PARK CITY,
UTAH (January 23, 2020) USA Bobsled athletes claimed 16 of 18
available medals in the two-woman and four-man bobsled North American Cup races
in Park City this week, bringing the total number of medals to 29 for U.S.
bobsledders. Bobsled pilots Nicole Vogt (Dallas, Texas, shown left)
and Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) led the medal haul, each
sweeping their respective disciplines. USA Skeleton athletes will get their
chance to contribute to the Park City medal count with races from January
26-28.
Photo courtesy of
Amanda Bird
Marketing and Communications Director
USA Bobsled & Skeleton
“A huge thanks to the Utah Olympic Park track crew for the fast ice,” Vogt said. “I was able to dial some things in and hit new personal bests in both top speeds and downtimes. Thank you to all of the people helping behind the scenes who made sliding possible. We’re looking forward to more races on home ice in Lake Placid and hope to keep the momentum going for Team USA.”
Kaysha Love (Herriman, Utah), a track and field standout from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, pushed Vogt to her first victory on Thursday. Vogt and Love posted push times of 5.48 and 5.49 seconds for the fastest downtimes of 49.55 and 49.72 seconds, respectively. Vogt claimed her first gold medal with a total time of 1:39.27, finishing 4.44 seconds ahead of the field.
“I was so excited to get to two-woman this week,” said Vogt, who raced women’s monobob for the first time last week. “The first run back in my sled felt like coming home.”
Brittany Reinbolt (Searcy, Ark.) and Colleen Fotsch (Scottsdale, Ariz.) earned the silver medal with a combined time of 1:43.71. The duo clocked a start time of 5.43 seconds in both heats, fastest of the competition. Reinbolt and Fotsch were just 0.04 seconds behind Vogt and Love after the first heat and were on pace to challenge their teammates for the lead in the second run, but they crashed before the finish.
Carrie Russell and Sasha Jones from Jamaica rallied for the bronze medal with a two-run total of 1:45.22. Riley Compton (Carmel, Ind.), a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and George Washington softball alumna, teamed with Emma Baumert (Woodstock, Ill.), a graduate student at Northern Illinois University, to finish fourth in 1:45.65.
The U.S. women swept the medals on day two. Vogt again led the field, winning with Kesley Kiel (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) in 1:40.60. The pair clocked the second fastest start times of 5.62 and 5.66 for the fastest runs of 50.13 and 50.47, and won by 0.36 seconds.
Reinbolt teamed with Love for the fastest start times of 5.46 and 5.52 seconds, and earned the silver medal in 1:40.96. Compton and Baumert completed the U.S. sweep of the medals by finishing third with a combined time of 1:45.22.
Vogt teamed with Fotsch in the final women’s race today, winning by 0.27 seconds with a total time of 1:42.94 after sliding runs of 51.92 and 51.02 seconds. Reinbolt and Kiel claimed the silver medal in 1:43.21
Russell and Jones rallied back in the finale to earn another bronze medal. The pair finished third with a two-run total of 1:48.75, followed by Compton and Baumert in fourth with a 1:50.81.
Many of the women’s athletes racing made their international debut this week thanks to a strong recruiting effort over the offseason.
“We had new teammates getting their first race experience, and it’s been so fun to see them learn and get better every day,” Vogt said. “These ladies have been champions on and off the ice the past two weeks.”
U.S. athletes swept the podium in all three four-man bobsled races, led by Church and his push crew of Charlie Volker (Fair Haven, N.J.), Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.), and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor (Powhatan, Va.). Team Church was dominant from start to finish on Thursday, earning their first victory with a combined time of 1:35.27. The crew posted start times of 4.91 and 4.92 seconds for runs of 47.44 and 47.83 seconds, respectively.
“This week was another good week of testing and gaining comfort on the track,” Church said. “I’m happy with how the guys performed.”
Sam Moeller (San Antonio, Texas) teamed with Mike Fogt (Alpine, Utah), Chris Walsh (Pittsboro, N.C.), and Alex Mustard (Missoula, Mont.) for a silver medal performance. The team raced to the finish in 48.04 and 48.31 seconds for a combined time of 1:36.35.
Tyler Hickey (Geneva, Ill.), Chase Blueberg (Carson City, Nev.), David Simon (San Antonio, Texas), and Jamil Muhammad-Ray (Charlotte, N.C.) completed the first day’s medal sweep with a total time of 1:36.36 to finish third. Frank Del Duca (Bethel, Me.), Alan Cohen (Carson City, Nev.), Dakota Lynch (Boise, Idaho), Manteo Mitchell (Shelby, N.C.) were close behind in fourth with a two-run total of 1:36.65.
Church, Volker, Williamson and Abdul Saboor won by nearly one second on Friday with a combined time of 1:36.17, again dominating the competition from start to finish. Hickey, Blueberg, Simon and Muhammed-Ray rallied for the silver medal with a combined time of 1:37.16, while Moeller, Fogt, Walsh and Mustard rounded out the medals in third with a cumulative time of 1:37.21. Del Duca, Cohen, Lynch and Mitchell were fourth in 1:37.87.
Saturday’s final race echoed Friday’s results. Church, Volker, Williamson and Abdul Saboor were the fastest team from start to finish, and collected their final gold medal of the event with an aggregate time of 1:37.20. Team Hickey earned the silver medal in 1:38.12, followed by Team Moeller in third with a total time of 1:38.18. Del Duca, Cohen and Mitchell were joined by Jordan Adel Ahmad (Dallas, Texas) in the final race. The team finished fourth in 1:39.27.
“Believe it or not these are my first medals on this track,” Church said. “I’m so happy to show growth and continue progressing in the right direction for team trials in March. Now it’s time to head home and have some more great racing in Lake Placid!”
Skeleton competitions from January 26-28 will close out the Park City North American Cup event, while the bobsled athletes will travel to Lake Placid, N.Y. to begin the second event of the series.
