Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com

U.S. wins 16 medals in Park City North American Cup

PARK CITY, Utah (Nov. 12, 2012)- The U.S. North American Cup team collected 16 medals on the 2002 Olympic track at the Utah Olympic Park.  Double races in each discipline were held from Nov. 7-10, and the U.S. medaled in every event. 

Former World Champion Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah) swept the women’s skeleton races, and is just two competitions away from qualifying to compete on the World Cup circuit based on international federation requirements. 

“It was awesome to see the U.S. flag raised and our national anthem played for both the women and the men,” Pikus-Pace said.  “It is great to see the strength and depth in our sport.  The coaches have done an amazing job bringing depth into our program.”

Pikus-Pace clocked a total time of 1:41.04 to finish a whopping 1.29 seconds ahead of second place finisher Melissa Hoar from Australia in the first race.  Pikus-Pace posted her personal best push time, 5.09, and slid to the finish with her fastest time yet on the Park City track, 50.49 seconds.  Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.) earned her first medal after finishing third.

Hoar inched closer to Pikus-Pace in the second race, but the U.S. Olympian still ran away with the win after clocking a combined time of 1:41.72 for a lead of 0.77 seconds.  Elisabeth Vathja from Canada was third. 

 “I’m looking forward to racing on foreign soil in Calgary, Canada next week and representing the United States,” Pikus-Pace said.  “I couldn’t be here or do this without the support that my family has had along the way, and I’m so excited they get to travel with me while I compete.”

Ryan Sweeney (Whitehall, N.Y.) shocked the field by racing to the lead in the first men’s competition to earn the fourth medal for the skeleton team. Sweeney was in third after the first run, but he threw down the fastest run of the competition to nab gold by 0.19 seconds with a total time of 1:40.41.  Canadians John Worden and Patrick Rooney were second and third, respectively. 

“I surprised myself in the first race,” Sweeney said.  “I had a good down time and was in good position, and my second run was a personal best push and finish time.  I was nervous watching the last two sliders come down and couldn’t believe I won.  I was excited, but had to try and stay focused on the second race.”

The Canadians swept the men’s race the second day.  Worden took the lead, followed by Greg Rafter and Barrett Martineau.  Sweeney finished outside of the medals in fifth. 

“The second race I made a mistake which put me back, but the field was close after the first heat,” Sweeney said.  “My second run was a lot better, and I was able to move up into fifth.  It was really a tight competition, and I’m happy with my finishes.”

Bree Schaaf (Bremerton, Wash.) teamed with Kristi Koplin (Cedar City, Utah) to sweep the women’s bobsled races.  Schaaf is competing on the North American circuit to gain strength following hip surgery before making her bid for the national team.  The duo dominated by 0.80 seconds with a combined time of 1:41.10 the first day, and was nearly one second ahead of the field in the final competition with a total time of 1:41.38. 

Megan Hill (Woodstock, Ga.) teamed with Olympic silver medal heptathlete Hyleas Fountain (Harrisburgh, Pa.) in the first race and Maureen Ajoku (San Jose, Calif.) in the second race to earn double bronze medals.  British pilot Mica McNielle teamed with Frances Slater and Amy Hill for second place both days.   

Pilot Codie Bascue (Whitehall, N.Y.) dominated the first stop on tour by sweeping the men’s two-man and four-man bobsled races.  Chris Langton (Melrose, Mass.), brother of world champion Steve Langton, pushed Bascue to gold with a 0.72 lead in the first two-man race.  The pair posted a total time of 1:38.70 to gain momentum for the remainder of the weekend.  Bascue teamed with Jordan Quam (Minneapolis, Minn.) for a two-run total of 1:38.65 the second day to finish exactly one second ahead of the competition.

Jay Noller (San Antonio, Texas) and Thomas White (Dallas, Texas) added silver to the total count in the first two-man race.  Heath Spence and Duncan Harvey from Australia were 0.80 seconds off the pace for third the first day, but moved into second in the final two-man event.  Michael Klingler and Bruno Meyerhans from Liechtenstein claimed bronze the second day to bump Noller out of the medals. 

Bascue continued his lead in the four-man races.  His crew of Quam, Langton and Sam Michener (Sioux Falls, S.D.) pushed the fastest starts of the race to help Bascue lead by 0.84 seconds with a total time of 1:41.95.  The team clocked a two-run total of 1:39.52 to extend their lead to 1.19 seconds in the second competition.

“It’s been such a great week out here in Park City,” Bascue said.  “I am very pleased with how my team and I competed.  I had very high expectations, but to come to Utah and sweep gold in both two and four-man was never an expectation.”

Noller teamed with Jim Carriel (Park City, Utah), Caleb Pelger (Cleveland, Ohio) and White to finish second in the first race.  Japanese pilot Hiroshi Suzuki raced to third with his crew of Yoshinori Kikuchi, Ryuichi Kobayashi and Toshiki Kuroiwa.

Jake Peterson (Princeton, Minn.) teamed with Nathan Weber (Pueblo West, Colo.), Micahel McCarty (Hudson, Ohio) and Harry Lightsey (Kiawah Island, S.C.) to earn silver in the second race with a total time of 1:40.71.  Noller partnered with Carriel, Pelger and Adrien Adams (Greensboro, N.C.) to trail Peterson’s crew by just 0.01 second for bronze.

The team is now in Calgary, Canada for the second North American Cup stop of the season.  Races will take place from Nov. 15-17.

