KEARNS — With her 20th birthday in the not-too-distant future, Katherine Reutter had a choice to make. She was still eligible to skate with the juniors, but good enough to compete with the seniors.

With an eye on Vancouver in 2010, Reutter decided the time was right to step up her competition level and "grow up" a little bit.

That decision was a smart one as she has now won a pair of U.S. championships after surviving a crash-marred final in the women's 500 Saturday afternoon at the Utah Olympic Oval.

"I'm very surprised," Reutter said after she beat Kim Derrick to the finish line while veterans Alison Baver and Tina Koenig bumped, sending Baver flying head over heels across the ice and into the padding less than two laps into the race. "I expected to be strong but didn't know how strong. ... I chose seniors because it's getting close to the Games, and I'm going to have to step up eventually."

Reutter's win is actually her third of the weekend after skating the fastest time trial on Friday morning, and it indicates there may be a changing of the guard in the women's field.

The men's 500 also had some drama.

Apolo Anton Ohno skated to what looked like a convincing win in the finals only to be disqualified for cross-tracking on the final lap. The result was J.P. Kepka being awarded the national championship in the race — an honor he'll gladly accept considering the World Cup and World Championship implications.

"He beat me in the race," said Kepka, who set a national record with his semifinal heat time. "The call just went my way."

Ohno was clearly unhappy with the result but had no choice to accept the ruling — after all, he was the beneficiary of a similar ruling that allowed him to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 in 2002.

There is still one day of speed skating left with racers taking to the ice again today starting at 10 a.m. First up will be the women's and men's 1,000 meter races, followed by the 3,000 meters and the 3,000 women's relay and 5,000 men's relay.

The short-track speed skaters will again be in action at the Oval Feb. 8-10 at a World Cup event.

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U.S. SENIOR SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Utah Olympic Oval

Today, 10 a.m.

1,000 men and women

3,000 men and women

3,000 relay

5,000 relay

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E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com