EVERETT, Washington – Nam Nguyen of Toronto gained three spots in the overall standings to place sixth in men’s competition on Saturday at Skate America, the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

World champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. took the gold, Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic was second and Sergei Voronov of Russia third.

Nguyen produced the sixth best free skate after placing ninth in Friday’s short program. He equals his best career result on the circuit. He opened with a quad Salchow double toe and hung on to his second quad. He also landed a triple Axel but singled his second one.

“It went a lot better today,” said Nguyen. “I was very nervous but I tried to keep my emotions intact. The first two elements were fine and I just tried to keep my composure after that. I just want to carry this momentum into Skate Canada next week.”

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., also improved from his short program climbing from 12^th to 11^th with the 10^th best free skate.

In pairs, Russia was 1-2 with Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov winning gold and Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin the silver. Ashley Cain and Timothy Leduc of the U.S. were third.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., remained eighth as they concluded their Grand Prix debut. They were sixth at the world juniors last season.

“We are disappointed with our skates this week,” said Walsh. “We made odd errors and we need to shore that up for Skate Canada.”

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/gpusa2018/

EVERETT, Washington – Canadian skaters are well behind after Friday’s short programs in men’s and pairs at Skate America, the first stop on the ISU figure skating circuit.

Nathan Chen of the U.S. leads the men’s event with 90.58 points followed by Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic in second at 82.09 and Julian Zhi jie Yee of Malaysia third at 81.52.

Nam Nguyen of Toronto stands in ninth spot and Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., is 12^th.

“I felt a little nervous going into the short program,” said Nguyen, who opened the season with a first place finish at the 2018 U.S. Classic International last month. “I tried my best to control it but that translated in me being slow on the ice. Hopefully I can be a little bit snappier in the free.”

In pairs, Russians are 1-2 after the short program. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov lead with 71.24 and Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin are second at 62.38. Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nolan Seegert of Germany are third at 60.04.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., are eighth as they made their Grand Prix debut. They were sixth at the world juniors last season.

“We didn’t have the best skate we wanted to,” said Michaud. “It’s a huge learning experience for us being here and overall it’s been great so far.”

Competition continues Saturday with the men’s and pairs free skates and the short program in ice dancing and women’s singles.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/gpusa2018/