Ashley Walden and Chris Mazdzer win first race-off

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- Ashley Walden and Chris Mazdzer emerged as winners in today's, October 21, USA Luge team qualifying race. The race, used to determine the make-up of the fall 2009 World Cup team, was the first in a series of four qualifying competitions to be held over the next 17 days. The competition format totals the two lowest times out of three runs taken. Results can be found at http://www.usaluge.org/team/09Raceoff1.pdf .

2002 Olympian Ashley Walden (Westborough, Mass. and Lake Placid, N.Y.) clocked a total time of one minute, 30.397 on runs one and two. 2009 Norton U.S. National Championship bronze medalist Megan Sweeney (Suffield, Conn.) took second in 1:30.481, while 2006 Olympic fourth-place finisher Courtney Zablocki (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was third with 1:30.610. Erin Hamlin (Remsen, N.Y.) and Julia Clukey (Augusta, Maine) are exempt from the race-off series based on their respective World and National Championship performances from the prior season.

In men's competition, 2007 National Champion Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) won convincingly with a time of 1:47.244 posted after combining the time from his first two runs. 2009 Norton National Championship silver medalist Trent Matheson (Bountiful, Utah) was second after covering the one-mile luge track twice in 1:47.638. 2007 National Championship bronze medalist Joe Mortensen (Huntington Station, N.Y.) was third in 1:47.812. Bengt Walden (Westborough, Mass. and Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Tony Benshoof (White Bear Lake, Minn.) are exempt from the race-off series based on their respective World and National Championship performances from the prior season.

The doubles teams for the upcoming World Cup series are already selected and did not compete today. They are: Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich. and Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif. and Lake Placid, N.Y.), Christian Niccum (Woodinville, Wash.) and Dan Joye (Carmel, N.Y.) and Matt Mortensen (Huntington Station, N.Y) and Preston Griffall (Salt Lake City, Utah).

 The race-off's will resume in Lake Placid on Friday, October 23. Following the two races and the first round of cuts, the race-off series will move out to Park City, Utah, where the team will be pared down again following a November 6 race-off. The final cuts will be made on November 15, during a week of international training in Whistler, Canada.

In the end, USA Luge's fall 2009 team will feature 15 athletes (four in men's singles, five in women's singles and three doubles teams). These 15 athletes will then use the four pre-Christmas World Cup events as qualifiers for the 2010 Olympic team. Athletes who miss making the squad will have the option of training in Lake Placid for the bulk of the remaining fall, winter and spring sliding season.

For more on the USA Luge National Team selection race-off series, visit http://usaluge.org/team/RaceOffFormat0910Final%20(4).pdf .

For more on the USA Luge Olympic qualifying procedure, visit http://www.usaluge.org/team/WOG%202010%20FlowChart1%200.pdf