Emily Sweeney and Chris Mazdzer win second race-off

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. ---17 year-old Junior National Team athlete Emily Sweeney upset the women's field at today's, October 23, USA Luge team qualifying race, the second in a series of four races used to determine the make-up of the fall 2009 World Cup team. Chris Mazdzer won the men's race, as he did in the first race-off on October 21. The competition format totals the two lowest times out of three runs taken. Results can be found at http://www.usaluge.org/team/Fall09WCQual2.pdf, while audio clips of the winners can be found at http://www.usaluge.org/team/MazdzerSweeneyRace2.mp3

Sweeney (Suffield, Conn.), who finished last in seeding race #1, jumped to the top of the results sheet with a time of one minute, 29.446 after two runs. Junior National Team athletes continued to dominate in the women's division, with 2008 Junior World Champion Kate Hansen (La Canada, Calif.) taking second in 1:29.460. 2002 Olympian Ashley Walden (Westborough, Mass. and Lake Placid, N.Y.) was third in 1:29.548. Walden lead the points chase with 165, while Emily Sweeney sits in second with 135 and Hansen in third with 123. Stacey Young (Merrick, N.Y), with the lowest amount of points, will not advance to the next race-off. 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.

2007 National Champion Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) took his second win in a row with a total time of 1:46.381. 2009 Norton National Championship silver medalist Trent Matheson (Bountiful, Utah) was second with 1:46.645. 2009 Norton U.S. National Championship silver medalist Robby Huerbin (Pittsburgh, Pa.) clocked a 1:46.871 to finish third. Mazdzer leads the race series with 200 points, while Matheson is second with 160. Huerbin and Joe Mortensen (Huntington Station, N.Y) tied with 118 points, but Huerbin advances to the next race-off using the fastest run of the series as the tie-breaker. 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 series will resume in Park City, Utah on November 6, at which point the team will be paired down further. 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 .

The current standings chart and qualification flow can be found at http://www.usaluge.org/team/2010(Fall2009)NationalTeamRaceOff.pdf

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