“This week has been by far greater than I could have ever wished for, and definitely one of the greatest weeks of my life,” Bascue said.  “I am looking forward to going to Calgary and seeing what my team and I can do there.”

Please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director, at abird@usbsf.com or 518-354-2250 with media inquiries.

Results:

Women’s skeleton race #1:

1. Noelle Pikus-Pace (USA) 1:41.04 (50.55, 50.49); 2. Melissa Hoar (AUS) 1:42.33 (51.19, 51.14); 3. Savannah Graybill (USA) 1:42.73 (51.43, 51.30);…8. Meghan Sullian (USA) 1:44.07 (52.19, 51.88);…10. Samantha Culiver (USA) 1:44.52 (52.05, 52.47);

Women’s skeleton race #2:

1. Noelle Pikus-Pace (USA) 1:41.72 (50.83, 50.89); 2. Melissa Hoar (AUS) 1:42.49 (51.00, 51.49); 3. Elisabeth Vathje (CAN) 1:42.91 (51.16, 51.75); 4, Savannah Graybill (USA) 1:42.94 (51.33, 51.61);…9. Meghan Sullivan (USA) 1:44.95 (52.86, 52.09);…11. Veronica Day (USA) 1:46.11 (52.82, 53.29);

Men’s skeleton race #1:

1. Ryan Sweeney (USA) 1:40.41 (50.34, 50.07); 2. John Worden (CAN) 1:40.60 (50.21, 50.39); 3. Patrick Rooney (CAN) 1:40.91 (50.49, 50.42);…7. Mitch Danbe (USA) 1:41.65 (50.98, 50.67);…9. Derek Pirtle (USA) 1:42.27 (51.18, 51.09);…11. Austin McCrary (USA) 1:42.30 (50.29, 52.01);…9. Austin McCrary (USA) 1:41.85 (51.29, 50.56);..11. Nathan Crumpton (USA) 1:42.85 (51.42, 51.43);

Men’s skeleton race #2:

1. John Worden (CAN) 1:40.75 (50.30, 50.45); 2. Greg Rafter (CAN) 1:40.93 (50.07, 50.86); 3. Barrett Martineau (CAN) 1:41.13 (50.69, 60.44);…5. Ryan Sweeney (USA) 1:41.47 (50.86, 50.61); 6. Derek Pirtle (USA) 1:41.52 (50.42, 51.10);

Women’s bobsled race #1:

1. Bree Schaaf and Kristi Koplin (USA) 1:41.10 (50.30, 50.80); 2. Mica McNeill and Frances Slater (GBR) 1:41.90 (50.83, 51.07); 3. Megan Hill and Hyleas Fountain (USA) 1:42.81 (51.15, 51.66); 4. Katelyn Kelly and Tracey Stewart (USA) 1:42.84 (51.05, 51.79); 5. Berit Tomten and Brittany Reinbolt (USA) 1:43.45 (51.75, 51.70);

Women’s bobsled race #2:

1. Bree Schaaf and Kristi Koplin (USA) 1:41.38 (50.70, 50.68); 2. Mica McNeill and Amy hill (GBR) 1:42.34 (50.98, 51.36); 3. Megan Hill and Maureen Ajoku (USA) 1:42.85 (51.45, 51.40); 4. Berit Tomten and Sineaid Corley (USA) 1:43.76 (51.79, 51.97); 5. Katelyn Kelly and Ida Bernstein (USA) 1:44.44 (52.16, 52.28);

Men’s two-man bobsled race #1:

1. Codie Bascue and Chris Langton (USA) 1:38.70 (49.28, 49.42); 2. Jay Noller and Thomas White (USA) 1:39.42 (49.66, 49.76); 3. Heath Spence and Duncan Harvey (AUS) 1:39.50 (49.72, 49.78);…5. Jake Peterson and Samuel Michener (USA) 1:39.99 (49.75, 50.24);…8. Colin Coughlin and Adrian Adams (USA) 1:40.58 (50.12, 50.46);

Men’s two-man bobsled race #2:

1. Codie Bascue and Jordan Quam (USA) 1:38.65 (49.20, 49.45); 2. Heath Spence and Duncan Harvey (AUS) 1:39.65 (49.78, 49.87); 3. Michael Klinger and Bruno Meyerhans (LIE) 1:40.05 (49.83, 50.22); 4. Jay Noller and Caleb Pelger (USA) 1:40.06 (49.91, 50.15); 5. Jake Peterson and Dakarai Kongela (USA) 1:40.08 (50.10, 49.98);…7. Colin Coughlin and Nathan Weber (USA) 1:40.64 (50.38, 50.26);

Men’s four-man bobsled race #1:

1. Bascue, Quam, Langton and Michener (USA) 1:41.95 (51.34, 50.61); 2. Noller, Carriel, Pelger and White (USA) 1:42.79 (51.75, 51.04); 3. Suzuki, Kikuchi, Kobayashi and Kuroiwa (JPN) 1:43.30 (52.12, 51.18);

Men’s four-man bobsled race #2:

1. Bascue, Quam, Langton and Michener (USA) 1:39.52 (49.42, 50.10); 2. Peterson, Weber, McCarty and Lightsey (USA) 1:40.71 (50.30, 50.41); 3. Noller, Carriel, Pelger and Adams (USA) 1:40.72 (50.17, 50.55);

About the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, United States National Guard, Kampgrounds of America, WIDIA, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Azad Watches, Latta Kefir, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Autism Speaks, Park City Lodging, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.

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