Chen grabs surprising lead in short program at US nationals

Fremont’s Karen Chen held off twentysomething veterans Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold to put a teenage twist atop the short program leaderboard at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Chen had fans clapping for each splendid spin, and the 17-year-old home-schooled high school senior floated in the air to “On Golden Pond.”

Chen flashed a peace sign, wagged her tongue and found a new spin on her short program was enough to grab a surprising lead Thursday.

Wagner, a bronze medalist last year, injected needed life into the event with a strong start to “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics.

“That’s the last jump of mine on tired legs, you kind of stick to sticky ice,” she said.

Wagner, who would be 26 in next year’s Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and finished sixth in the ladies’ competition, then helped the U.S. team win a bronze medal in the newly formed team event.