Feb. 9, 2000 10:35 PM AP

By BARRY WILNER

AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) The kids had no chance.

Pairs veterans Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman easily outclassed a field of young skaters in the short program Wednesday night in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Ina and Zimmerman have been in the sport since the late 1980s, when most of their competition in this year's event barely had begun skating.

Although Ina and Zimmerman are in just their second season together, she won two national titles with Jason Dungjen and went to two Olympics as his partner. Zimmerman has had several other partners and was third in the 1997 nationals.

They hadn't skated competitively since Trophee Lalique in November, and spent the past two months honing their routines. On a night when nearly every other couple struggled, their short program, worth one-third the total score, looked sharp. They were the only ones not to get a mark below 5.0 out of 6.0.

"Because we hadn't performed in two months, this felt like the first one of the season again and to get it out that way felt good," Ina said.

She thought their failure to qualify for the Grand Prix final - they were fifth last season - was a blessing.

"We've been scrambling a little bit, but we worked on our presentation and sharpness and trying to get the audience into it."

It was a difficult night for that. Aside from the leaders, only Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn skated anything close to a solid program. And she fell on a triple toe loop.

Still, they were second, while siblings Tiffany and Johnnie Stiegler received very charitable marks despite two falls to get third place.

The free skate is Friday night. The top two teams qualify for the world championships.

Defending champions Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev won the original dance to increase their lead in ice dancing. Lang and Tchernyshev also won the compulsories and were expected to take the free dance, worth 50 percent of the total score, on Thursday night.

In second for both the original and overall were Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek. They form the rising couple in the discipline and won every major junior title last year.

"It's a different class," Pekarek said, "not just with the skating ability, but the relationships, the people, who is watching. Everything you do shows up more. It still is great skating, and there is the same amount of training, but on ice and off ice, the way people carry themselves at a senior event, you can see the difference."

The top two couples will go to worlds.