Louisiana Stahl
Kristen Santos-Griswold
Brandon Kim
Andrew Heo
Clayton DeClemente
Justin Liu
Kamryn Lute
Corinne Stoddard
Brandon Kim, Kristen Santos-Griswold Open Season With U.S. Overall Titles
Brandon Kim defended his Men’s Overall Classification title while Kristen Santos-Griswold cruised to the Women’s title at the Nutricost US Speedskating U.S. Short Track Championships & World Tour Qualifier over the weekend in Kearns, Utah.
The Olympians highlighted the three-day event that brought more than 50 skaters to the Utah Olympic Oval. Athletes raced over each distance — 500m, 1000m and 1500m — twice to determine an Overall champion as well as U.S. Champions at each distance. The competition also served as the qualifying event for selecting the U.S. Short Track World Tour Team, which will be announced later.
Santos-Griswold, a former World Champion from Fairfield, Connecticut, nearly swept through the women’s events. The two-time Olympian won five of the six events, with the lone exception being a sixth-place finish in the second 500m.
Isabella Chen and 2026 Olympian Kamryn Lute rounded out the top three positions in the Women’s Overall Classification.
Kim, a native of Fairfax, Virginia, who made his Olympic debut earlier this year in Milano Cortina, reached the podium in five of his six races. That included wins in both 500m events and the second 1000m. He also placed as the runner-up in both 1500m events.
His Olympic teammates Clayton DeClemente and Andrew Heo took the next two spots in the Men’s Overall Classification.
Santos-Griswold claimed the U.S. titles in both the 1000m and 1500m. Vanessa Chan, one of two Under-15 skaters in the women’s field, won the second 500m race to claim the National title in that event.
Among the other star performers on the women’s side were Chen, who placed among the top three in five events, and Lute, who was runner-up in both 1000m and both 1500m events. Louisiana Stahl and Elizabeth Rhodehamel each took second place in a 500m.
Corinne Stoddard, the defending Women’s Overall Champion and an Olympic Bronze medal in Milano Cortina, announced she would be taking a break from short track to return to her roots as an inline skater. She is set to return to short track speed skating later this season.
Kim earned the individual U.S. title in the Men’s 500m, while DeClemente won the 1000m and 1500m.
In addition to Kim’s three event wins, DeClemente won the first 1500m. Benjamin Sullivan was the other event winner on the men’s side, taking the first 1000m and the second 1500m.
Justin Liu was runner-up in both 500m finals, followed by Marcus Howard both days. DeClemente added three other podium finishes, while Heo was third in both 1000m. Noah Troppe rounded out the men’s podium spots with a third-place finish in the first 1500m.
The ISU Short Track World Tour kicks off Oct. 23-25 in Vancouver. There are seven stops this season, though none in the U.S. The season culminates in the ISU Short Track World Championships in March in Seoul, South Korea.
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.com since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
