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Juniors end luge season at national championships in LP

LAKE PLACID — The two-day Norton USA Luge Junior National Championships at Mount Van Hoevenberg concluded Sunday exactly the way they began on Saturday, with singles athletes Sophie Kirkby and Matt Greiner, and the doubles team of Dana Kellogg/Duncan Segger, racing away with their respective 2020 national championships. All three sleds swept the weekend races by comfortable margins.

There were three events in two days with separate seeding races daily.

The singles divisions then combined their four heats over the entire weekend to determine the 2020 winners. In doubles, only Sunday’s event counted toward the Norton title. USA Luge created the formats to mirror the Olympic competitions where singles are contested with four legs over two days, while doubles are a one-day, two-heat affair.

Kirkby, of Ray Brook, registered the best individual times in each of the first three heats on her way to a four-run aggregate of 3 minutes, 0.851 seconds and her first junior national trophy. Kirkby also collected the 200 seeding race points as well.

Chevonne Forgan, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, who got a taste of World Cup action several weeks ago and is a graduating junior, was next in 3:01.389. Forgan’s total included the best single heat of the weekend when she raced the Mount Van Hoevenberg track in 44.691 on her final run as a junior.

Elana Morrison, of Muskegon, Michigan, took the bronze medal in 3:02.633.

“It feels great to win,” exclaimed Kirkby. “The runs were not bad. I did have some rough edges in that final run (Sunday), but overall I pulled it through.”

Greiner, of Park City, Utah, and a participant in the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, opened the four-heat event on Saturday with a second-place run, and then went on a tear over the last three legs. Greiner posted the best individual times in those final three attempts on his way to a winning 3:25.446 coming off start number two at the Olympic Sports Complex.

“I’m very proud of myself and happy with how I performed,” smiled Greiner. “Last week was a bit of a disappointment, so to come in here junior week and perform to the best of my ability, it felt super good.

“After day one, I thought it might be a bit of a fluke. It was super hard ice, but I really showed my consistency and my skill on this track. It’s awesome to come out here and show them who’s boss.”

Zack DiGregorio, of Medway, Massachusetts, was next in 3:35.753 with four consistent runs that were ranked either second or third fastest throughout the event. Lake Placid’s Sean Hollander gave up ground in the first leg, with a ninth-place run, but he rallied with three steady top three runs and took the bronze medal in 3:26.755.

Both DiGregorio and Hollander saw World Cup duty in the closing weeks of the season. Hollander has aged out of juniors and will move up to the national team next season.

After three starts in the World Cup over the second half of the winter, the doubles team of Kellogg, of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and Segger of Lake Placid, returned to their home track and raced to their second Norton Junior National crown. As this was also their graduation weekend, Kellogg and Segger could not take the seeding points, but they gladly accepted the Norton national victory. The winners clocked 2:59.326 racing from the World Cup start height.

“It felt really good out there,” Kellogg said. “The ice was nice and hard again today — nice fast ice, really good racing conditions.”

Hollander and Michael O’Gara, of La Crescenta, California, picked up the silver medal in 3:02.130. Maya Chan of Chicago and Whitesboro’s Reannyn Weiler in slid to the bronze in 3:05.024.

The pair finished fourth at the Youth Olympic Games at St. Moritz in January, and are among the many hopeful women’s doubles teams looking to compete when this new discipline will be added to the slate at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.

The doubles national race was the first in several years because there were enough teams entered to make it an official championship event.

“It’s super nice to have a race at the end of the year,” Segger said. “You don’t really have much to work towards unless you can get a race in junior nationals, so it’s nice to see so many doubles teams coming out.”

The team of Sam Day, of Wantagh, and Sam Eckert of Wilmington, who placed eighth at the Youth Olympic Games, did not enter as Day is nursing a foot injury.

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