Adam Rippon admitted to being nervous before skating Friday in Pyeongchang.

The 28-year-old from Pennsylvania picked a perfect time to turn in the best skating performance of his career.

Rippon turned in a clean skate during Friday's male figure skating short program at the 2018 Winter Olympics and is seventh heading into Saturday's final at Gangneung Ice Arena. 

When asked why he's skating the best he's ever skated, Rippon just smiled and said, "You can't explain witchcraft."

Rippon wasn't the only American figure skater who posted a personal best as 17-year-old Victor Zhou turned in a historic performance by landing the first quadruple lutz in Olympic history. That initially put the California native in first place, but he sits in 12th place heading into the next day's long program. 

Medal hopeful Nathan Chen has a lot of ground to make up after the 18-year-old from Utah enters the final day in 17th place. 

Chen's disappointing performance was part of a theme for Team USA. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Mikaela Shiffrin 's fourth-place finish in the women's slalom. The 2014 gold medalist failed to medal in the slalom for just the fourth time in 34 competitions.

Skier Andrew Weibrecht, who won the bronze medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games and the silver in 2014 at Sochi, was unable to finish the Super-G course in Pyeongchang. Fellow American Ted Ligety was also unable to complete the course. Vermont native Ryan Cochran-Siegle placed 14th as Austrian Matthias Mayer was the surprise gold-medal winner. Beat Feuz of Switzerland took the silver while Norway's Kjetil Jansrud, who took the Super-G gold in 2014, was the bronze medalist this year. 

Matt Antoine of Wisconsin, a bronze medalist in the 2014 Sochi games, finished 11th in the skeleton, which was won by South Korea's Yun Sung-Bin. Yun set a track record while winning South Korea's first-ever medal in the skeleton. New Yorker John Daly placed 16th in the skeleton.

Lindsey Jacobellis just missed the podium in the snowboard cross with a fourth-place finish as 22-year-old Italian Michela Moioli won the event. Jacobellis, who won the silver in the snowboard cross in 2006, had bad falls in the 2010 and 2014 games. She started out front in Friday's finals, but could not hold off silver medalist Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau of France and bronze-medal winner Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic. 

Who said what? 

Rippon, making his Olympics debut at the age of 28, is having a blast in Korea.

"I might not be the best, but I'm the most fun," he told NBC Sports. "I've been waiting for this Olympic moment my entire life."

Did you see this? 

Rippon skated a simple, yet flawless routine.

Adam Rippon probably dedicated this short program to Reese Witherspoon. #WinterOlympics https://t.co/fmMl0BMYXF pic.twitter.com/gu22IoSjMk

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 16, 2018

Ryan Donato got the Team USA hockey team on the board first in a 2-1 win over Slovakia. 

Ryan Donato with a LASER! He gets @usahockey on the board against Slovakia. #WinterOlympics https://t.co/zLZMW4yf7g pic.twitter.com/WtDYlAta0A

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 16, 2018

Donato scored both U.S. goals as the Americans got a much-needed win. 

What's next? 

The male figure skating competition concludes as Japan has two of the top three spots with Yuzuru Hanyu in first place and countryman Shoma Uno in third. It will be a tough climb for the trio of Americans. Team USA will be in contention for a pair of medals in freestyle skiing with reigning world champion Ashley Caldwell and Kiley McKinnon in the women's aerials.