LOS ANGELES — Defending champion Bradie Tennell took advantage of a depleted field to seize the top spot after the ladies short program at the 2019 US Figure Skating Championships on Thursday.

Tennell scored 76.60 points to put herself in solid position heading into Friday's free skate at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

An unusually high number of Olympians and ex-national champions have either withdrew or decided not to compete in this year's event opening the door for Tennell to try and repeat.

World silver medalist and three time national champion Ashley Wagner decided to pass on the event. Olympic bronze medalist Gracie Gold also pulled out and Olympian Karen Chen is recovering from a foot injury. Former Olympian Mirai Nagasu also skipped the event and could be considering retirement.

The closest competitor to Tennell is a 13-year-old skater in her first nationals. Alysa Liu scored 73.89 points while Mariah Bell is fourth with 70.30 points. Liu has been tipped for a bright future in the sport. Hanna Harrell rounded out the top five with 68.16 points.

In the pairs, Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea upstaged veterans Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim. Kayne and O'Shea delivered a solid performance to take over first place with 71.83 points.

"We are very happy with our performance," O'Shea said. "We both wanted to throw up before we skated. We were pretty nervous going into today, something that means a lot to both of us."

Scimeca-Knierim and Knierim struggled to a sixth place with just 61.56 points. Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc are in second with 70.47 points. Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier are in third with 68.32 points. — AFP