Japanâs Yuzuru Hanyu poses with his gold medal during an award ceremony at the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
The Associated Press
NAGANO, Japan (AP) - Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu set a record score for the second straight night to win the NHK Trophy on Saturday and qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
Hanyu won the free skate to finish with a total of 322.40 points, 55.97 ahead of China's Jin Boyang. Takahito Mura of Japan was third with 242.21 points.
As well as the record highest total score, Hanyu's 216.07 free skate score was the highest ever, surpassing 196.75 set by Patrick Chan in 2013 at the Trophy Bompard.
Chan also held the previous record for the most overall points with 295.27.
"I just tried to execute each element carefully," Hanyu said. "I was surprised by the score and it's hard to describe my feeling now. Not all the elements were completely clean but I tried to skate carefully while believing in my practice and physical ability."
Skating to "Seimei" by Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi, Hanyu's dominant free program included three quad jumps and seven triples.
He also set a record score in Friday's short program.
Boyang attempted four quads in his routine "Dragon Racing." He successfully completed the first three but doubled a quad toeloop.
"Overall, I was satisfied with my components but had some small mistakes," Boyang said. "I need to improve the free skate so I can get better results."
Hanyu and Boyang qualified for December's GP Final in Barcelona from Dec. 10-13. Japan's Daisuke Murakami is the sixth qualifier, joining Javier Fernandez, Chan and Shoma Uno.
World silver medalist Satoko Miyahara won the women's event with a personal best 203.11 for her first Grand Prix title and clinched a place in the GP Final.
Courtney Hicks of the United States was second with 183.12, followed by three-time world champion Mao Asada with 182.99. Ashley Wagner was fourth with 179.33, a result that was good enough to qualify for the GP Final.
World champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada won the pairs event with 131.68 points. Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin of China were second with 124.02 while Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the United States were third with 122.23.
All three pairs qualified for the GP Final.
Ashley Wagner of the United States performs during the free skating of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Courtney Hicks of the United States performs during the free skating of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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From left, silver medalist Courtney Hicks of the United States, gold medalist Japanâs Satoko Miyahara center and bronze medalist Japanâs Mao Asada pose for photo during an awarding ceremony at the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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From left, silver medalists Yu Xiaoyu and Jin Yang of china, gold medallists, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada and bronze medalists Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the United States pose for photo during an awarding ceremony of pair event at the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the United States perform during the pairs free of NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada perform during the pairs free of NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada wave with their gold medals during an awarding ceremony at the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu performs during the free skating of NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Chinaâs Jin Boyang performs during the free skating of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Chinaâs Jin Boyang poses with his silver medal during an award ceremony at the NHK Trophy figure skating competition in Nagano, central Japan Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Chinaâs Jin Boyang performs during the free skating of NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Japanâs Satoko Miyahara performs during the free skating of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Japanâs Satoko Miyahara performs during the free skating of the NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu reacts after his performance during the free skating of NHK Trophy figure skating in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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