AP Gracie Gold won the ladies division on Saturday with a score of 139.57 in the free skate. / Boston.com staff / January 12, 2014
Gracie Gold finally has a national medal to match her name.
The reigning US silver medalist skated to a 72.12 in the short program and backed that up with a 139.57 in the free skate, totaling 211.69 points and winning the 2014 US Figure Skating Championship Saturday night at TD Garden.
“This evening was a dream come true; this is definitely one of the best nights of my life,” Gold said. “I was able to do what I train and I just went out there and I did what I could. And I think, for the most part, I left it all out on the ice, and I’m so proud of myself.”
With the medal around her neck, Gracie had some fun suggesting the headlines that people could come up with to describe her championship.
“It’s pretty hard to come up with a headline when it comes to my skating, but I think people can get creative and come up with a new one,” she said with a hint of tongue-in-cheek. “Maybe something to do with ‘Gold?’ But I don’t know, this may be the time to use it.”
Last year’s US Junior champion, Polina Edmunds, came out swinging in her first US Championships as a senior skater, finishing the short program in second with a score of 66.75. The 15-year-old soared into first place with two skaters to go after scoring 126.88 points in the free skate. She totaled 193.63 points and took home the silver.
“I’m really happy with how I skated, and I think that I skated almost as strongly as I could,” Edmunds said. “I think that my results were very good and very fair . . . I’m really happy that I did it and it’s an Olympic year, and I’m just really excited to see what happens from here on out.”
Mirai Nagasu, hoping to make back-to-back Olympic squads, put together a flawless free program, scoring 125.30 points and taking the bronze medal after ending the short program in third place.
“I am so happy, I’m really at a loss for words,” Nagasu said. “I’m just so happy. I’m a little bit speechless. I didn’t know if I would be able to get to this. I’m just at a loss for words.
“It’s been quite a roller coaster ride since the last Olympics Nationals, and I have to say that it’s been a really emotional year for me . . . I think I did my best and hopefully they pick me to the Olympic team, because I haven’t always been the most consistent skater, but I know that under pressure I’m pretty good, most of the time . . . I know that I have it in me, so I hope that I can prove myself again.”
Two-time defending US Champion Ashley Wagner had an early and a late fall in her free program, finishing with a score of 182.74, ending the event in a disappointing fourth place.
“This is a mental competition,” Wagner said. “This is tough because you go out there and your dreams are literally on the line. I’ve been there in practice and I’m that skater that deserves to be on the team, but right now under the pressure of it coming true or not, it’s hard to block that out. It’s hard to not feel like your legs are full of lead.
“It’s embarrassing; it’s embarrassing as two-time national champion to put out a performance like that. So, I did what I did and now we’ll see what happens after this. Luckily I had a decent season, that definitely helps my case, but other than that, I’m embarrassed for that program.”
Yasmin Siraj, the 17-year-old Brookline native, capped off her championship appearance with a 95.06 in the free skate, finishing in 16th.
The Olympic committee will now deliberate and decide who will make the 2014 Olympic team. An announcement of the selections will be made midday on Sunday.
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