South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito edges out Amber Glenn in the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Normally a wait for scores means bad news. And there was a long wait for 2023 U.S. champion Isabeau Levito’s scores following her short program Thursday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Her rival and friend Amber Glenn was fast, powerful, and didn’t miss a beat.

Levito, debuting a new short program to “Nella Fantasia” composed by Ennio Morricone, was soft and balletic with beautiful footwork, deep edges, and solid jumps. But twice she made the mistake that almost cost her the title at the Grand Prix de France in November: She caught edges on both her spins and nearly lost control of them.

Yet, in the end, Levito, 16, who is from Mount Holly and trains in Mount Laurel, wound up in first, earning 75.38 points to Glenn’s 74.98.

Surprised? Many on social media certainly were. Angry, even.

The commentators were less surprised. While waiting for the scores to come in, former U.S. champions Ashley Wagner and Adam Rippon on Peacock, and Johnny Weir and Olympic champion Tara Lipinski on NBC, debated the merits of both skaters, but ultimately all thought Levito would probably get the edge.

“In my opinion, Isabeau is the best artist in the group hands down,” Lipinski said.

“But Amber Glenn has that raw natural ability to bounce around the ice, to make fireworks go off,” Weir added.

» READ MORE: South Jersey figure skater and U.S. champion Isabeau Levito aims to defend her title this week in Ohio

“The skating quality that [Levito] had, the extension, the power,” Rippon said. “The basic skating is stunning. It is some of the best in the world. And I think in the short program, that could be something that might edge her out over Amber Glenn.”

Right before the scores were announced, Lipinski made a prediction: “I think it’s going to be Isabeau.”

So it was.

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It could be that the judges preferred her style. Or that she had some benefit of the doubt, as the reigning U.S. champion. But it was also legitimate.

Levito had more difficulty. She landed a triple flip, which has a higher base value than Glenn’s triple loop. Levito’s combination was a triple lutz-triple toe loop, which is also worth more points than Glenn’s triple flip-triple toe loop.

“A lot of people will say that Isabeau is slow,” Wagner said. “Isabeau is not slow. Isabeau is a fast skater. But when she goes into her jumps, she just puts on the brakes. I just wish she could fly into them a little more.”

Levito, in a sparkling gray dress, looked more grown up even since December’s Grand Prix Final. But after she skated, she admitted to NBC’s Andrea Joyce that she had been nervous about this moment, since now she had something to lose rather than something to win.

“I intentionally thought, ‘Don’t hold back.’ No, like actually, like in the program, I was telling myself, ‘Stop holding back, stop thinking, just do it,’” she said.

Glenn, 24, is competing for the ninth time at the senior level at Nationals, and seemed less nervous during her program and is finally getting the recognition fans have been hoping for.

» READ MORE: South Jersey teenager Isabeau Levito is already a U.S. figure skating champion. Next up, the world?

Anything can change in Friday’s free skate, or long program. Glenn has a triple axel that she had been landing solidly in practice all week, and that may give her the title. But she often struggles to complete two clean programs.

The other skater that looked most likely to earn a medal this week was Lindsay Thorngren. But she turned her required double axel into a single, which was worth zero points. She sits in fourth and can still move up.

Claire Seo, the 2022 junior U.S. champion, is in third, and Josephine Lee is in fifth. Lee also placed fifth at the 2023 Nationals.

The way the points system works, it is also possible for other skaters to move up several places, but the gold and silver look to belong to Levito and Glenn. Or to Glenn and Levito.

“Isabeau is absolutely a heavy favorite to repeat the title,” Wagner said, “but it’s not a given. And Amber is not going down without a fight. It’s going to be a fantastic free skate.”

Championship women’s free skate: 8-11 p.m. Friday on NBC or 7:45-11 p.m. on Peacock.

Glenn will skate second-to-last and Levito will skate last.