LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- What's in a number? If you pose that question to USA Luge's Kate Hansen (La Cañada) she just may say wins. Starting from the same race position, eighth, where just over a month ago she became the youngest-ever U.S. junior luge world champion, the 15-year-old blasted past a 21-sled field and claimed Friday's, March 11, Verizon U.S. Junior (to age 20) women's singles national title.
"I have many superstitions... I have certain shoes that I wear on race day. There are many superstitions between Lea (Vanderlinden) and me especially," Hansen noted. "It was kind of weird when I saw that I was eighth off, it was like déjà vu."
Superstitions and luck probably have nothing to do with Hansen's success on the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic sports complex track, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Racing on the same course where she won her World title, Hansen clocked two first-place runs and finished more than a full second in front of the rest of the field.
"It's just so nice to finish out the season with how everything worked out, I'm so proud of the season, I've done so well," stated Hansen, who raced to a total time of one minute, 29.538 seconds. "I'm usually pretty confident when I go down, but this isn't even my home track, Salt Lake (Utah) is. I've just slid here so much and I've crashed here so many times, I just know the track... it's just worked out, I'm so grateful."
Lea Vanderlinden (Park City, Utah), the 2008 youth A (to age 17) women's singles World Cup silver medalist, slid to Friday's second-place result and a combined time of 1:30.907, while Anastasia Young (Merrick, N.Y.) was third. Young, the 2008 junior women's singles overall World Cup bronze medalist, finished in 1:30.918.
While Hansen won the U.S. women's singles crown, Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) capped off his junior career with two more U.S. luge titles. The 19-year-old successfully defended his men's singles crown, before teaming with Jayson Terdiman (Berwick, Pa.) to win their second consecutive doubles title.
"You can't really look back and sum up seven years, but it's been a good progression to this point," Mazdzer said. "I've definitely accomplished a lot of the goals that I wanted to, but not every one... overall I'm happy with how well I've done." (Listen to Audio)
Mazdzer, who will be a part of next season's senior team, won his third consecutive men's singles crown after clocking a two-heat time of 1:42.280, only .054-seconds ahead of Robby Huerbin, who slid to silver in 1:42.334. Terdiman came away with the bronze medal and clocked a cumulative time of 1:43.287.
In the doubles race, Mazdzer and Terdiman, the 2008 junior world championship silver medalists, outraced the sleds of Addison Dailey (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Zac Clark (Salt Lake City, Utah), and Caleb Underwood (Skandia, Mich.) and David Chang (Kailua Kona, Hawaii.), who were second and third, respectively. Mazdzer and Terdiman finished their two race runs in 1:29.987, more than seven-tenths of a second in front of Dailey and Clark, who slid to a combined time of 1:30.785, en route to the silver medal. Underwood and Chang stopped the clock in a time of 1:31.005 and took home the bronze medal.
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