Natasha Feshbach flunked the hurdles the first time she tried them — and this is the first time the word “flunked” appears in a sentence with her name.
Feshbach, a Santa Barbara High senior, is a student-athlete par excellence. Her grade-point average is a staggering 4.95, fashioned by her taking advanced-placement courses in every academic subject and getting nothing but As. Yale University will welcome her into its classrooms next fall.
Aspiring to maintain a mind-body balance, Feshbach looked for a sport to try when she entered high school. She had participated in youth gymnastics but grew out of it. “My best friends were in cross-country, so I went out for it,” she said. “I was a very average freshman runner.” The same crowd went out for track-and-field in the spring, and that’s where Feshbach found the opportunity to soar above average.