YOKOHAMA ¨C South Korea¡¯s Cha Jung-hwan used a skillful free skate to overtake leader Vincent Zhou of the United States and win the men¡¯s title at the Yokohama Junior Grand Prix on Saturday night.

Skating before another packed house at Shin-Yokohama Skate Center, the 14-year-old Cha performed to ¡°Il Postino¡± and landed a quad salchow and seven clean triple jumps on the way to victory in his JGP debut.

Cha, who trains under Brian Orser in Toronto, posted a total score of 239.47 in the triumph. Cha was seventh at last season¡¯s world junior championships.

¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything different tonight,¡± stated Cha. ¡°I just tried to skate the program the best I could.¡±

Cha made history this evening on two accounts. He became the first South Korean man ever to win a JGP, and also posted the highest score ever by a junior man.

¡°I¡¯m happy to win, but didn¡¯t have any expectation,¡± commented Cha. ¡°I was surprised by the score.¡±

Zhou led after Friday¡¯s short program, with Cha just over a point behind in second. But Zhou¡¯s performance lacked the fluidity of Cha¡¯s and that made the difference on this night. Zhou¡¯s total tally was 226.36.

Zhou was diplomatic in defeat.

¡°I very happy with what I did tonight. I tried to stay focused and concentrate on what I needed to do¡± Zhou said. ¡°Cha Jung-hwan deserved to win.¡±

Russia¡¯s Alexey Erokhov (216.91) took third place.

Kazuki Tomono (212.04) skated a solid program to ¡°An American in Paris¡± and came in fourth, moving up from sixth after the short program.

¡°I gave it my best. Like all junior skaters I want to improve in all elements ¡ª jumps, spins, transititions,¡± said Tomono.

Yuto Kishina (174.66) ended up ninth.

Rachel and Michael Parsons of the United States hold a big lead in ice dance after Saturday¡¯s short dance at 66.76. Russia¡¯s Anastasia Shpilevaya and Grigory Smirnov (60.88) are in second place.

Rikako Fukase and Aru Tateno stand sixth with 46.68.

The competition will conclude with the women¡¯s free skate and free dance on Sunday.

Kaori Sakamoto and Mako Yamashita are 1-2 in the women¡¯s field after the short program, with world junior champion Marin Honda in fifth place.

A victory by Sakamoto would lock up a spot for her in the JGP Final in Marseille, France, in December.

Honda needs to finish no lower than fourth to give herself a realistic shot at going to the JGP Final for the second straight season. She finished third at last year¡¯s JGP Final.

Ice shavings: Takahiko Kozuka, the 2011 world silver medalist, was in attendance on Saturday. Kozuka, who retired in March, now works for Toyota.