Wagner, Brown, Gold headline Skate America

HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. >> Ashley Wagner comes off a strong season. Jason Brown comes off a wasted one.

So both Americans are at much different junctures in their careers as they begin the Grand Prix season this weekend at Skate America in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Wagner brought home the first U.S. women’s medal in a decade at the world championships this year when she grabbed silver. The threetime U.S. champion and 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist believes she needs to build off of that silver medal, not gloat about it.

“This season is, I think, a very important season for me, because I got so much momentum coming off that world silver medal,” the 25-year-old Wagner said. “It was huge for my career. Something I kind of have to make sure is I keep my focus. I can’t rely on going into competitions being a world silver medalist. It’s something I have, but it is the past.”