Ashley Wagner Wins 2nd Straight Gold at US Figure Skating Championships

Ashley Wagner won her second straight national title Saturday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Omaha.

U.S. Figure Skating tweeted this out after the victory:

Wagner finished the short program with a score of 67.57 to give her the lead. She finished Saturday night with a score of 121.27. Her combined score of 188.84 was good enough to give her the title over Gracie Gold, who finished second with a score of 186.57. 

Gold finished with the top free skate of the night in a dazzling display, but her short program score left her down.  

With the victory, Wagner earned a spot in the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in Ontario this March. Wagner will be looking to do well in the World Championships after she finished fourth at last year's competition. Wagner finished eighth in the short program with a score of 56.42, but finished third in the free skate with a score of 120.35. 

The extra year of skating and the experience of last year should help the 21-year-old Wagner. With the confidence of back-to-back U.S. national titles, Wagner will be looking for the title of world champion.  

Wagner's big victory is another step toward her taking over as the face of American figure skating. Since Michelle Kwan retired from skating, there hasn't been an American woman skater who has even come close.

With back-to-back title wins, Wagner looks primed to step into that role in the very near future.