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Lake Placid junior lugers earn top 10s

OBERHOF, Germany — USA Luge ended the Junior World Championships on Saturday in warm and windy Oberhof with a fourth-place result in the team competition, while doubles teams Sean Hollander and Michael O’Gara took sixth, Dana Kellogg with Duncan Segger were eighth, and Maya Chan and Reannyn Weiler placed 18th.

The United States team entry of singles athletes Chevonne Forgan and Zack DiGregorio, along with Kellogg/Segger finished off the podium by 0.4 seconds. Germany took the gold medal, led by singles Junior World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Moritz Bollman, with doubles silver medal winners Max Ewald and Jakob Jannusch. They held off Latvia by 0.12 of a second, while Russia won the bronze medal.

In a field of 12 teams, USA Luge turned in three consistent slides with Forgan, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and DiGregorio, of Medway, Massachusetts, each ranking third in their respective divisions. Kellogg, of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and Segger, of Lake Placid, turned in the fourth best doubles run.

Hollander, of Lake Placid, and O’Gara, of La Crescenta, California, reeled off the second fastest final doubles heat to improve from ninth to sixth in a race were Russia grabbed gold and bronze medals. Dimitry Buchnev and Daniil Kilseev raced to the title in 1 minute, 17.619 seconds on the short Oberhof layout.

Kellogg and Segger, meanwhile, recorded the third fastest opening heat time, but slipped in the second run to wind up eighth. Chan, of Chicago, and Weiler, of Whitesboro, who were fourth at the Youth Olympic Games, clocked 1:20.368.

The event in Oberhof marked the end of the international competition season for the younger athletes. The American squad is headed to Lake Placid to conclude its season with the Norton Youth National Championships Feb. 29 to March 1, followed by the Norton Junior National Championships March 7-8.

US Luge Foundation member passes away

LAKE PLACID — USA Luge was saddened to learn Monday of the passing of US Luge Foundation board member Richard M. Cummins. He passed peacefully on Feb. 21 surrounded by his adoring family.

Cummins is survived by his loving wife, Jacqueline, along with his children, Dan and Leslie Cummins, Tim and Tara Cummins, Mary and Jeffrey Caty, and Sarah Cummins, along with 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter, Catherine Hutchings, his parents, Dewey and Dorothy and his four brothers, Bob, Billy, Jim and Jack.

Dick Cummins was a pioneering member of the U.S. Luge Foundation, the investment arm of USA Luge. He helped oversee funds that were dispensed for the team’s training and competition needs. He was recruited to serve by foundation member Paul Covill, a ranking executive with New York Telephone Co./NYNEX.

Residing in Chappaqua, Cummins was a partner for 20 years in the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand.

He was also a long-tenured and highly regarded member of Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough. His membership dated back to 1978; Mr. Cummins served as club president in 2001 and 2002.

Family and friends may pay their respects on Thursday, Feb. 27, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Beecher Flooks Funeral Home in Pleasantville. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne.

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