Denney-Barrett win U.S. figure skating pairs title

SPOKANE — Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett weren’t even skating together two years ago. Now they’re U.S. champions.

And on their way to the Vancouver Olympics.

Denney and Barrett skated a high-energy, action-packed program to “Sheherazade” on Saturday that was not only worthy of the title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but also ought to make the rest of the world take note.

Denney and Barrett finished with 190.30 points, almost 17 points in front of their training mates, Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig. Both pairs were later selected for the Olympic team.

“Our free skate today was one of the best programs we’ve ever done,” Denney said. “It was just so much fun, and I will remember that forever.”

Former U.S. champions and 2006 Olympians Rena Inoue and John Baldwin were third after landing their signature throw triple axel, and an argument could have been made to send the veteran pair to Vancouver. But Baldwin dismissed that idea while the selection committee was still meeting.

“First and second, that’s how you should pick it,” he said. “It’s not up to me, but that’s how you should pick it.”

Keanua McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, almost a lock for Vancouver after winning the national title in 2008 and ‘09, took themselves out of contention with yet another flawed performance. They finished fifth.

It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the former Whiz Kids, who had surprisingly quick success and endless potential. But Denney and Barrett have left them in the dust.

The Floridians skated together briefly in the summer of 2006 before Denney moved to Colorado with her mom and sister. But they missed Denney’s father, who had stayed in Florida, and returned home when the separation got to be too much. With Barrett still without a partner, the two reunited in the summer of 2008.

“I knew it was going to happen eventually, but I wasn’t sure whether it was this cycle or next,” coach Jim Peterson said. “Butt I knew when they came together they were going to be something big.”

It takes most pairs teams years to develop the seamless chemistry and unison required of a world-class team. But Denney and Barrett have been on the accelerated program. They were the surprise silver medalists at last year’s nationals, then finished an impressive ninth at their first world championships.

With another year together, they just might stir things up in Vancouver.

“I want the U.S. to get three spots. I want the U.S. to be a powerhouse again,” Peterson said. “I think they can do well. They were ninth at worlds last year, and I think they can improve on that, I really do.”

What makes Denney and Barrett so impressive is their power and strength. Their program was jam-packed from the opening notes of their music, with not even a second to take it easy. He was clearly exhausted when they finished — you try skating the length of the ice while carrying someone with one hand — but she looked ready to go again, hopping up and down on the ice and sprinting a few steps.

They did side-by-side triple toe loop jumps and two double axels in sequence, and knocked them out as easily as a bunny hop. And man, can they fly. There are speedskaters who couldn’t keep with these two, as they raced around the ice with grace and control.

Judy Blumberg, who won the first U.S. Olympic medal in ice dance with partner Michael Seibert, worked with Denney and Barrett on their “Sheherazade” program (she skated to it herself), and her influence showed. They had fine edge quality and their connection with each other could be seen way up in the rafters.

“I just could not wait to get out there,” Denney said, unable to stop smiling. “It was a lot of fun, and we just enjoyed the moment.”

When they finished, Denney crossed herself and then punched the air, her smile lighting up the entire arena. Coach Jim Peterson was overcome with emotion at the boards, burying his head in fellow coach Alison Smith’s shoulder.

“They’re so good right now,” Baldwin said. “They’re already at the top of their game.”

McLaughlin and Brubaker needed a fantastic performance Saturday to ensure themselves a spot in Vancouver.

That didn’t happen.

Parts of their program were dazzling and showed why hopes have been so high for them. Their first lift was almost like performance art, with him looking as if he was bench-pressing her while she was in a pose that would make yoga teachers envious.

But she singled the second jump in their side-by-side triple toe-double toe combination, botched the landing of their last lift and then two-footed their final throw.

“Sometimes things don’t always work out the way you’d like them to,” Brubaker said. “And we’re young. We never thought about doing just one Olympics.”