TAYLOR TAKES FOURTH AT NATIONALS

By Robert H. Kelly

Katy Taylor, a junior at Katy’s Mayde Creek High School, finished in fourth place Saturday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.

She scored 103.85 points in the long program, giving her automatic bid to the 2007 Nationals and kept her on pace for a 2010 Olympic bid.

Taylor skated well, but fell on her triple salchow and left out the second half of her closing triple lutz-double toe loop combination.

“I came here wanting to have two good skates, and to be standing on the podium is just icing on the cake,” she said.

Sasha Cohen took top honors with the score of 134.03, easily outscoring all other opponents, followed by Kimmie Meissner (116.01) and Emily Hughes (106.61).

The evening had to be bittersweet for Hughes, who was bumped from the Olympic squad to make room for an injured Michelle Kwan.

Kwan petitioned the U.S. Figure Skating Association for an injury waiver to compete in Turin.

The waiver was granted, making Cohen, Meisssner, and Kwan the three women who will represent the United States at the Winter Olympic Games in February.

However the fourth place finish for Taylor, who finished in ninth place at last year’s Nationals, improved her chances of representing the USA at the Olympics in four years in Vancouver.