Wren Warne-Jacobsen defends US college championship title

Above: Photo credit Perkins Media

Wren Warne-Jacobsen won her second consecutive senior women's title at the 2024 U.S. University Figure Skating Championships & Invitational last weekend in Richfield, Minnesota.

Joonsoo Kim won his first gold medal and second senior medal at the U.S. College Championships, while Bailey Onixt and Solomon Bristol topped the podium for the first time in the junior women's and men's competitions, respectively. All three won in resounding fashion, claiming their titles by more than 15 points.

Below are the results of the four championship events.

Senior Women

Representing the University of Minnesota, Warne-Jacobsen successfully defended her senior women's title, winning gold for the second consecutive year and her third medal overall at the U.S. University Championships. Warne-Jacobsen won bronze at the event in 2022.

Skating to What Was I Made For Barbie, Warne-Jacobsen opened her short program with a triple toe loop-double toe loop combination worth 6.34 points. She also earned Level 4 scores on two of her spins, for a score of 54.00.

Third after the short program, Warne-Jacobsen started the free skate shaky but made a triumphant comeback in the second half of the program to win the free skate. Her program to Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov's Caucasian Sketches, Suite No. 1, Op. 10 II. In the Village, Mikls Rzsa's King of Kings Salomes Dance and Richard Strauss' Salome, Op. 54, TrV 215: Dance of the Seven Veils featured back-to-back jumps: a triple Salchow-double toe loop-double toe loop and a triple toe loop-double Axel that were awarded 17.7 points overall. With a free skate score of 120.52, Warne-Jacobsen moved into first place overall to win her second consecutive senior women's university title with 174.52 points.

Alena Budko of the University of Southern California won the silver medal with 166.28 points overall. Her short program to Ledisi’s Ne Me Quitte Pas earned positive execution marks on six of seven elements and Level 4 distinctions on two of her spins, earning her a score of 51.65.

In fourth place after the short program, Budko came back strong in the free skate to finish second. She earned 10.08 points for her triple Lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, which was the highest-scoring element of the competition. With a second-place free skate score of 114.63, Budko also finished second overall and secured her spot on the podium.

Lilah Gibson won the competition's short program with 51.65 points for the bronze medal and an overall score of 163.16. Her program earned positive execution marks on every element.

Despite placing fourth in the free skate, the University of Michigan skater earned Level 4 scores on two spins and landed a triple Salchow-double toe loop to secure third place and 102.42 points for the segment.

Gibson won bronze after scoring 102.42 points for his free skate.

Ting Cui won her second collegiate tin representing Middlebury College with a total score of 161.39.

Senior Men

Kim won the senior men's competition, taking gold with an overall score of 226.95 points, 19.2 points more than any other skater.

Skating to a swing medley of various artists, Kim, representing Johns Hopkins University, started strong in the short program to take the lead starting with her most memorable elements, a triple Axel followed by a triple Lutz-triple toe loop, which received a combined total of 20.35 points for a total of 80.00 points for her short program.

With a solid lead of nearly 11 points, Kim carried his momentum into the free skate, winning the segment with a score of 138.43. He opened his performance to the sounds of Van Gogh by Vesislava and Virginio Aiello and We Go Down Together by Dove Cameron and Khalid with a triple Axel-double toe loop and a triple Axel, both of which earned over 10 points. His step sequence also received a Level 4 score.

The 2021 silver medalist earned positive GOEs on all but one element in his two programs to win gold with a score of 226.95.

Goku Endo reached the podium for the U.S. men's senior team for the third time, winning his second silver medal with 207.75 points overall while representing the University of California, Los Angeles.

Endo's short program to Teddy Swims' Lose Control was strongest in the second half, in which Endo earned 8.14 points for a triple flip-double toe loop, followed by two Level 4 spins and a Level 4 step sequence. The program received a score of 69.32.

The star of his free program at a Romeo and Juliet The medley was a triple flip-double Axel-double Axel sequence that was the highest scoring element of the event with 14.68 points. Overall, Endo's free skate earned 138.43 points.

His Boston University teammates Philip Baker and Will Annis took bronze and pewter, respectively. Baker earned bronze and a total score of 189.51, which included 63.07 in the short program and 126.44 in the free skate. His best element of the competition was a triple flip-triple toe loop that received 9.50 points in the short program.

Annis achieved a two-day total score of 179.31.

Junior Women

Onixt dominated the junior women's free skate with a score of 72.97 to win gold by over 16 points, scoring 112.30 points overall.

With a nearly 1.5-point lead after the short program, Onixt of the University of Michigan extended his lead in the free skate, winning the segment with 14.66 points. His performance on Ruelle’s Carry You began with a triple Salchow-double toe loop and earned positive execution scores on all but one element.

Her short program to Ruelle's Madness featured a level 4 flying pirouette, which earned her 3.84 points. She also earned 3.63 points for a double Axel and her step sequence.

Penn State's Genella Evans skated to Ella Fitzgerald's Sunshine of Your Love in the short program, where she earned her best points for a double Lutz-double toe loop, then finished with a Level 4 sit spin. Her short program received 39.33 points.

In his free program to the music of Red notice In the soundtrack, Evans performed a double Lutz-double loop for 4.39 points. To conclude her program, she landed a double flip-double toe loop followed by a level 4 sit spin for 72.97 points in the free skate and an overall score of 112.30.

Caroline Mura won the bronze medal and a total score of 93.69 points while representing New York University. Her short program earned 35.55 points and her free skate earned 58.14 points.

Kelly Janetzko of the University of Colorado-Boulder rounded out the podium with a total score of 92.82. Janetzko finished eighth in the short program, but came back to finish fourth in the free skate on the second day of competition and earn a medal.

Junior Men

Bristol won the junior men's competition by 15 points, scoring 155.24. He finished the short program in second place, more than three points behind, but won the free skate by 14.28 points, earning him the gold.

Her short program to F for You by Disclosure ft. Mark J. Blige featured two level 4 spins. Bristol earned the highest score for the short program component at 28.25. Her total score for the short program was 47.27 points.

Bristol, of Boston University, opened his free skate to Madonna's Vogue with a double Lutz-double Axel-double Axel sequence, his strongest element at 8.92 points. He also earned a positive GOE on all but one element.

Vladimir Volkov finished behind Bristol with silver.

To the music of Eric Radford's Storm, Volkov scored 4.66 points for a triple toe loop-double toe loop at the start of his short program. Volkov then finished the program with 46.44 points.

The University of Maryland skater performs his free program on a Romeo and Juliet The medley included a triple toe loop-double Axel-double Axel sequence. That element earned the highest element score in the junior men's event, contributing 11.64 points to his free skate score of 93.69. Overall, Volkov received 140.13 points.

Zachary Fogt of Ohio State University took bronze with a total of 46.09 points on day one in the short program. Fogt opened his program with a triple Salchow-double toe loop and was the only skater to land the jump cleanly in the junior men's event. He then earned 91.36 points in the free skate for a total score of 137.45.

Ryan Siracuse, Bristol's teammate at Boston University, won the short program but fell to fourth in the free skate to finish with a total of 133.37 points.

For complete results from the 2024 U.S. University Figure Skating Championships and Invitational Tournaments, visit www.uscollegiatechampionships.com