Nagasu got irritated. After her competitors had staged one great performance after the next, she was not going to let go of her lead without giving it her all. Her first mistake proved to be her last major one, and the tiny Californian hung on to become the second-youngest winner of the U.S. women's championship on a night that revealed a very bright future for American women skaters.

Nagasu — whose first name means "future" in Japanese — is 34 days older than Tara Lipinski was when she won the U.S. title in 1997. She finished third in the free skate, but her solid lead after the short program gave her the championship. Nagasu earned a total of 190.41 points. Second-place Rachael Flatt, 15, won the free skate and had a total of 188.73; Ashley Wagner, 16, finished second in both the short and long programs for a total of 188.56 and the bronze medal.

Defending champion Kimmie Meissner saw her chances slip away quickly. Fourth after the short program, the 2006 world champion fell three times in a very ragged performance and finished seventh overall. Meissner still made the world championship team, along with Wagner and fifth-place Bebe Liang.

Nagasu, Flatt and fourth-place Caroline Zhang do not meet the minimum age requirement and cannot compete at worlds. All of them will represent the U.S. at the world junior championships, adding to the excitement of their big night.

"I'm very excited and speechless," said Nagasu, who was the U.S. junior champion last year and finished second to Zhang at the world junior championships. "The fall on the double axel was like a kick in the butt. After that, I just attacked."

Nagasu entered yesterday's free skate with a lead of 5.08 points after Thursday's marvelous short program. She was the last to perform her long program, and as she paced backstage with coach Charlene Wong, her competitors kept upping the ante.

Zhang followed her disappointing short program with a fine free skate that landed her in fourth place overall. Her "Ave Maria" program earned her a standing ovation and gave her a total of 173.16 points. Meissner, who fell once in her short program, went the other direction.

The crowd of about 13,000 groaned when she fell on her first jump, a triple flip, then applauded as if to will her through the program. The same thing happened on her second jump, a triple lutz. Meissner gritted her teeth and got through the performance, but she looked sad and dejected as she heard her scores announced.

"I trained really hard," Meissner said. "It was more mental. I just lost it."

On this night, that spelled disaster. Flatt and Wagner skated serenely and beautifully, with Flatt's more delicate style making a nice counterpoint to Wagner's athleticism. Flatt completed seven triple jumps in her "Romantic Rhapsody" program, including a triple-triple combination, and earned the highest levels of difficulty for two spins. The fiery Wagner opened her "Jealous" program with a triple-triple and matched Flatt's winning whirling.

Wagner was delighted to be heading to the world championships in Sweden this coming March. "I'm 16 and going to worlds," Wagner said. "That is crazy. I'm so happy with my performance."

Flatt said her goal at these nationals was to get more experience. She finished fifth last year in her first year of competing as a senior; Nagasu and Wagner made their senior debuts this year.

Nagasu might look like her spine is made of rubber, but she proved it is made of steel. The high school freshman rallied from the opening tumble to finish strongly with her "Coppelia" program.

Nagasu already is a sensation in Japan, where her parents were born. She holds dual citizenship, speaks Japanese and English at home and listens to Japanese music. Yesterday afternoon, she received a fax from Japanese champion and world silver medalist Mao Asada — whom she counts as an idol — wishing her luck.

"Ganbatte!! Good Luck Mirai!!" said the fax, which was decorated by a drawing of figure skates and Mao's heart-encircled autograph. After her performance, Nagasu could not see her scores, because she was not wearing her glasses.