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DETROIT – She began by landing the first of her two planned triple Axels to open a combination, followed by a double toe loop.

And then what did Alysa Liu think?

“I still have the second one,” she said.

And she landed the next, so then what did she think?

“I still have every single other jump in the program,” Liu said.

The thought process of not getting ahead of herself was, of course, critical to what Liu did in Friday night’s free skate at the U.S. Championships.

And it has allowed Liu to get ahead of all the expected timelines in U.S. women’s skating.

In her debut at senior nationals, the 13-year-old Liu became the youngest women’s U.S. champion in history.

She also became the first to land two triple Axels in a single program at nationals.

Thursday, she had become the first to land a triple Axel in the short program.

Those signature jumps – and two performances with just one minor error, an under-rotated jump in the short – gave Liu 217.51 points, nearly 4 more than reigning champion Bradie Tennell (213.59), who had won the short program but had a fall and another jump error in the free skate. Mariah Bell, who also fell once, was third at 212.40.

Tennell and Bell almost certainly will get the two women’s places on the U.S. team for the world championships. Liu is too young for even junior worlds this season and can’t compete at senior worlds until 2022.

“I’m not too worried about that,” Liu said. “It gives me more time to work on my spins and skating skills and jumps.”

Results: Ladies’ final

In the free skate, Liu hit eight triple jumps, including two triple-triple combinations. The only hint of any flaw was a warning for an unclear edge on the takeoff of her triple flip.

“I just wanted to beat my best score and do a clean program, and I did,” Liu said.

Hanna Harrell, 15, was a surprising fourth. Ting Cui, 16, rallied from a disastrous short program to take third in the free skate and fifth overall. Harrell and Cui likely are headed to junior worlds.

MORE: U.S. Championships men’s preview: Nathan Chen’s imminent three-peat

As a reminder, you can watch the U.S. Championships live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

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