Antoine and Henry claim U.S. National Skeleton Championship titles
(USBSF PR)
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (March 4, 2012)- Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) and Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) claimed the 2012 U.S. National Skeleton Championship titles in a competitive race for gold at Mt. Van Hoevenberg tonight. Antoine shattered his previous Lake Placid track record by 0.15 seconds to win his second consecutive national title, while Henry posted the fastest times in all four heats to claim her first title in only her second year sliding.
“It’s amazing how far we’ve come in two years,” said Tuffy Latour, U.S. skeleton team head coach. “A special thanks goes out to the Olympic Regional Development Authority and the Utah Olympic Park for their contribution to developing America’s future champions. We had two great days of racing, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what these athletes can do leading up to 2014.”
It’s been a rollercoaster season for Antoine, whose results have varied from World Cup medal performances to 21st place. Antoine was disappointed to cap his international season with a fifth place result in World Championships, but he was pleased to conclude the year as the top ranked U.S. slider.
“I came into this race really wanting to do well, so I’m happy to win,” Antoine said. “I was really disappointed with my result in World Championships last weekend, so I decided to test some new runners this week with the mentality of win or lose trying. I’m excited that it worked out. I’m going to keep working on things, keep building, and I’m going to take a lot of lessons from this up and down season.”
Antoine set the pace tonight after cruising to the finish in 53.53 seconds to break the record he set in last season’s national championship race en route to winning the 2011 title. With the gold medal already pocketed, Antoine slid a second run of 54.36 seconds to finalize his win with a four-run combined total of 3:36.15.
“Knowing that I am the top guy in the U.S. gives me motivation going into next season,” Antoine said. “I’m looking forward to some down time mentally and physically. Even though I broke the record, I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. I plan on carrying this momentum into next year and I’m already looking forward to next season.”
John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) trailed by 1.02 seconds with a total time of 3:37.17 to claim silver. Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) laid down the fastest run of the final heat to solidify a bronze medal finish with a cumulative time of 3:38.13.
Henry dominated the women’s competition by posting the fastest start and finish times in all four heats. The sophomore slider clocked runs of 56.09 and 56.37 seconds to extend her lead to 0.67 second, and Henry’s total time of 3:46.06 earned her the 2012 title.
“It feels pretty awesome,” Henry said. “Knowing that the World Cup women wouldn’t be racing, I knew this was anybody’s title to take,” Henry said. “I knew anything was possible and that the title was up for grabs, so I went for it.”
Henry started the sport just a little over a year ago and spent this season learning tracks around the world while competing in America’s Cup and Europa Cup races. She capped her first year of sliding by finishing last in the race for the 2011 title, but reversed the standings after one season of experience to win the 2012 title. The emerging athlete was also crowned push champion this fall, and has proved she is a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. program.
“I’ve come a long way since push championships and this season has been a tremendous learning lesson for me,” Henry said. “I had some great experiences in Europe and spent a chunk of time training in Park City, and I’m just really happy I was able to pull from what I learned to win today. This was a huge confidence booster and I want to hold onto this feeling for as long as I can and use it as fire going into next season.”
National team athlete Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.) tied Henry’s third run to move up into silver medal position with a total time of 3:46.73. Meghan Sullivan (Bluemont, Va.) posted the third best times of the evening to pocket the bronze medal with an aggregate time of 3:47.66. Lauren Salter (Idyllwild, Calif.) was in second place going into the finals, but a mistake in the last run bumped her into fourth place.
“It’s been an amazing season watching our veterans succeed and our development athletes step up to start making their mark in the U.S. skeleton program,” said Brian McDonald, U.S. Intercontinental Cup coach. “The fact that one of our development athletes is now the U.S. National Champion is proof that our program is moving in the right direction. I feel blessed to play a role in their development and future successes.”
There’s just one race remaining before the 2011-2012 sliding season officially concludes. The America’s Cup finale will take place in Lake Placid from March 29 through April 1, where many U.S. development athletes will get their chance to compete for gold on the international circuit.
For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at abird@usbsf.com, or at (518) 354-2250.
Results:
Women’s Skeleton
1. Megan Henry 3:46.06 (56.62, 56.98, 56.09, 56.37); 2. Savannah Graybill 3:46.73 (56.65, 57.22, 56.09, 56.77); 3. Meghan Sullivan 3:47.66 (56.89, 57.30, 56.50, 56.97); 4. Lauren Salter 3:47.72 (56.86, 56.98, 56.50, 57.38); 5. Lauri Bausch 3:48.45 (57.20, 57.32, 56.83, 57.10); 6. Sherri Emery 3:48.60 (56.95, 57.64, 56.81, 57.20); 7. Veronica Day 3:49.07 (57.48, 57.27, 57.18, 57.14); 8. Joy Bryant 3:49.72 (57.26, 57.72, 57.26, 57.48); 9. Blair Tomten 3:49.85 (57.39, 57.57, 57.10, 57.79); 10. Caitlin Carter 3:50.02 (57.34, 57.58, 57.00, 58.10); 11. Samantha Culiver 3:51.01 (57.44, 58.15, 57.72, 57.70); 12. Kristina Hull 3:51.55 (57.72, 58.41, 57.71, 57.71); 13. Corinne Dipietro 3:52.48 (58.05, 58.84, 57.41, 58.18); 14. Morgan Tracey 3:53.05 (57.31, 59.53, 57.84, 58.37); 15. Adrienne Clark 3:53.52 (58.63, 58.57, 57.85, 58.47); 16. Kellie Delka 3:53.71 (58.70, 58.83, 57.91, 58.27); 17. Gracie Clapp 3:54.03 (58.44, 58.96, 57.77, 58.86); 18. Andia Winslow (DSQ);
