By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 26, 2008; E03

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 25 -- By the time she turned 12, Ashley Wagner had lived in Germany, California, Alaska, Kansas, Washington and Virginia. She wore a protective helmet while learning to skate on frozen ponds near Anchorage. She trained under Tonya Harding's former coach in Vancouver.

More recently, she has worked on triple jumps alongside former men's world junior champion Derrick Delmore at the Mount Vernon Ice Arena.

The daughter of a now-retired Army lieutenant, Wagner, 16, long ago accepted major change as commonplace. She learned to find comfort in uncomfortable situations. She figures her itinerant upbringing helped during the past year as she skated from a world of high hopes and optimism into one of high stakes and searing competition.

On Thursday, less than a year removed from her third-place finish at the world junior championships, Wagner earned a second place in the short program of the U.S. senior figure skating championships, putting her into a somewhat unexpected position for Saturday's concluding free skate:

She is in contention for the U.S. title.

"I'm kind of surprised by myself over this past year that I've been on the ice," Wagner said while sitting in a hotel lobby shortly before departing for Friday's pre-competition practice. "I thought going into it I would be star-struck. I kind of found out, I'm not. I think the view I have has really helped my skating."

Certainly, on Thursday, it helped. Wagner sat in the unenviable position of skating last among the top competitors, 18th of 20 overall. By the time Wagner began her program and launched into what would turn into a near-perfect triple Lutz-triple loop -- the most difficult element anyone attempted all night -- her nearest rivals had already collected stuffed animals pitched from the crowd and changed out of their costumes.

While warming up, Wagner had to listen to the raucous ovation for Mirai Nagasu, 14, who would stand in first place by night's end. She heard the cheers for Rachael Flatt, 15, who, like Nagasu, hit a triple-triple combination jump and received high marks from the judges. Flatt would end the night in third place.

"Instead of getting nervous," Wagner said, "I have found it exhilarating."

Wagner's coach, Shirley Hughes, found that delightful to hear Friday.

"She just can't wait to get out on the ice," Hughes said. "She's kind of like a racehorse."

Hughes, sitting on a chair near Wagner, pulled a photograph from her wallet and dropped it on a coffee table. In the photo, Wagner wore a beret, a tweed blazer and fashionable boots. She stood on a boulevard in Paris. The picture was taken in November, and Wagner, who was sightseeing at the time, could not have looked more at home. It was during that trip that she won her first major international senior medal, claiming the bronze at a Grand Prix event there.

Only world silver medalist Mao Asada and Kimmie Meissner topped her.

Weeks before, she had finished fifth at Skate Canada.

"I have a lot of respect," Hughes said, "for Ashley's ability to adjust."

Since she and her family settled in Alexandria late in 2001, Wagner has trained daily with Hughes. After a year of home schooling from her mother, an elementary school teacher, Wagner decided to rejoin the mainstream and now attends West Potomac High, where she is in the 11th grade.

The school is close enough to her home rink that she can walk. She trains for three or four hours a day, supplementing ice time with ballet, jazz and Pilates. Hughes said she doesn't want to wear out Wagner, who has long been a strong jumper and enjoys honing other elements of her repertoire. The competition buzzing around her, Hughes said, gives Wagner plenty of motivation.

After all, Wagner's third place at last year's world junior championships qualified as a great honor, but it came with this caveat: U.S. teammates, world junior champion Caroline Zhang, 14, and Nagasu, finished first and second, respectively. Some would say those youngsters have outshone Wagner over the last year. Zhang qualified for the end-of-season Grand Prix final in December and managed a fourth place. Nagasu won the junior Grand Prix final.

"We have not had that kind of presence in a while," Hughes said. "I think the depth is quite incredible. . . . Ashley appreciates all the talent around her. It challenges her."

So far, it hasn't tripped her. Others weren't so fortunate Thursday. Defending U.S. champion and former world champ Meissner, 18, fell once, positioning her for a disappointing fourth. Zhang received downgraded marks on two jumps, keeping her from moving up from seventh. Last year's U.S. bronze medal winner Alissa Czisny fell three times and eventually sat in ninth place.

"It was really exciting," Wagner said. "But no matter what, I still have one more to go. . . . It's an exciting competition that everyone should be glad to watch."