Meissner, Hughes say they’re set

Kimmie Meissner, the current women’s world figure skating champion, would like to successfully defend her title in March.

So, like many of her U.S. teammates, her training program is geared toward peaking at the right time. For most, that is still a few weeks away.

But Meissner made it clear Wednesday that she is hungry for her first U.S. national title. The 2004 national junior champion was third in seniors in 2005 and runner-up last year.

“It’s all about timing and when you’re going to do your best,” she said after practice at the Spokane Arena. “But I’ve been looking forward to this competition for a long time. Hopefully, I can do my best out there this week.”

She will face an equally eager field which is looking to fill the vacuum created by the absence of longtime stars Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. First among those challengers is Emily Hughes, who is looking to no longer be the girl in the shadows of those stars or her sister.

Hughes has grown up in the skating world as the younger sibling of former Olympic champion Sarah Hughes. She has yet to make her name but is looking to do so at this nationals.

After a practice Tuesday at the Arena, she said her plan before today’s short program was a simple one.

“Relax, enjoy the wonderful things of Spokane, and mentally try to prepare because physically I’m there,” she said.

Best in show

Meissner, 17, worked hard in Delaware to get ready for nationals.

Wednesday’s practice was her second in Spokane. She struggled in Tuesday’s long program session with her jumps.

This time it was the choreography for her long program that tripped her up. She stopped early into the program and finished only portions of it.

“My practices have been good,” Meissner said. “Today, my 7 a.m. practice, my jumps went really well. I didn’t have the best program, but it’s 7 a.m.”

Meissner said she’s not worried about her skating heading into competition. She said the first two days in town are always about acclimation to a rink and getting comfortable on the ice. Meissner said she has that comfort level with her new flamenco program.

“The past month, I’ve been training really hard,” she said. “I’m really comfortable with it and I think it’s a lot better. Other than that, I think I’m really going to focus on just giving a performance.”

Hughes feels confident

Hughes, who turns 18 on Friday, was third last year at nationals and sounds confident about her chances.

“I feel really good. I’ve been training a lot and I’m really looking forward to putting on a good program and relating to the crowd,” she said.

Hughes looked strong in practice Tuesday but struggled with her jumps during two practices Wednesday.

She was able to participate in the 2006 Olympics as an alternate when Kwan had to step out because of injury. She feels the experience of performing on that type of stage will help her in this competition.

“You have to enjoy everything, because you never know when it’s going to happen again,” she said. “Coming into this competition I want to enjoy it and not put too much pressure on myself. I think with every competition, there’s nervousness. But, with me, it’s more like excitement.”

Best of the rest

Alisa Czisny has the determined look of a woman who is quietly confident.

She nailed the triple lutz, triple toe combination in free-skate practice Wednesday, but won’t attempt it at nationals. The 19-year-old from Bowling Green, Ohio, is going to keep it simple as she tries to improve on back-to-back seventh-place finishes.

“I just decided to focus on the jumps that I had without adding something new,” she said of her new program to a song from the movie “Sabrina.” It was her first time on Arena ice.

Czisny looked calm and in control during the entire session and said she feels good entering the women’s competition.

“I had a lot of time to train this year. I’m really glad that I didn’t have to travel a lot,” she said. “So, I got to focus on my training and feel like I’m really prepared for this competition.”

There is also a solid group of skaters that has shown flashes of greatness, but has never reached the top at nationals.

Any of them could have that one special night and find themselves on the podium.