By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 25 -- If there were some among the 8,010 squealing fans at Spokane Arena who missed Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan on Thursday night, they weren't alone. Kimmie Meissner, the reigning world champion, missed them, too.

Cohen and Kwan, who combined to win the last nine U.S. Figure Skating Championships, had always inspired Meissner to skate her best. But with both taking a hiatus in this post-Olympic year, Meissner skated onto the ice for the women's short program Thursday in a new role -- the new face of figure skating and the favorite to win.

With equal parts grace and athleticism, the Bel Air, Md., teen proved she no longer needs a figure skating icon to coax her best. She delighted the crowd and dazzled the judges with a graceful, glitch-free program that opened with a tricky triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and was rewarded with a first-place score of 65.69.

Meissner's performance put her three points ahead of the second-place contender -- Bebe Liang, 18, of Grenada Hills, Calif. (62.66) -- entering Saturday's free skate. Sitting close behind is Emily Hughes, who earned a standing ovation for her program set to "Carmen."

Meissner stunned skating aficionados by winning the world title last spring with a near- flawless performance that included a triple Axel. This weekend in Spokane, she hopes to add to her résumé by winning her first U.S. Championship. She finished second to Cohen in 2006, and third behind Kwan and Cohen in 2005.

"I've always watched [Kwan and Cohen]," Meissner said. "The one year I competed against Michelle [2005], I really enjoyed it. And obviously with Sasha, I like that competition. But obviously, I've got some good competition here now. So this is just the new generation."

Hughes, younger sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, showed remarkable progress with her short program, which she lumbered through at Skate America last fall. Thursday night, she hit all of her jumps and thrilled the crowd with her emotive display. Her coaches had told her not to smile when performing to "Carmen," but Hughes was so excited over her standing ovation that she couldn't stop beaming.

"The crowd was amazing!" gushed Hughes, who turns 18 on Friday. "The standing ovation was something I wanted to feel again."

But the night belonged to Meissner, who had the tough task of following Hughes.

"You've got to be prepared for any of it," Meissner said. "I remember my first year coming here, I didn't want to skate after Michelle [Kwan]. I mean, obviously she always brings the house down. You've just got to be focused."

Meissner skated onto the ice in a delicate pale blue dress that made her look like a tiny doll. But she flashed remarkable amplitude on her jumps and whipped through her rigorous program as if it weren't at all taxing. Afterward, she had no trouble handling a thorny question that would have made other teens wither. Asked if she wasn't disappointed about her lack of fluidity following her tricky triple flip-double Axel combination, Meissner replied: "I think more flow is always good. But I was on my feet, so that's a lot of flow for me right now!"

In the men's competition, Evan Lysacek conquered a psychological hurdle by turning in a clean, crowd-pleasing short program that landed him in first place (78.99 points) heading into Saturday's free skate. Three-time national champion Johnny Weir was second, less than a point behind (78.14).

Lysacek, 21, is one of figure skating's more elegant performers, blessed with long limbs and beautiful lines. But he had developed a maddening pattern the past few years of stumbling in his short program and then charging back heroically in the free skate. However bold his comeback, the overall result, more often than not, was spoiled by his sub-par start.

Lysacek wasn't flawless Thursday, but he was elated with the result, clenching both fists midway through the performance after landing a triple flip.

"I was so, so happy and relieved that I can't put it into words for you," he said. "It was one of those days when I had to just give it to myself. 'This is fun! This is good!' "

Both Lysacek and Weir had disappointing showings at the 2006 Olympics, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. And both arrived in Spokane nursing injuries.

Weir, 22, had taken note of Lysacek's score before gliding onto the ice and knew he'd have to skate as close to perfect as possible to emerge within striking distance of the title entering Saturday's free skate. Although he had no glaring missteps, his program wasn't crisp, and his customary showmanship was lacking. But he was pleased overall -- particularly given the pain in his right hip from a bad fall in December.

"It's a stressful time right now," said Weir, who wants desperately to leave Spokane with a fourth consecutive U.S. title. "But I'm excited that I pushed through the program. It may not be perfect on every level, but it was the best I could do today. And I am thrilled with that."

Note: Several Washington area skaters competed Thursday. Shaun Rogers of Millersville was fifth after the short program (67.34). Derrick Delmore of Fort Washington was 11th (62.49). Alexandria's Craig Ratterree was 14th (55.80), and Annandale's Tommy Steenberg was 16th (50.70). In ladies' singles, Megan Williams-Stewart of Ellicott City was 17th (44.95).