Jacob Sanchez had thought his figure skating season was over, when he received an invitation to the Coupe de Printemps in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg, March 17-19.

Despite the mental fight to get back into a competition mindset over the space of two weeks, Sanchez, a 15-year-old Montgomery figure skater, finished first in the junior division with a final score of 212.63, a personal best on the International Judging System.

“Hearing my name come out as No. 1 and winner of the gold medal was satisfying, but it gave me an adrenaline rush to hear it,” Sanchez said. “it was so special.”

Sanchez competed in groups of six and was the last person in his group to perform in both events – the Short Program and the Free Skate. The groups go out for a six-minute warmup and then Sanchez had to wait two hours to compete.

Waiting is not unfamiliar, as several weeks earlier during U.S. Nationals, he was the last to compete and had to wait 55 minutes after a six-minute warm-up.

“In that 55 minutes, I took my skates off,” Sanchez said, “and I brought my soccer ball with me, so me and my coach are playing soccer, and I was talking to the other competitors. Some of them are my friends.”

He competed in a field of 17 skaters and was in first place after the Short Program with a score of 70.29, putting him 5.47 points ahead of Japan’s Seigo Tauchi. He also finished first in the Free Skate with a final score of 142.34.

His 212.63 total points put him 35.24 points ahead of Tauchi for the gold medal.

His Short Program score was just shy of his personal best International Short Program score of 70.92, which he scored during the Junior Grand Prix in Poland in 2021.

That event was Sanchez’s first time competing internationally. It was the first time he had left the U.S. to go to Europe.

“It was really fun,” he said. “It was definitely a great experience and a great first international competition for me because I placed sixth out of about 32 skaters from around the world. It was a really big confidence booster for me.”

Having had previous International experience was helpful, but this time he was up against different competitors.

“When I saw the list of competitors, I didn’t recognize anybody and I just went there with an open mindset, and I was really just there to focus on myself and do what I have to do,” Sanchez said.

What he had to do was merely finish first, a long way from when he received the invitational to Luxembourg. He admits his feelings were mixed because he was ready to end his season, which runs from about July until March, and already had an eye toward his 2023-24 season.

And then, he had to quickly get back into the competition mindset.

The first week was difficult, but he started to get back into the swing of things during the second week of preparation.

“I try to break through those feelings and really just do what I have to do on the ice and get through practice,” Sanchez said. “I know if I’m able to get through it at such a low mindset, I know when I’m back at my normal mindset, I’ll be able to do it even better.”

He’s done it since he was 5 years old because he wanted to play hockey, but then he took to figure skating because he said he likes performing in front of a crowd.

He’s coached by the husband-and-wife tandem of Oleg Makarov and Larisa Selezneva six days a week. He’s a member of the Hudson Valley Figure Skating Club, which is based out of Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh.

Now, he’s back into playing hockey during his off-time.

“(Makarov) and (Selezneva) actually encouraged it because it helps me get my mind off skating, and also I’m on the ice,” Sanchez said. “When I’m playing hockey, I’m also training my legs. If I’m playing for a solid hour, it’s helping me build my leg muscle and leg longevity.”