Teenager Isabeau Levito underlined her status as a future Olympian by winning her first US figure skating title.
The 15-year-old, who is the world junior champion, scored a total of 223.33 points in San Jose on Friday to finish ahead of two-time champion Bradie Tennell, who was second with 213.12 points. Amber Glenn was third.
“I was just so proud of myself for staying so calm and staying so focused, doing exactly what I aimed to do,” Levito, from New Jersey, said on NBC. “I’m ready to start bouncing off the walls.”
Levito led by two-hundredths of a point following the short program on Thursday. In her free skate and under intense pressure after Tennell had performed minutes earlier, scoring 139.36, Levito scored 149.55 to take gold.