It hasn’t taken long for Auburn’s Shianna Moses to wheel her way to the top of the speed skating world.

Just 12 years old, Moses, a member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, recently skated her way to five gold and two silver medals, as well as a pair of national records, at the Indoor Speed Skating National Championships in Lincoln, Neb., on July 4-10.

Not bad for someone who started competing in the sport a mere four years ago.

“I started in 2005, but I didn’t compete until 2006,” Moses said. “I was always skating on rollerblades, so they asked me to come out to the skate class (at Auburn‘s Skate Connection). And I’ve loved it since then.”

Her first meet was in Bremerton.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Moses said. “I was excited. We got there late so I kind of missed one race, but I won all the other races. I was pretty surprised.”

After that, things began to move fast for Moses, both on the hardwood and off.

In 2007, she won a regional championship racing for the Auburn Skate Connection and the Southgate Speed Skating Team, and moved on to her first national event where she finished third in the two-mix relay, an event where a boy and girl skater trade off laps.

After that first taste of national competition, Moses kicked her career in high gear.

In 2008, she placed first overall in points at nationals, winning the 200- and 300-meter competitions.

In 2009, she snagged second in the overall points competition at the national meet, placing first in the 300, second in the 500 and fourth in the 700.

At the beginning of this season, Moses said it was time for a change.

She switched from the Southgate team to the prestigious Pattison’s Team Extreme out of Federal Way, where ice skating Olympians Apolo Ono and J.R. Celski got their start.

“Auburn was a really good beginning place for me,” Moses said. “But up here they train harder. All the best come from here, like J.R. and Apolo. I was getting more advanced, so I came up here.”

Initially, she said she was concerned about stepping up her commitment to the sport.

“I was actually kind of scared that I wouldn’t do very well at the practices, that I would get tired,” Moses said. “But I actually stayed in there and got used to it.”

The extra work paid off for Moses, who practices four times a week for two hours a session.

“When I win or I beat girls who have beaten me or are a little bit ahead of me, it makes me want to train more,” she said. “And you have to train a lot to be the best. It’s like my coaches always tell me, practice makes perfect.”

After whizzing by the competition locally, Moses moved on to the nationals, where she was the high-points winner in her division.

“It was fun. I had a really good nationals this year. I experienced a lot of things,” Moses said.

Moses made short work of her opponents in the short races, winning the 500 with a blazing 49.354-second time, taking first in the 700 with a 1:09.896 and setting a national record in the 300 with a 28.3.

“When I broke the 300 record I was really happy,” she said.

Moses said breaking the 300 national record has been the highlight of her career. Brittany Bowes set the standard 10 years ago.

“Nobody had seen anyone faster than her since then, so I was really surprised when I saw that,” she said.

Moses also snagged gold in the four-girl relay, the four-mix relay and silver in the two-mix and two-girl relays.

As good as Moses’ performance was at this year’s nationals, Team Extreme coach Mike Pattison says she will only get better.

“The basics are all there,” he said. “She has awesome sprints. She just needs to work on her endurance in the longer races. The start and the sprint are the hardest things to teach. The endurance just comes with hard work.”

“I just hope she sticks with it and keeps having fun,” Pattison added. “She’s got a very good attitude and hates missing practices.”

Moses is enjoying a brief two-month break from competition, as she prepares to begin seventh grade at Olympic Middle School.

“I’m spending time with my family, going to movies and shopping with my friends,” she said.

Soon, however, it will be back to school – where she plans to compete for the gymnastics and track teams – and back to her grueling practice schedule.