Carpentersville’s Bradie Tennell in 2nd place after short program at U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Carpentersville native and two-time U.S. champion Bradie Tennell finished second in the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Thursday night in Wichita, Kansas.

Alyssa Liu leads the standings with 76.36 points, more than five points ahead of Tennell’s 71.23. The U.S. champion will be decided Friday night in the free skate.

Brooke Gewalt, a 2022 McHenry graduate who was a late addition to the championships for the second year in a row, sits in 14th place with 52.84 points.

Tennell performed to music from Lord of the Dance and earned her most points from judges with a triple Lutz and triple toe loop combination.

“It felt amazing,” Tennell told The Associated Press on Thursday night. “This program is so lively and so energetic and so much fun for me to perform, and there’s nothing like performing for your home country.

“Nationals always feels like coming home. And I’m very happy.”

Tennell, 26, won the U.S. title in 2018 and 2021, took silver in 2019 and 2023 and bronze in 2020.

The decorated skater has been hobbled with foot and ankle injuries over the years, missing the Beijing 2022 Olympics. On Halloween 2023, Tennell broke her ankle in practice that forced her to miss the remainder of the season.

She competed in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics and was a team event bronze medalist.