Freshman Leah Barsanti took third place in the Junior level of the 2009 United States Figure Skating Association Natonal Collegeiate Championship held in Philadelphia, Pa. (Courtesy of Bill Barsanti)

We all know about Washington University’s dominance and recent success in sports such as basketball and volleyball. But last summer, Wash. U. placed nationally in a lower-key sport while being represented by someone not even on the campus yet.

Freshman Leah Barsanti of Park Ridge, Ill., recently represented Wash. U. by finishing in third place at the United States Figure Skating Association National Collegiate Championships.

The competition took place from July 30 to Aug. 1 at the Philadelphia Skating Club in Ardmore, Pa. Barsanti competed on the Junior level, but was still one of the youngest skaters.

The participants ranged from freshmen to grad-level students and comprised the best young skaters in the country. Despite the high caliber of competition, Barsanti was excited to be there.

“Yeah, I was nervous. I’m always nervous. There’s always a bit of pressure, I guess,” Barsanti said. “But I was pretty confident going into it. It was just like another competition, only bigger.”

Barsanti said that she was content with finishing third but at the same time believed the competition could have gone better. “I don’t think I could have pulled up from third so much, but I would have liked to have skated better for me,” she said.

Barsanti’s reaction to her finish didn’t surprise those close to her: namely, her parents. “It’s tough to hold everything together in a competition like that, but whatever Leah does, she wants to give it her best. She can be a critic on herself,” said Chris Barsanti, her mother.

Luckily for her, she has at least three more chances to improve. While she has plans to move up to the Senior level of competition (the highest level) before too long, she’s optimistic but admits she doesn’t know what to expect.

“I just hope to improve and see who’s there,” Leah Barsanti said. “Every year attracts more and better skaters, so it’ll probably get tougher.”

It’s been a long road for Leah Barsanti to be as successful as she is now. To be the best, Leah Barsanti trained like one of the best since she was 7 years old. On top of that, her current head coach is David Santee, a two-time Olympian (’76 and ’80) and 1981 World Championship silver medalist. Santee could not be reached for comment.

“He’s like a uncle to me, something like that,” Leah Barsanti said. “But it’s cool to have that connection. Having a really good coach who was also a really good skater, it’s like a bonus.”

Looking toward the future, Barsanti plans to skate three times a week at the nearby Brentwood Ice Arena and hinted that she was looking at trying to start an intercollegiate team of at least three skaters at Wash. U.

Barsanti’s long-term plans could involve shows as much as they do competitions.

“I think it’d be cool to do a traveling show, maybe after college, kind of like ‘Disney on Ice,’” Barsanti said. “Because that’s really what I like, maybe even more than competing, is shows.”
Whatever she does with skating, though, she does because it’s her passion.

But no matter what direction her long-tem future may take, this is for sure: Barsanti could be the next in line to bring another national championship to the proud athletic tradition here at Wash. U.