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Kearns • Katherine Reutter's long reign as national short-track speedskating champion appears to be coming to an end, while Lana Gehring's could be just getting started.

A two-time Olympic medalist and reigning world champion, Reutter crashed in the final of the women's 1,500 meters on the second day of the U.S. Short-Track Championships on Saturday at the Utah Olympic Oval, and failed to reach the final of the 500 — virtually assuring that she will not win a fifth straight overall national title.

"It was a rough day," she said.

Not for Gehring, though.

The 21-year-old, who won a bronze medal with Reutter in the team relay at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, won both races contested Saturday, to all but clinch her first title. She has won three of the four races so far — her only loss came in the 444-meter time trial, by 0.02 seconds — and looks poised to continue her dominance on the final day of competition Sunday.

"You never know how you're going to do," she said. "I just try my hardest."

Gehring leads the overall standings with 2,900 points; simply reaching the final in either of the final two races — the 1,000 and 3,000 meters — will clinch the title.

Aly Dudek sits in second place with 1,965 points, with Emily Scott third with 1,952. Reutter has 1,271 for fifth.

On the men's side, Simon Cho continued to lead with 2,700 points after winning the 500 meters and finishing second in the 1,500. Travis Jayner is behind him with 1,865 points, with Jordan Malone third with 1,640.

John-Henry Krueger might have been higher than fourth if he hadn't crashed in the final of the 500, after winning the 1,500 in an impossibly tight finish. He, Cho and Jayner all finished within 0.056 seconds of each other.

The top four overall finishers will clinch places at the last two World Cup races of the season, with the top three earning spots at the season-ending World Championships in Shanghai.

Coaches will add two discretionary picks to each team, which might be how Reutter makes it, if she cannot improve her standing on Sunday. She has been battling a lingering back injury, but said it wasn't pain that has bothered her here so much as the inevitable result of not being able to train as hard as necessary.

"I've been trying to convince myself that I can overcome what my body is going through," she said. "Now it's becoming painfully obvious that I'm not in as much control as I thought."

If Reutter does not finish in the top three, she would not be allowed to race in any of the individual races at the World Championships — only the relay. As a reigning world champion at 1,500 meters, she would be able to force a race-off for one of the individual spots later against the third-place finisher if she is forced to pull out of the competition.

But "I wouldn't do that to these girls," she said.

Reutter did leave open the possibility of sitting out the rest of the season if she does not qualify automatically for spots on the team, considering that "everybody" is telling her that she needs to rest to fully recover from her injury. —

U.S. short-track championships

Overall Standings

Men

1. Simon Cho, 2,700 points; 2. Travis Jayner, 1,856; 3. Jordan Malone, 1,640; 4. John-Henry Kruger, 1,568.5; 5. Jonathan Garcia, 1,325; 6. Kyle Carr, 932.5; 7. Robert Lawrence, 742; 8. James Rodowsky, 733; 9. Chris Creveling, 645; 10. Landon Hatfield, 572.

Women

1. Lana Gehring, 2,900 points; 2. Alyson Dudek, 1,965; 3. Emily Scott, 1,952; 4. Jessica Smith, 1,740; 5. Katherine Reutter, 1,271; 6. Kimberly Derrick, 1,168; 7. Tamara Frederick, 584; 8. Rachel Skrocki, 547; 9. Sarah Burg, 516.5; 10. Sarah Chen, 472.

Men's 500 Meters

1. Simon Cho, 42.789; 2. Jordan Malone, 42.932; 3. Travis Jayner, 43.219; 4. Kyle Carr, 43.256; 5. John-Henry Krueger, 1:14.133.

Women's 500 Meters

1. Lana Gehring, 44.594; 2. Alyson Dudek, 44.765; 3. Emily Scott, 44.963. DQ - Jessica Smith.

Men's 1,500 Meters

1. John-Henry Krueger, 2:20.937; 2. Simon Cho, 2:20.942; 3. Travis Jayner, 2:20.993; 4. Jordan Malone, 2:21.023; 5. Jonathan Garcia, 2:22.124; 6. Landon Hatfield, 2:23.677.

Women's 1,500 Meters

1. Lana Gehring, 2:35.222; 2. Emily Scott 2:35.634; 3. Alyson Dudek, 2:36.300; 4. Kimberly Derrick, 2:36.624; 5. Katherine Reutter, 3:00.119; 6. Jessica Smith, 3:14.894.