LEADING LADY
WAGNER PUTS PAST IN REARVIEW MIRROR, WINS TITLE by TROY SCHWINDT
C
oming to San Jose, Ashley Wagner knew the truth. Tere was no sugarcoating the fact
that the 20-year-old from Alexandria, Va., had struggled putting together two solid programs at the previous three U.S. Championships. Her short program had been her Achilles’ heel, and Wagner’s reputation as the “almost girl” preceded her.
Tat all changed with a pair of magical
performances at HP Pavilion, lifting Wagner from bridesmaid to U.S. Figure Skating’s lead- ing lady. “I’m not the ‘almost girl’ anymore and I
can’t even describe how happy I am with that,” said Wagner, who has two U.S. bronze medals in her trophy collection. “It’s been since the Junior Grand Prix circuit that I was on the top of the podium and I almost forgot what that felt like. “When I got on top of the podium today,
it was an incredible feeling. It made me realize why I’m doing this crazy sport. If you work hard, it’ll pay off. Te fact that I trusted myself and I believed that I could go out and put out that program (free skate) and actually go do it, that speaks enough for itself.” Wagner’s sensational per- formance helped qualify her for her second World Figure Skating Champi- onships. She qualified in 2008 for the event in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she finished 16th. Wagner will be joined at Worlds later this month in Nice, France, by two-time U.S. titlist Alissa Czisny, who claimed the silver medal in San Jose. Agnes Zawadzki, an Illinois native, led
after the short program at the U.S. Champi- onships and earned the bronze medal. Caro- line Zhang, the 2009 U.S. bronze medalist, finished a strong fourth. For Wagner, qualifying for the World
Championships offers a golden opportunity to help return U.S. ladies figure skating to inter- national prominence. “I think we have the talent and the skat-
ers,” said Wagner, who moved from the East Coast to the West Coast last year to train under legendary coach John Nicks. “We just need to be able to go out there and put out consistent programs with triple-triples and show the world that ladies figure skating in the United States is not over.” Earning a third U.S. ladies’ berth for the
U.S. FIGURE SKATING PHOTO
World Championships and the Olympics, she said, is of utmost importance to her. “I was on the team that lost the spot,” she
said. “I would really like to be on the team that gains that spot back.” In San Jose, Zawadzki set the early pace with her jazzy short program that opened with a triple toe-triple toe combination and a tri- ple Lutz. Te 17-year-old skated confidently, earning positive grades of execution on all her elements. Zawadski, who trains in Colorado, racked up 66.24 points to win the short pro- gram.
Zawadzki’s success came a year after mak- ing a coaching change and reuniting with childhood mentor and coach David Santee. He and Broadmoor SC coach Christy Krall share the skater’s coaching re- sponsibilities in Colo- rado Springs. “Everything has fi-
Ashley Wagner
nally clicked,” said the high school senior, who placed fourth at the 2011 U.S. Champion- ships and is the 2010 U.S. junior champion. “It was definitely a big improvement over the Grand Prix season. I think now I’m more men- tally and more physically trained.” Czisny, who suffered a lower leg injury at
the Grand Prix Final six weeks before the U.S. Championships, appeared primed to defend her national title with an elegant short to “La Vie en Rose.” She, however, singled her double Axel, which positioned the Detroit-based skat- er in second with 63.14 points.
“I think I hesitated just a little bit going
into the jump,” Czisny, 24, said. “Except for that one jump, I’m happy with the perfor- mance.” Wagner, who can vividly recall each of her
last three short program failings, attacked her short to music from the Pollock soundtrack. She opened with a triple flip-double toe com- bination and a triple loop. Her three spins all received level four and all her elements earned positive GOE. She put herself in title
contention with a score of 63.06 points. “My main goal coming into this was to
overcome that short program demon,” Wagner said. “I believed that I was going to do that program and I did, so it’s good to see that con- fidence carries over to that actual program.” Zhang, 18, also put herself in the medal
conversation. She hit her opening triple loop- triple loop combination and showed good speed and confidence, finishing with 60.18 points and in fourth place. Rachael Flatt, the 2010 U.S. champion and four-time U.S. medalist, finished a sur- prising ninth after the short program with 52.71 points. Te Stanford freshman, who had been injured earlier this season, singled her double Axel and received low levels on a couple of her elements. Many of Flatt’s friends from her dorm at school filled an upper section of the arena to cheer her on. “Te scores surprised me a little bit; I’m a little disappointed but that’s sport,” she said. Moving to the free skate, Zhang, who in the past two years had fallen un- der the radar of the country’s top skat- ers, posted the first big score in the
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