KEARNS, Utah (AP) — John-Henry Krueger captured his first individual national senior title Saturday in the men’s 1,500, edging Simon Cho by .005 seconds in the finals at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Krueger was battling a cold and 101-degree fever but had the endurance to jab his skate forward for the win, finishing in 2 minutes, 20.937 seconds. Cho took silver and Travis Jayner bronze.
Lana Gehring blew by the competition in claiming her first World Cup gold this season, winning the ladies’ 1,500-meter finals. Emily Scott took silver and Alyson Dudek bronze.
Four-time defending national champ Katherine Reutter was fifth overall entering Saturday’s races, but crashed out of the 1,500 finals with two laps to go. She still had the 500-meter race Saturday afternoon, and 1,000 and 3,000 races Sunday.
