updated 6:52 p.m. ET Oct. 28, 2007

READING, Pa. - Evan Lysacek could ponder an opportunity lost. Or he could look at his performance Saturday night at Skate America as a positive sign.

Of course, Lysacek chose the brighter outlook, and well he should after a superb free skate that outpointed Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi. It wasn’t enough to win the title because Takahashi built an overwhelming margin in the short program.

“Going into today I had a large deficit, so I was not looking at a win per se,” Lysacek said, “but to fight for the competition and make it overall a success. I think it was.

“An analysis of it now is it was a good experience because it wasn’t perfect. I have a lot of things to go home and work on.”

Lysacek was at his most expressive in a program to “Tosca” that was exhausting to watch, let alone skate. Although he two-footed the quadruple toe loop (barely) on his first element, he nailed everything else with an energy that built throughout the 4½ minutes. When he was done and the crowd was on its feet, Lysacek held his pose — arm fully extended like the pirate he was portraying wielding a sword — for nearly 10 seconds.

In all, Lysacek landed eight triples, but it was the emotion he put into the show that charged the arena.

Takahashi fell twice and also tired toward the end of the routine. But his lead of more than 12 points from Friday was enough to hold off Lysacek.

The world silver medalist looked spent at the conclusion of his performance to “Romeo and Juliet.” Unlike Shakespeare’s tragic hero, though, Takahashi survived, winning 228.97 to 220.08.

“I was definitely not expecting a great mark,” he said. “I definitely will be practicing in my run-throughs to pay attention to details.”

Takahashi couldn’t come close to his stunning short program 24 hours earlier, falling on a triple axel and a lutz. He left the ice shaking his head slowly, but in the end he was wearing the gold.

Finishing third was Patrick Chan of Canada, a 16-year-old rising star. But earlier, he and two world champions were overshadowed by a 14-year-old newcomer to the women’s scene.

Robert F. Bukaty / AP Evan Lysacek performs in the men's free skate program at the Skate America in Reading, Pa., on Saturday.

While 2006 world winner Kimmie Meissner was beating current world champ Miki Ando in the short program, junior high schooler Caroline Zhang wowed everyone in her debut as a senior skater.

Meissner was no slouch, of course, and her array of jumps and a strong opening spiral sequence — rare in figure skating — earned her 59.24 points for a solid lead over her Japanese rival.

But most memorable will be the way Zhang smoked the ice. From her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination to an incredible finish, Zhang, of Brea, Calif., was mesmerizing.

“I’m really happy with how I skated today,” said Zhang, the world junior champion. “It could have been better: I didn’t hold the combination spin enough and I could’ve performed better. But it’s my first Grand Prix and I’m happy to be here and it’s so much fun.

“Junior worlds is a really big competition for me. I came here, everybody was really tall and I was wondering if they were going to jump over my head.”

Zhang’s jumping was reminiscent of an equally young Tara Lipinski a decade ago. And her long, flowing spirals recalled Michelle Kwan at her best.

Neither, though, could pull off the kind of layback spin that topped off Zhang’s breakthrough performance. The top half of her body was almost perpendicular to the ice as she twirled and twirled, with the crowd standing and cheering.

Meissner, who drove to Reading from her Bel Air, Md., home, also had strong support from the crowd. The U.S. champion had problems in practice with her triple lutz combination, but she landed it perfectly when it counted.

Skating to Peter Gabriel’s “The Feeling Begins,” Meissner’s routine came alive to the pulsing drumbeats, and she gave a fist pump as she finished.

“I’m very pleased with it,” the 18-year-old Meissner said. “First time out and it felt great.”

She realizes, however, that more complicated footwork will be required to boost the program’s points value.

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