PARK CITY, Utah (Nov. 1, 2016)- Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) and Katie Uhlaender(Breckenridge, Colo.) won their respective races in the third of four USA Skeleton National Team Trials races. Antoine, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, is now three-for-three after winning the first two races in Lake Placid, N.Y. before continuing his streak in Park City, Utah tonight. Three-time Olympian Uhlaender has battled a series of injuries over the last few years and is back to top form after winning the women’s race, giving her a strong bid for the national team after second and third place finishes in Lake Placid.
In this year’s closest men’s team trials race yet, Antoine edged 2015-2016 USA Skeleton Rookie of the Year Nathan Crumpton (Park City, Utah), who has taken second in all three competitions thus far, by just .01 seconds. The first heat ended up as the difference-maker, as Antoine posted a 49.78 downtime to beat out Crumpton’s 49.79. The teammates, both of whom competed on the World Cup circuit last season, finished with identical 50.24 second downtimes in the second and final heat.
“It was definitely a close race, you can’t get much tighter than one-hundredth of a second,” Antoine said. “I was frustrated with my first run, I made a lot of mistakes that I wasn’t doing in training. I tried to clean it up second run and it was a little bit better, but overall I just didn’t feel very strong today. This is a track where racing is always close and Nathan does well here, and he was ready to take it away from me. I was fortunate enough to hang on to it, but I’m hoping to come out strong tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) and Greg West (Springfield, Mo.) were locked in a similarly tight battle for the third-place position. After 0.14 seconds separated the pair after the first heat — West having finished in 50.05 seconds and Tress in 50.19 — West came out on top after his 50.56 second-heat downtime edged Tress’ 50.59.
Alex Ivanov (Carlisle, Mass.) and Kyle Brown (Concord, N.H.) took fifth and sixth with combined downtimes of 1:41.20 and 1:41.27, respectively.
Uhlaender posted the second and first fastest start times of the competition, 5.01 and 5.00 seconds, respectively, to give her a head start on the women’s field. She dominated today’s race with runs of 50.57 and 51.26 seconds to win by a wide margin of 0.82 with a total time of 1:41.83. After finishing fourth at the 2014 Sochi Games, Uhlaender said she feels like she’s healthy and on the right track again.
“I definitely think that after my concussion I struggled to relax on my sled,” Uhlaender said. “I used to come out of the curves, not worry about the exit and have confidence in where I was going and just enjoy the ride, but since my concussion I kept looking, trying to make sure I was OK and I’ve realized that I’m finally getting back to enjoying the ride, not needing to know where I’ll end up and having confidence in the fact that I can handle it. It translates into life as well. I don’t need to know the result, I just need to handle my business right now.
“It’s been a long and hard road back. I’m trying to not take it too seriously, not get too stressed about something I can’t control, it’s all about just enjoying every moment and I think that’s how you go fast on a skeleton sled.”
Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) entered the second half of trials ranked ninth in points, and increased her chances of making the national team with a second place finish today with a combined time of 1:42.65. Henry was fastest off the start, nearly breaking the Park City record in the first heat with a time of 4.95 seconds, and clocked finish times of 51.23 and 51.42 seconds.
Hometown sensation Kendall Wesenberg (Modesto, Calif.) came into Park City ranked fourth, just four points out of third, and continued her bid for the team with a third place tonight. Wesenberg posted runs of 51.22 and 51.70 for a two-run total time of 1:42.92.
Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.) was fourth in 1:43.34. Annie O’Shea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), who already earned her spot on the team after finishing the 2015-2016 season ranked fourth in the world, was fifth today in 1:43.40. Samantha Culiver (Scottsdale, Ariz.) rounded out the top six with a two-run total of 1:43.73.
USA Bobsled National Team Trials will start their second half of trials at 9:30 a.m. MT tomorrow morning, while USA Skeleton National Team Trials will conclude at 6:30 p.m. Please visit USA Bobsled & Skeleton on Facebook for a live feed of the competition.
Results:
Women’s Skeleton
1. Katie Uhlaender 1:41.83 (50.57, 51.26);
2. Megan Henry 1:42.65 (51.23, 51.42);
3. Kendall Wesenberg 1:42.92 (51.22, 51.70);
4. Savannah Graybill 1:43.34 (51.39, 51.95);
5. Annie O’Shea 1:43.40 (51.50, 51.90);
6. Samantha Culiver 1:43.73 (51.93, 51.80);
7. Veronica Day 1:44.02 (51.92, 52.10);
8. Kellie Delka 1:44.27 (52.13, 52.14);
9. Gracie Clapp-Taylor 1:44.32 (51.80, 52.52);
10. Morgan Tracey 1:45.44 (52.32, 53.12);
11. Leslie Stratton 1:46.17 (53.21, 52.96);
12. Megan Dovell 1:46.33 (52.69, 53.64);
13. Katie Andress 1:46.65 (52.74, 53.91);
14. Kelly Curtis 1:47.25 (53.47, 53.78);
15. Rebecca Hass 1:47.40 (53.24, 54.16);
16. Kristen Hurley 1:49.05 (54.89, 54.16)
Men’s Skeleton
1. Matt Antoine 1:40.22 (49.78, 50.24);
2. Nathan Crumpton 1:40.03 (49.79, 50.24);
3. Greg West 1:40.61 (50.05, 50.56);
4. Kyle Tress 1:40.78 (50.19, 50.59);
5. Alex Ivanov 1:41.20 (50.59, 50.61);
6. Kyle Brown 1:41.27 (50.37, 50.90);
7. Andrew Blaser 1:41.38 (50.36, 51.02);
8. Mike Rogals 1:41.45 (50.36, 51.09);
9. Stephen Garbett 1:41.68 (50.78, 50.90);
10. Allen Blackwell 1:41.73 (50.64, 51.09);
11. Austin McCrary 1:41.90 (50.94, 50.96);
12. Jake Miter 1:42.27 (50.57, 51.70);
13. Austin Florian 1:43.37 (51.37, 52.00);
14. Mike Terry 1:43.62 (51.85, 51.77);
15. John Ivy 1:44.25 (52.19, 52.06);
16. Mike Strahler 1:44.44 (52.19, 52.25);
17. Jimmy Nguyen 1:45.05 (52.04, 53.01);
18. Alex Rouse 1:45.29 (53.01, 52.28);
19. Robert Germaine 1:47.11 (53.50, 53.61)
