Figure skaters enjoy most successful competition to date at Quaker Classic

Friday, February 21

Philadelphia, PA

4:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Pennsylvania

Rachel Burger and Amber Banghart at UPenn Sectional

Rachel Berger (left) and Amber Banghart (right) show off two of their medals during this past weekend's Quaker Classic in Philadelphia.

Figure skaters enjoy most successful competition to date at Quaker Classic

2/28/2025 12:03:00 PM | Figure Skating

Photo Gallery

The Lady Flames had 21 skaters land on the podium with gold, silver, or bronze medal performances and earned the most points in team history.

Gallery: (2-28-2025) Figure skating Southeastern Sectionals

Liberty University's figure skating team competed at the Quaker Classic hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from Feb. 21-23. It was the team's second of three Southeastern Sectional Conference competitions, and the Lady Flames had an excellent showing, earning 21 medals out of 30 starts including 12 gold, six silver, and three bronze.

Liberty dominated the 25-team competition, winning with a total of 290 points, 35 more than runner-up Delaware (255), which was followed by UPenn (254) and Penn State University (224). The Lady Flames' point total surpassed last season's best of 245 points as well as Liberty's program record of 267 from the 2022-2023 season.

"There was so much excitement." Lady Flames Head Coach Courtney Kirschke said.

"Everyone was feeding off each other's energy, joy, and accomplishment. Everyone played their role extremely well, whether they were the ones on the ice, or in the stands cheering louder than the skater's music."

On the first day of competition, junior Emma Zajonc started by winning gold in Aspire 3 Group A. Fellow juniors Daniela Martinez and Anna Holloway swept Aspire Group B with gold and silver medal performances, respectively, before senior Shaeleigh Stewart won gold for the first time in her individual event, Preliminary Free Skate Group A. Maggie Duhaime finished first in Preliminary Free Skate Group B and and fellow freshman Ava Basler placed first out of 11 skaters in Preliminary Plus.

Day 2 of the competition included a moment of silence to remember the figure skaters, coaches, and family members that were lost on American Airlines flight 5342 that crashed in Washington D.C. on Jan. 29. Many of the skaters, coaches, and teams competing were directly affected by this tragedy and Liberty's designated Disciple Makers had the opportunity to pray with and talk to skaters from other teams, consoling and sharing the Gospel with them.

Afterward, Zajonc captured gold out of 10 skaters in the Preliminary Pattern Dance event. Senior Emma Richards won gold in the seven-skater Intermediate Free Skate event. Liberty struck silver as a team in the Intermediate Team Maneuvers event with seniors Rachel Berger and Richards and juniors Greta Snukis, and Taylor Nordquist each performing specific elements as a team for the judges.

Berger skated to the gold medal in both the Juvenile Free Skate Group as well as the Juvenile Solo Free Dance. Sophomore Amber Banghart competed a new program for the first time in Free Dance and placed third at the Juvenile level.

"To see that a lot of the skaters' new programs did so well at this competition was so rewarding," Kirschke said "We wanted to put our best foot forward at competition and utilize the skaters' skills to their full potential.

Freshman Odessa "Layne" Olver competed for the first time at the Junior Championships level, the highest level the team has had a skater compete at this season, and earned second place. To end the competition, Snukis competed in the Juvenile Free Skate Group C and earned a bronze medal.

The team has two weeks to prepare for the March 14-16 Blue Hen Classic at the University of Delaware and is looking to build on the success it experienced at the Quaker Classic competition. Their first-place finish all but assures that the Lady Flames will qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating National Intercollegiate Final hosted by Notre Dame from April 11-13, with the top four programs in the Southeastern Section advancing.

By Amory Doyle/Student Writer