The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating opened Thursday with the Junior Short Programs and Junior Short Dance.

Joshua Farris (USA) wins Junior Men's Short Program
Joshua Farris (USA) won the Junior Men's Short Program. Maxim Kovtun of Russia and USA's Jason Brown follow in second and third.

Skating to Suite for Cello No. 1 by Yo-Yo Ma, Farris stumbled on his opening triple Axel but recovered to land a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a triple flip and earned a level four for two spins and the footwork. The World Junior silver medalist scored a seasons best of 74.53 points. It was kind of funny, I felt like it (the program) lasted about 30 seconds. It went really quick. Little bobble (on the triple Axel), but it means there is room for improvement. I totally blocked it out of my mind. I told myself, forget about it, you can't change it. Fix what you need to do, the 17-year-old said.

Kovtun's performance to Lawrence of Arabia was highlighted by a triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe combination, but the triple flip was shaky. The 17-year-old Russian picked up 72.53 points. During the performance I had a great support from the audience. There is a hard moment for me in the jump combination, and sometimes I miss this element. But this time I've done it. That's because of the people's support. Today I got a season best in competition, although in training I skate much better, Kovtun shared.

Brown produced a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and level four spins in his routine to The Question of U by Prince, but he did only a double flip and stumbled on it. The defending Junior Grand Prix Final Champion received a seasons best of 69.43 points. I was really excited that I've started my first competition right. I had a clean (triple) Axel and doing it in a program was very exciting. I wish I did the flip but I slipped it a bit and did a double.That is something I'd want to improve, Brown commented.

Ryuju Hino (JPN) came fourth at 67.55 points followed by Keiji Tanaka (JPN) with 61.74 points and Boyang Jin (CHN) with 60.73.


Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin (RUS) take strong lead in Junior Short Dance

Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin of Russia danced to a strong lead in the Short Dance. France's Gabriella Papadakis/Guilleaume Cizeron came second ahead of Anna Yanovskaya/Sergey Mozgov of Russia.

Stepanova/Bukin put out a lively routine to Swing, Blues and Swing. They picked up a level four for the twizzles, the lift and one Blues pattern to score a seasons best of 61.18 points. We have worked a lot in the break since the Junior Grand Prix in Germany (in October), especially on the compulsory dance. It felt calm to skate here, the audience received us very well. Last year (in the Junior Final) I probably was too nervous, but now I am approaching everything calmer and it is going better. I think I worked a lot on myself in the past year, Bukin explained.

Papadakis/Cizeron's dance to Swing and Blues featured level-four twizzles and a level-four lift while the Blues patterns were graded a level one and two. The couple from Lyon earned 54.79 points. We skated well although had several minor mistakes. We are skating at the (Grand Prix) Final for the first time, and that fact is already a victory for us. We have been training for a long time and we've made progress, Papadakis told the press.

Dancing to Blues and Swing, Yanovskaya/Mozgov completed a solid Blues pattern dance with a level four and three as well as a level-four rotational lift. The Youth Olympic Champions collected 53.03 points. We changed our music and the order of our short dance “ that was our coaches' wish. And we like the second version more. Now it looks better in terms of music and choreography, Mozgov revealed.

World Junior bronze medalists Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton (USA) are currently ranked fourth (52.60 points), ahead of Evgenia Kosigina/Nikolai Moroshkin (RUS, 50.45 points) and Valeria Zenkova/Valerie Sinitsin (RUS, 50.39 points).

Elena Radionova (RUS) grabs lead in Junior Ladies Short Program

Russia's Elena Radionova edged out Hannah Miller (USA) for the lead in the Junior Ladies Short Program. Anna Pogorilaya of Russia is sitting in third place.

Radionova opened her program to The Fifth Element with a triple Lutz-triple toe followed by a triple flip that got an edge call. Her three spins and the footwork merited a level four, but the Muscovite stepped out of the double Axel. Today not everything worked out. I made an error on the double Axel. It was a mistake in the jump itself. I hope to skate better in the free skating, the 13-year-old said. The most important for me is to please the audience and the score then depends on the judges. I want to be consistent and to perform well no matter what. Today for example my music started five seconds late and I had to catch up with it. I am pleased that this didn't affect me, she added.

Miller's Tanguera Tango routine featured a double Axel, a triple flip, triple loop-double loop combination and three level-four spins as well as level-four footwork. The 16-year-old received 59.18 points, a new seasons best. I am very excited, I worked so hard for this, just doing the program over and over. I think I put out the best program I could. We moved combination to the second half, because it is worth a bit more points. And we put double Axel in the beginning because it is a really strong jump and it goes well with the music there, Miller explained.

Pogorilaya hit a triple Lutz-triple toe, a triple flip (with an edge call), double Axel and three level-four spins in her program to Songs from the Victorious City, but she slipped in the straight line footwork. The Muscovite picked up a seasons best score with 57.94 points. I'm trembling now. I was ill before, and this is my first season after the injury. It's unbelievable to be in the final, the 14-year-old commented. There was a mistake in the step sequence, and that is upsetting. But I've done the hardest jump and my main aim of the short program “ (triple) lutz - (tirple) toe loop. I've increased the difficulty in the short program, because everybody has it and without the lutz toe loop I would have no chances, she continued.

Angela Wang (USA) placed fourth at 51.16 points. Satoko Miyahara (JPN) finished fifth (49.60 points) ahead of Leah Keiser (USA, 47.23 points).

Lina Fedorova/Maxim Miroshkin (RUS) lead after Junior Pairs Short Program

Russia's Lina Fedorova/Maxim Miroshkin took the lead in the Junior Pairs Short Program. Canadians Margaret Purdy/Michael Marinaro edged out Vasilisa Davankova/Andrei Deputat of Russia by 0.49 points for second place.

Performing to Singin' in the Rain, Fedorova/Miroshkin completed a level-four triple twist, a throw triple Salchow, double Axel and level-four lift and footwork, but their side by side spin was out of unison as Fedorova finished earlier than her partner. The couple from Moscow achieved a seasons best with 54.37 points. We could have done better, but now we are satisfied. We had butterflies in our stomaches. I can't say this performance was the best in the season, Fedorova noted. It (the mistake on the spin) was very unexpected. I told myself to keep my focus as there are only two elements left, but the mistake happened. I tried to hold, she explained.

Purdy/Marinaro had to overcome her stumble on the double Axel but produced a throw triple Salchow, level-four footwork and spin and level-four lift. The Canadians earned 51.83 points, a new seasons best. We got a personal best which was our goal today and we achieved that. A couple of little mistakes but overall we're very happy with how we skated today, Marinaro shared. We're definitely trying to use that (small difference in height) to our advantage for the artistic side, trying to show off our skating skills, he added.

Davankova/Deputat's performance to The Godfather featured a solid double Axel, throw triple Salchow,a level-three death spiral and level-four side by side spin.The World Junior bronze medalists earned a seasons best with 51.34 points as well. Even though we have already been to an ISU World Junior Championships, competing at the ISU Junior Grand Prix series is a big deal for us. We were very nervous, actually. The Junior Worlds last season was like 'Oh, cool, we are going to the Worlds! Let's have fun'. But now we feel certain pressure, we feel that need to prove that we are a leading team and will remain one, Davankova told the press.

Maria Vigalova/Egor Zakroev (RUS) came fourth at 50.76 points while World Junior silver medalists Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin (CHN) ranked fifth (50.34 points). Brittany Jones/Ian Beharry (CAN) are standing in sixth place with 48.11 points.

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