had a lot of errors out there and it wasn’t the way we would want to skate, but we are trying to be strong and go into the free skate the best we can.”
The couple competed last weekend at NHK Trophy in Japan, where they finished sixth. This marks their first appearance at Skate America since 2020, when it was held as a domestic event due to COVID-19.
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez, competing in their first Grand Prix Series event since 2023, chalked up a score of 56.85 to place seventh in the segment. A knee injury and subsequent surgery forced the team to miss all of last season.
Like Chan and Akira Howe, they had problems with their triple toe loops and their throw triple loop. Skating to “Never Enough” by Kelly Clarkson, the Michigan-based team received Level 4s for their opening triple twist, reverse lasso lift and combination spin.
“There’s a lot of pressure this season with the unknowns and always you want to put your best foot out there and today was just unfortunate, but there’s tomorrow.” Plazas said.
Olivia Flores and Luke Wang made their Grand Prix debut and placed eighth in the short program with a score of 55.83.
The 2024 World Junior silver medalists, skating to “Run to You” by Whitney Houston, fell on their side-by-side triple Salchows before successfully executing their throw triple loop and Level 4 combination spin.
“I was feeling extra nervous for some reason before getting on the ice,” Wang said. “I felt like I was just so weak. But the second I got on the ice for the six-minute warmup, I felt the crowd and I felt Olivia and it was easy-going from there. Obviously, we lost some tough points here and there, but we will learn from them. We are still young.”
For full results from 2025 Saatva Skate America, visit the Grand Prix Series Competition Central on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
