GREENSBORO, N. Thierry Henry Jersey .C. - Ashley Wagner knew she wouldnt lose any sleep this night.A year after a miserable trip to the U.S. Championships, Wagner won the short program with 72.04 points Thursday. Her performance had her thinking beyond nationals and to contending for international medals.Defending champ Gracie Gold was second, 5.02 back after doubling the toe loop in her triple-triple combination. In 2014, Wagner was the one with all the pressure after winning the previous two U.S. titles, and she cracked, finishing a distant fourth to spend a night fearing shed missed out on an Olympic berth.Wagner made the team because of her previous successes and finished seventh in Sochi with some redemptive performances. After winning bronze at the Grand Prix Final last month, she vowed that she needed more difficulty in her programs to make the podium at the world championships.Wagner tried a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination in competition for the first time Thursday. She two-footed the second landing but was heartened by the jump.I think that it is one of the steppingstones along the way to becoming one of the top ladies internationally, she said.The top of the U.S. standings looked familiar. Polina Edmunds, the third U.S. woman at the Sochi Games, was third, .98 points behind Gold. And in fourth, just .76 behind her, was Mirai Nagasu, the skater bumped from the Olympic team by Wagner.Fewer than four points separated second from seventh place. But Wagner had a cushion at the top — though one that can be easily overcome during the free skate.I dont have to worry about fighting through this long program, Wagner said. I feel like Ive put myself in a position where I can just relax and let things happen.A very different feeling from a year ago, when Wagner was fourth after the short program. She then fell twice in her free skate.On Thursday, she could grin as she told reporters: Its really great to be standing in front of you guys and I dont have to explain myself.Gold was the one with some questions to answer after what she called just a minor slipup. She couldnt work on her jumps for most of December because of a stress fracture in her left foot. And even when she was cleared to practice, she had to limit how often she did the toe loop.It would be extremely easy to say the mistake on the toe loop was because of the recovery from the foot fracture, she said. However, it was not, because Id been skating very well.But she had never before arrived at this event as the defending champion.The hum of the arena was different than any other nationals Id been to, Gold said.There were no skaters to defend their title in the pairs competition earlier Thursday.Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim won the short program with 74.01 points, a record for the event, to lead Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier by 5.63.Scimeca and Knierim were the runner-ups at their first U.S. Championships together in 2013. They were fourth a year ago with an Olympic berth at stake. But the three teams that finished ahead of them arent competing this time.Two-time defending U.S. champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir split in the spring. Castelli was in third place Thursday with new partner Mervin Tran. Shnapir, who skated next with DeeDee Leng, was eighth.Nathan Bartholomay, who earned the Americans other Olympic spot with Felicia Zhang last year, was fifth with Gretchen Donlan after the short program.Scimeca had fallen on the side-by-side triple salchow in four or five straight competitions — the streak was dragging on so long she couldnt remember exactly the last time she landed it cleanly. So she sent out a light-hearted tweet in November that she was saving the successful jump for U.S. Championships.Sure enough, Scimeca was perfect on it Thursday.Chris and I skate best when were joking around, Scimeca said of Knierim, whos her fiance. When it gets too serious, thats when skating gets harder. Mamadou Sakho France Jersey . The Korea Football Association announced Thursday that Park Joo-ho will join the 23-man squad to replace the 21-year-old Kim, a Japan-based left back who has played nine internationals since Hong Myung-bo took over as head coach last year. Morgan Schneiderlin Jersey . Johns IceCaps dominated the Portland Pirates 5-1 on Wednesday in American Hockey League play.Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Georges Niang poured in 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading 15th-ranked Iowa State to an 83-66 victory over TCU on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. Monte Morris contributed 16 points and six assists for the Cyclones (16-4, 6-2 Big 12), who were coming off a three-point win on Monday against Texas and extended their home winning streak to 19 consecutive games. Bryce Dejean-Jones also scored 16 points and Dustin Hogue added 12 in the victory. Each of the Cyclones first seven conference games had been decided by single digits, but Iowa State used a couple of second-half runs to make it a laugher after leading by only two at halftime. Niang scored 17 points after the intermission. Trey Zeigler scored 14 points for TCU (14-7, 1-7), which has lost four in a row. The Horned Frogs were 13-0 before conference play began in January. Kyan Anderson, TCUs leading scorer at 13.9 points per game, made just 3-of-13 shots and finished with eight points. Iowa State ran off nine straight points to turn a two-point deficit into a 16-9 lead seven minutes into the contest, but TCU answered with eight in a row to move back in front. It stayed close through the end of the half, as the Cyclones led by as many as five at 33-28 before a Zeigler layup and Brandon Parrish three pulled the Horned Frogs even in the final minute. Morris, though, put Iowa State back on top with a layup just before the halftime buzzer and the Cycllones started the second half with a 10-2 run. Rio Mavuba Jersey. Niang and Hogue each scored four during the early burst, giving Iowa State a 45-35 advantage. Five quick points cut the TCU deficit in half and the Horned Frogs were still down five at 52-47 before Iowa State put it away with a 14-4 run. Niang, Morris and Dejean-Jones each scored four during the spurt, with two free throws by Dejean-Jones giving the Cyclones a 66-51 cushion with 6:41 remaining. The Horned Frogs never threatened again and suffered their fifth straight loss to the Cyclones. Iowa State shot a blistering 63 percent in the second half and finished at 56.4 percent for the contest, while also dominating the boards with a 44-30 advantage. The Cyclones will head to Kansas on Monday to battle the Jayhawks, who lead the Big 12 with a 7-1 mark. Kansas lone conference loss came at Iowa State on Jan. 17. Game Notes Morris finished 7-of-9 from the field and Dejean-Jones missed just one of his six shots ... Iowa State was 16-of-20 from the free throw line, while TCU made just 1-of-8 at the stripe ... Parrish and Chris Washburn each scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs ... Niang now has 1,293 career points, surpassing Loren Meyer (1,280) for 19th on Iowa States all-time list ... The Cyclones have won 12 straight at home against Big 12 opponents ... Iowa State is 5-0 against TCU since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '