Brubaker and McLaughlin slip to second after short program

Alissa Czisny had a cast on her hand when she skated in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships a year ago.

When the event ended, Czisny needed protection not only for a broken thumb but for a shattered spirit.

The young woman whose surpassing elegance always was undone by substantial errors wondered how she could recapture the desire to keep going.

She had been third at the 2007 nationals, then ninth in 2008. It made no difference how graceful Czisny could be because many of her jumps ended in ungainly splats on the ice.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to continue,” said Czisny, 21, a senior at Bowling Green State University.

“When I knew I did, I decided to enjoy skating rather than focus on the outcome of it.”

It was the outcome that impressed everyone Thursday night, as Czisny laid out a short program of such technical and artistic quality it gave her a substantial lead heading into Saturday night’s free skate final.

Her jumps were solid. Her spins were breathtaking. She was in complete harmony with music that fits her perfectly, the quietly moving cello-and-piano interpretation of “The Swan” from Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.”

The judges rewarded her with 65.75 points, more than seven points better than her previous best.

Czisny is 5.56 points ahead of runner-up Rachael Flatt and 6.84 ahead of third-place Caroline Zhang.

Defending champion Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia wound up sixth, fulfilling the low expectations expressed before the meet by Nagasu and her coach, Charlene Wong.

Nagasu, 15, all but conceded she has no chance to pull herself up to earn one of the two places on the U.S. team for the March world championships in Los Angeles.

“I know this may sound a little pessimistic, but I think this is probably my last competition [of the season],” Nagasu said.

Nagasu, bothered by a bad ankle for a year, ran into the wall after her first triple jump and then did a flawed double axel to finish with 54.79 points.

“I think I have been blaming everything on my ankle but in reality I think it was just me being lazy,” Nagasu said.

“I know next year, I have to train harder and train smarter.”

After finishing third in the 2007 nationals, Czisny finished 15th in the 2007 world championships, then staggered through the 2008 season.

She also has had four falls in her two Grand Prix events this season.

“I think 2007 proved to me that I could do it, but I don’t think my mind-set was right for the following year, and I don’t know if the success had anything to do with it,” she said.

While there still is a big question over whether Czisny can stand up to the pressure of being first going into the long program, she showed a new level of confidence Thursday.

“She was in control of what she was doing,” said 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano, who has worked with Czisny on jump technique and handling pressure.

“It’s just the beginning. It doesn’t mean she has conquered her problems. It’s a stepping stone.”

--

phersh@tribune.com