KANSAS CITY — A skater broke the U.S. Championships women’s short program scoring record Thursday night, but it wasn’t Ashley Wagner or Gracie Gold.
Karen Chen, a 17-year-old former junior star who struggled the last two years, tallied 72.82 points at the Sprint Center to lead going into Saturday’s free skate (8 p.m. ET, NBC, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app).
Mirai Nagasu, a 2010 Olympian, is second, .87 of a point behind.
That leaves Wagner and Gold, who combined to win the last five U.S. titles, in third and fifth, respectively.