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U.S. Championships

Meet the Novices: Men

Twelve men have qualified to compete in the novice men’s  event at the 2011 U.S. Championships, January 22-30, in Greensboro, N.C. The short program is January 23 and the free skate is January 24.

Skaters advanced to the U.S. Championships from three sectionals: From the Eastern Sectional are Alexander Bjelde, Marcus Mimidis, Andrew Nagode and Jack Newberry advanced out of the Eastern Sectional; from the Midwestern Sectional are Cale Ambroz, Lukas Kaugars, Jordan Moeller and Troy Tomasello; and from the Pacific Coast Sectional are Nathan Chen, the defending U.S. Champion in novice men’s, Spencer Howe, Nix Phengsy and Cordero Zuckerman.

Profiles for each man are below.

Cale Ambroz
Birthdate April 6, 1994
Hometown New Prague, Minn.
Club FSC of Bloomington
Coach Lorie Charbonneau
Choreographers Kelly Benzinger and Amber Van Wyk
Short Program “Toccata and Fugue” by J.S. Bach
Free Skate Music from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack by Klaus Badelt

• Qualified with a fourth place showing at the Midwestern Sectional and a fourth place showing at the Upper Great Lakes Regional

Alexander Bjelde
Birthdate May 9, 1995
Hometown Lumberton, N.J.
Club SC of Southern New Jersey
Coaches Isabelle Brasseur and Rocky Marval
Choreographers Tatiana Druchinina and Isabelle Brasseur
Short Program Music from the Quantum of Solace soundtrack by David Arnold
Free Skate Music from the Sherlock Holmes soundtrack by Hans Zimmer

• Qualified with a fourth place showing at the Eastern Sectional and second place showing at the North Atlantic Regional

Nathan Chen
Birthdate May 5, 1999
Hometown Salt Lake City, Utah
Club Salt Lake Figure Skating
Coach Genia Chernyshova
Choreographer Genia Chernyshova
Short Program Music from the TV series “Rawhide”
Free Skate Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody” performedby Lang Lang

• Qualified with a first place showing at the Pacific Coast Sectional
• Won the novice men’s gold medal at the 2010 U.S. Championships

Spencer Howe
Birthdate September 11, 1996
Hometown Woodland Hills, Calif.
Club Los Angeles FSC
Coach Frank Carroll
Choreographers Ivan Dinev and Jamie Isley
Short Program “The Race” by Yello
Free Skate Music from The Godfather by Edvin Marton

• Qualified with a third place showing at the Pacific Coast Sectional and a third place showing at the Southwest Pacific Regional

Lukas Kaugars
Birthdate April 27, 1995
Hometown Colorado Springs, Colo.
Club Broadmoor SC
Coach Damon Allen
Choreographer Damon Allen
Short Program Fiddler on the Roof medley by Jerry Bock
Free Skate “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor” byRachmaninoff

• Qualified with a first place showing at the Midwestern Sectional and a first place showing at the Southwestern Regional
• Finished eighth in novice men’s at the 2010 U.S. Championships

Marcus Mimidis
Birthdate February 5, 1993
Hometown Lancaster, Pa.
Club SC of Wilmington
Coaches Priscilla Hill, Karl Kurtz
Choreographer Irina Romanova
Short Program “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney
Free Skate Music from the First Knight soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith

• Qualified with a third place showing at the Eastern Sectional Championship and a third place showing at the South Atlantic Regional

Jordan Moeller
Birthdate April 24, 1995
Hometown Oak Lawn, Ill.
Club Northern Ice SC
Coach Kori Ade
Choreographer Kori Ade
Short Program “Little Wing” by Stevie Ray Vaughan
Free Skate Rachmanioff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cminor, Op. 18” performed by Alexander Brailowsky

• Qualified with a third place showing at the Midwestern Sectional and second place showing at the Upper Great Lakes Regional

Andrew Nagode
Birthdate November 1, 1995
Hometown Landenberg, Pa.
Club University of Delaware FSC
Coach Pam Gregory
Choreographer Pam Gregory
Short Program “Warsaw Concerto” by various artists
Free Skate “Flamenco” by Steve Stevens

• Qualified with a second place showing at the Eastern Sectional and a second place showing at the South Atlantic Regional

Jack Newberry
Birthdate May 1, 1995
Hometown Hummelstown, Pa.
Club Hershey FSC
Coach Christian Newberry
Choreographer Christian Newberry
Short Program “Malaguena” by Ernest Lecuona
Free Skate “Roxie’s Suite” by Danny Elfman

• Qualified with a first place showing at the Eastern Sectional and a first place showing at the South Atlantic Regional

Nix Phengsy
Birthdate June 11, 1995
Hometown Los Angeles, Calif.
Club All Year FSC
Coaches Jerome Michael, Alex Chang
Choreographer Alex Chang
Short Program “Hommage Aux Marquises” by Gitano Family
Free Skate “Red Cliff” by Taro Iwashiro

• Qualified with a second place showing at the Pacific Coast Sectional and a second place showing at the Southwest Pacific Regional

Troy Tomasello
Birthdate May 1, 1994
Hometown Parma, Ohio
Club The Strongsville SC
Coach Glyn Watts
Choreographer Glyn Watts
Short Program Music from the Beetlejuice soundtrack by Danny Elfman
Free Skate Music from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack by Hans Zimmer

• Qualified with a second place showing at the Midwestern Sectional and a first place showing at the Eastern Great Lakes Regional
• Finished 12th in novice men’s at the 2010 U.S. Championships

Cordero Zuckerman
Birthdate April 1, 1992
Hometown Fairbanks, Alaska
Club Fairbanks FSC
Coach Lisa Kriley
Choreographers Evgeni Nemirovskii, Karen Stone
Short Program “Nara” by E.S. Posthumus
Free Skate “Diablo Rojo” by Rodrigo y Gabriela

• Qualified with a fourth place showing at the Pacific Coast Sectional
• Finished 10th in novice men’s at the 2010 U.S. Championships

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