Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Sheatopped the U.S. Figure Skating Championships pairs short program on Thursday, looking to dethrone the defending champions.
Kayne and O’Shea, the reigning U.S. bronze medalists, tallied a personal-best 69.61 points to lead in St. Paul, Minn. They landed side-by-side triple Salchows.
Defending champions Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, who skated to Metallica, scored 67.35 points and trail after Knierim fell on their side-by-side triple Salchows. Scimeca and Knierim’s score is 6.66 points fewer than their 2015 Nationals short program total.
Sochi Olympic team event bronze medalist Marissa Castelli and her new partner, Mervin Tran, are in third place going into Saturday’s free skate (3 p.