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Castillo claims first overall IBSF Para-Sport World Cup

LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY — Guillermo “Will” Castillo, of Orlando, Florida, made history this weekend by becoming the first U.S. Parabob athlete to win the overall IBSF Para-Sport World Cup.

Castillo collected 1,220 points in the six World Cup races to finish first place overall. His teammates followed suite, with every single one of the U.S. para bobsled competitors finished within the top 10. Bob Balk finished in fourth place, Austin Parker placed sixth and David Christopher was ninth. The season concluded with a two-day World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway this past weekend.

“What an incredible season, I am a product of all the great people around me.” Castillo said in a statement.

On the first day of racing, Castillo finished fourth with a time of 1 minute, 52.78 seconds. Balk was fifth with a time of 1:52.80, Parker finished in eighth in 1:53.64 and Christopher was ninth with a time of 1:54.60.

Balk finished as the top American on Sunday, placing fourth with a time of 1:52.93. Castillo finished in sixth in 1:53.17, while Parker (1:53.21) and Christopher (1:53.91) finished in eighth and ninth, respectively.

Team USA’s Hallie Clarke capped off an exceptional sliding season by finishing second in women’s skeleton at the IBSF World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria this weekend. The 18-year-old claimed the silver medal in a time of 1:46.63.

“It feels great to end my World Cup debut season the same way I started it.” Clarke said. “Finishing strong with another silver medal was really exciting and I’m looking forward to what is to come.”

Kelly Curtis placed 13th this weekend with her 1:47.07 finish and Kendall Wesenberg finished 18th with in 1:47.70. In men’s skeleton, Austin Florian was 13th in a time of 1:44.36 and Andrew Blaser was 16th in 1:44.64.

Kaillie Humphries gave a formidable performance this weekend, earning fourth place in women’s monobob with a time of 1:49.45. Humphries remains the overall leader in points for monobob in the IBSF rankings. Team USA’s Nicole Vogt placed 11th in monobob with a time of 1:51.59 while Riley Compton was 14th in 1:51.94.

In two-woman bobsled, Humphries, along with teammate Kaysha Love placed fourth with a time of 1:45.31. Humphries and Love earned the title of fastest start in the two-woman event with a start time of 5.52.

The team of Vogt and Jasmine Jones was 10th in 1:46.56 while Compton and Emily Renna finished in 11th in 1:47.46.

The World Cup in Innsbruck this weekend featured back-to-back days of four-man bobsled races. Saturday’s race brought an 18th-place finish for Geoffrey Gadbois, Carsten Vissering, Freddie Harris and Paul Rabic and a disqualification for the team of Frankie Del Duca, Manteo Mitchell, Martin Christofferson and Adrian Adams after their sled was determined to be overweight.

Team Del Duca had a much better finish on Sunday, earning an eighth place in 1:41.06. Team Gadbois finished in 17th place with a time of 1:42.28.

The IBSF World Cup will continue on Feb. 17 in Sigulda, Latvia.

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