POSTED: Wednesday March 2nd 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norton National Luge Championships and Seeding Races set for March 5-6 in Lake Placid
Luge fans can watch the race action live with side-by-side screens at www.usaluge.org
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - For the United States luge team’s senior national athletes, the racing season will come to an end this weekend at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y. with the Norton National Championships and Seeding Races.
National titles and positioning for next year’s team are at stake for the competitors, who will negotiate Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s serpentine chute. The Norton Nationals will be held Saturday, March 5, with the Norton Seeding Races slated for the next day. Start times are 9 AM daily.
In collaboration with West World Media, the official electronic publication provider of U.S. Luge, fans can watch the race action on their computers with multiple live video screens and live results.
Erin Hamlin, 2009 World Champion and two-time Olympian from Remsen, N.Y., will defend her title against fellow national team member and 2002 Olympian Ashley Walden, of Westborough, Mass. They will be joined in the medal chase by juniors Kate Hansen, of La Canada, Calif., and Emily Sweeney, of Suffield, Conn.
Hansen and Sweeney were in the mix a year ago for spots on the 2010 Olympic team. In addition, Sweeney recently delivered the Athlete’s Oath at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid.
Hansen, the 2008 World Junior Champion, was a member of the U.S. junior national team that captured a bronze medal in the team event at the recent 2011 World Junior Championships.
Summer Britcher, of Glen Rock, Pa., the 2011 youth division Junior World Cup overall champion, will also be in the field.
Julia Clukey, of Augusta, Maine, 2010 Olympian, has concluded her season and is preparing for neck surgery in the spring at the hands of Dr. Robert Bray of the D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center in Marina del Rey, Calif. Clukey has battled the problem the entire season.
Chris Mazdzer, of Saranac Lake, N.Y., a 2010 Olympian, will also defend his crown against fellow national team member and five-time Olympian Bengt Walden, of Lake Placid. Three-time Olympian Tony Benshoof, of White Bear Lake, Minn., sidelined himself the entire season to care for his ailing mother.
Trent Matheson, Bountiful, Utah, and Joe Mortensen, of Huntington Station, N.Y., who competed in several World Cup events this season, will be among the challengers for the podium.
Among others in the men’s competition will be Aaron Barge, of Saranac Lake, N.Y.; Taylor Morris, of South Jordan, Utah; Isaac Underwood, of Skandia, Mich.; and Tucker West, of Ridgefield, Conn. West captured a gold medal in Sunday’s Empire State Winter Games.
The doubles races will feature Matt Mortensen, of Huntington Station, N.Y., with sled mate and 2006 Olympian Preston Griffall, of Salt Lake City, Utah. They will be challenged by Shane Hook, of Grapevine, Texas, and Zac Clark, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Juniors Jacob Hyrns, Muskegon, Mich. and Andrew Sherk, Fort Washington, Pa., will go up against their older opponents.
The U.S. team’s top doubles team during the recently-concluded World Cup season has been sidelined the past month and will not race this weekend. Christian Niccum, of Woodinville, Wash., and Jayson Terdiman, of Berwick, Pa., ended their winter as a result of Niccum’s recurring back problems. The duo missed the final two World Cup races.
The 33 year old will undergo surgery on March 7, also with Dr. Bray, at D.I.S.C. The two-time Winter Olympian’s rehabilitation will keep him off the ice until October.
The Norton National Championship awards ceremony will be held Saturday night on Mirror Lake in conjunction with the Rock 105 Adirondack International Toboggan Championships. The event is a USA Luge fundraiser at the town toboggan site.
Other top members of the U.S. luge junior national team will join the veterans on March 5-6. The Norton Junior National Championships are set for March 12-13, while the youth division will race for Norton U.S. crowns March 19-20.
To view the updated website and new logo, visit www.usaluge.org
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Keywords · USA Luge · Lake Placid · NY · Olympic Sports Complex · Norton National Championships and Seeding Races · West World Media · Erin Hamlin · Ashley Walden · Kate Hansen · Emily Sweeney
Name: Gordy Sheer
Organization: USA Luge
Email:
Phone: 15185232071
URL: www.usaluge.org
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