Joseph Phan takes home the gold medal at the 2018 Skate Canada Challenge

PIERREFONDS, Que. – Sixteen-year-old Joseph Phan upset national team members Nicolas Nadeau and Nam Nguyen Friday to win the gold medal in men’s senior competition at the Skate Canada Challenge figure skating event.

Phan, of Laval, Que., posted a personal best 245.22 points for his routine that included two quads and a triple Axel. Nadeau, of Boisbriand, Que., was second at 231.43 and Nguyen, from Toronto, took the bronze at 223.47.

‘’I felt stressed as usual but that helps me compete better,’’ said Phan, 11^th at the senior nationals  last season. ‘’I worked really hard for this competition and I felt ready. I was pleased with both my programs and my plan is to add a second triple Axel in my long for nationals (in January).’’

There was no surprise in senior pairs as Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., won the gold medal with 202.46. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were second at 176.90 and Sydney Kolodziej and Maxime Deschamps of St-Léonard, Que., third at 165.52.

‘’It was not our best performance,’’ said Bilodeau. ‘’We made a few mistakes on technical elements. But our goal here was to prepare for nationals and get some momentum going.’’

In junior pairs, Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., were the winners with 144.36. Mariah McCaw and Steven Adcock of Kitchener, Ont., were second at 139.36 and Olivia Boys-Eddy and Mackenzie Boys-Eddy of Brampton, Ont., third at 136.68.

‘’We improved a lot,’’ said Matte. ‘’We wanted to put energy into our programs and entertain the crowd. The programs have different styles and we are working toward being more consistent in our elements.’’

In novice pairs, Brooke McIntosh and Brandon Toste of Mississauga, Ont., took the gold ahead of two Quebec teams. Camille Perreault and Bryan Pierro were second and Marine Pouliot and Alexandre Simard third.

Skate Canada Challenge is the sole qualifying event for novice, junior, and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships taking place in Vancouver, January 8-14, 2018.

Competition continues through to Sunday at the Sportplexe Pierrefonds.

Full results: 2018 Skate Canada Challenge