Record night lifts Wagner to 3rd crown

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Ashley Wagner is boasting that the American women can win medals at the world championships.

She certainly backed up the talk last week. Wagner won her third U.S. title Saturday, following through on her promise to up the difficulty of her program to compete with anyone.

Wagner added two new combinations to her long program, and she landed both of them for a total of seven triples. Her 148.98 points for the free skate and 221.02 overall were records for the event, beating defending champ Gracie Gold by a whopping 15.48.

Fifteen-year-old Karen Chen was third at her first senior U.S. Championships but is too young for the senior world championships. Olympian Polina Edmunds was fourth.

WhenWagnernailedher final triple lutz, she threw an arm in the air in celebration as her skate hit the ice, clinching what she called the sweetest of her three titles.

Choking up later, she boldly explained why: “This is the one that shows every single person that doubts me, every single person that says I’m too old, every single person that says I’m not capable of being a leading lady —this showsthem thatthey need to shut their mouths and watch me skate.” ‘Friendliest rivals’

A strong free skate at the Grand Prix Final to clinch bronze gave her some mo- mentum, and then she added triple lutz-triple toe and triple loop-half loop-triple salchow combinations to her long program. Thechallenge seemed to invigorate, not intimidate, the 23-yearold.

Gold came into the day 5.02 points back and had to take the ice with the crowd still roaring over Wagner’s performance. It reminded her of the Olympics, when she followed Russian gold medalist Adelina Sotnikova.

And just as she did that night in Sochi, Gold fell on her triple flip.

But Wagner’s performanceleft even Gold feeling confident at the waythe two have pushed each other.

“We will be the friendliest U.S. rivals,” Gold said, adding with a sly smile: “But it makes for great TV.”

The 4-10 Chen landed six triple jumps Saturday, bubbling with zest throughout the program. She broke her right ankle in late 2013, and it wasn’t until a few months ago that she “finally felt like I could stand my ground,” she said.

Mirai Nagasu, who finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Games, left the ice in tears for the second consecutive nationals. Last year, she placed third in a resurgent performance but was bumped from the Olympic team by Wagner.

Earlier, new champions were crowned in pairs and ice dance.

After two consecutive runner-up finishes, Madison Chock and Evan Bates won with six-time ice dance champs and Olympic gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White taking a break.

Chock and Bates held a slim lead over Maia and Alex Shibutani coming into the free dance, but they won easily with a personal-best 111.11 points to finish with 185.06. An American first

Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim became the first American pairs team to complete a quad twist in competition. They led by 5.63 points after the short program but were thinking about bigger things than nationals. So they went through with the new element, and Scimeca successfully rotated four times in the air before Knierim caught her.

They had a few shaky moments later in the long program, but the huge score from the quad helped them set two records for the U.S. Championships: 136.48 points for the free skate and 210.49 total. They beat Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier by 10.57.