DENVER -- David Kirby, coach of the newly crowned boys' novice national champion, suggests the world will soon be hearing the name Chris Browne.
Browne, 14, of Dallas, claimed the national title earlier this week.
'I think he could be the best spinner and jumper in the world,' Kirby said of his young pupil.
Browne, however, recognizes he has a way to go before joining the ranks of the world's best skaters.
'There are a lot of good skaters,' Browne said. 'The boy who won the novice championship last year moved up to juniors this year and didn't even qualify for the national championships.'
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were scheduled to be televised live in prime time for the first time ever, Saturday night by ABC-TV, in an attempt to create some pre-Olympic interest in American households.
Figure skating is traditionally one of the most-watched events during the Olympics, which will also be televised by ABC.
Although some of the best female skaters in the world were performing in the heart of winter sports country, less than half the seats were taken Friday at McNichols Arena for the women's short-program performances.
Debi Thomas, Caryn Kadavy, Jill Trenary and 16 other skaters performed their short programs with an estimated 8,000 people in the stands.
Although Thomas, Kadavy and Trenary, as expected, established themselves in the top three spots entering Saturday's long program, Jeri Campbell of Garden City, Mich., captured some of the most enthusiastic applause from the crowd Friday and the marks she received also drew the only boos heard during the day.
Campbell, skating a bold short program that included a series of spectacular spins, drew one score of 4.9 for required elements whereas Thomas and Kadavy were scoring 5.8s and 5.9s.
When Campbell's marks were posted, the crowd voiced its displeasure.
Thomas skated first in the women's short program Friday, a position she did not enjoy.
'You don't have much time to warm up,' said the former national champion who is trying to regain her crown. 'And when you go first, you can't expect to get the marks you might if you skate later.
'I am going to skate third tomorrow night (when the women perform their critical long program) and I think we can expect the marks to be a little higher then.'
