Christine Brennan

USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY -- The face of U.S. women’s figure skating is beginning to change ever so slightly.

The Ashleys and Gracies and Mirais are still around, saying the most interesting things. But at least for one night, a new kid is on top.



Karen Chen, a 17-year-old Californian who introduced herself to the American skating world with an improbable national bronze medal two years ago, then slipped back into the pack troubled by injuries and skate boot problems, skated exquisitely to win the women’s short program Thursday night at the U.S. national figure skating championships.



She received a score of 72.82 from the judges, the highest ever recorded for a women’s short program at U.S. nationals. That frankly might have been a bit much. Then again, it was the performance of the evening, so you really can't blame the judges for getting a little exuberant.



Chen’s lead is precarious, though, less than a point ahead of Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 national champion and 2010 Olympian who is still only 23 yet already on a second or third comeback. Right behind Nagasu is the woman who bumped her off the 2014 U.S. Olympic team, Ashley Wagner, now 25, a three-time national champion and the reigning world silver medalist who relishes the role of the underdog and thus is right where she wants to be.

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Two-time national champion Gracie Gold is hanging around, too, although there’s more distance than she’d like between herself and the leaders – a full six points from Wagner and eight from Chen -- which will be a challenge to make up without big mistakes from the top three.



Gold, 21, who doubled a planned triple jump and received no points for it, is still trying to push the ghost of competitions past from her mind, most specifically her devastating meltdown at last spring’s world championships, where she dropped from first in the short program to fourth overall.



She has had a terrible competitive season and clearly is still trying to dig herself -- and her psyche -- out of it. It’s jarring to watch a skater with so much talent have such trouble. Three U.S. women will be sent to the world championships this spring in Helsinki. If Gold is not one of them, it will be a devastating blow a year before the 2018 Winter Olympics.



But she’s not giving up. “A long program is worth a lot of points, and I can certainly deliver some good long programs,” Gold said. “I kind of feel like I’m due for a good one.”



Speaking of good programs, Chen’s lyrical and uplifting performance to music from “On Golden Pond” was especially noteworthy because the high school senior choreographed it herself. She said her body was “still trembling” two hours after she finished skating. It would be quite an achievement if she holds her nerves – and her placement – through Saturday night’s long program.



“It’s definitely possible,” she said. “If I’m able to pull out a perfect free skate and skate my best, it’s surely a possibility.”



At the other end of the experience spectrum is Wagner, who is trying to become the oldest U.S. women’s champion in 90 years. Most female figure skaters have long since retired by the time they approach their 26th birthday. Wagner, however, is settling in for at least this season and next, while appreciating the rise of a new crop of competitors, led on this night by Chen.



“I think the position that Karen is in right now is awesome, because it’s just a wide open road in front of her,” Wagner said. “She has youth on her side and so much promise, and I think that’s really exciting for U.S. Figure Skating.



“I think that we definitely need a new crop of young girls to come in because I will die one day and you guys will need more people. So, Karen, keep it up.