PARK CITY, Utah — Michelle Toukan and Lauren McDonald each earned a bronze medal for USA Skeleton in the Park City North American Cup on Monday. With only Park City and Lake Placid hosting North American Cup races this season, a series of three skeleton competitions were held on the 2002 Olympic track. Two one-heat races were held Monday, and one two-heat competition was held Tuesday. 

  “The Utah Olympic Park worked relentlessly to get the track opened for this event, and yet a snowstorm cut us down to just two days of training,” said USA Skeleton Development Coach Lauri Bausch. “Just four training runs before three back-to-back races would be a challenge for even an experienced slider, and this year’s North American Cup team is still young in the sport. I was really impressed with how they handled the pressure.”

Toukan, of Nebraska, earned four North American Cup medals and nine top-six finishes in the 15 races she’s entered. She led USA Skeleton in Monday’s first one-heat race by posting the third best time of 53.46 seconds after a start time of 5.21. Toukan said she was really excited to be back on ice after an ankle injury.

“I am really excited to be racing this season,” Toukan said. “With the one heat races, I knew anything could happen. A lot of the women have been training very well, but I was confident in my sliding ability. Mentally I just focused on my experience and let it shine through.”

McDonald, of New Jersey, was the bronze medal winner in Monday’s second one-heat race. McDonald threw down a start time of 5.09 seconds, which was 0.04 seconds than any other women’s competitor, and raced to the finish in 53.39 seconds for third place.

McDonald traveled and trained with the North American Cup team last season to gain track and race environment experience as a forerunner. She said racing alongside the athletes she’s admired has been fun.

McDonald described Toukan as someone she looked up to last season and “such a talented and selfless teammate who has taken me under her wing from the very beginning.” She said that she and Emily Schelberg worked through new tracks together and that she’s “lucky to be a part of such a cohesive team.”

“I’m excited to continue to race beside these extraordinary women,” McDonald said. “My coaches, Lauri Bausch and Austin Smith, have spent countless hours helping me to learn the ins and outs of this track and helping me to maximize my push.”

McDonald was seventh in the first race with a downtime of 53.93 seconds, and Toukan was 10th in the second race with a run of 54.54. Toukan and McDonald finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in Tuesday’s two-heat competition. Toukan narrowly missed the medals in fourth with a combined time of 1:44.89. McDonald turned heads today with start times of 5.06 and 5.03. She finished seventh in 1:45.06.

Emily Schelberg (Annapolis, Maryland) made her international debut Monday and set a personal best downtime today. Schelberg finished 15th, 12th, and 13th with times of 55.06, 54.86, and a total of 1:47.07, respectively.

Yanhqi Zhu from China swept the women’s races, winning all three competitions by wide margins. Koreans claimed silver in the first two races. Eunji Kim was second in the first race, while Jeonghyeok Lee earned silver in the second competition. Katie Tannenbaum from the Virgin Island was second Tuesday, followed by Kim in third.

Chris Strup (Defiance, Ohio) was the top U.S. finisher in the men’s field. Strup was eighth and seventh Monday with runs of 51.86 and 52.09 seconds, and 10th Tuesday with a combined time of 1:42.35.

Kyler Sultemeier (Fredericksburg, Texas) finished 13th, 12th and 16th. Zack Goodwin (Poughkeepsie) placed 15th in the first and third races, and 23rd in the second competition. Hunter Williams (Carnegie, Pa.) placed 18th in races one and two, and 20th Tuesday.

“After weeks sliding in Lake Placid, which requires a more aggressive driving style, these athletes simply needed more runs under their belt on gliding tracks,” Bausch said. “This week was a good foundation for their next trip back to Park City and to apply towards new track experiences during the second half.”

Nathan Crumpton, a former U.S. competitor who now slides for American Samoa, swept the men’s races. Chinese athletes claimed the remaining six medals of the event. Haifeng Zhu claimed silver medals in the first two races, and Zeng Yin earned silver Tuesday. Yin was bronze in race one, while Jing Zhang and Zhu were third in races two and three, respectively.