The nation's top luge athletes will gather at the USA Luge refrigerated indoor start training complex on Friday, September 19. At stake will be the annual start championship title. The competitions will take place at the USA Luge headquarters at 57 Church Street in Lake Placid at 4:00 p.m.
The public is invited to attend, free of charge..
Three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) hopes to add a record 13th title to his resume. Consistently one of the top ranked athletes in the world in starts, West will face competition from 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.), Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.), and Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah). Logan Barnes (Clarkesville, Tenn.), a member of the Junior National Team, will also compete.
Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.), a three-time Olympian, has hopes of claiming her eighth title since 2015. Standing in her way will be two-time Olympian Emily Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who last took the title in 2021, with Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah), and Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) looking for their first wins.
Doubles is expected to feature the reigning 2024 World Championship silver medalists Chevonne Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Sophia Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.), who will be competing for the start title with Maya Chan (Chicago, Il.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.).
Reigning men’s doubles start champions Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Ansel Haugsjaa (Acton, Mass.), will look to defend their title from Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and the duo of Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.).
The start championship format will consist of three heats, with the winners earning the lowest combined times. The first two heats will be traditional starts and the third will be a reaction start, as used in the team relay event.
Held annually in late summer and early fall, the competition marks the countdown to the teams' return to the ice in preparation for the FIL World Cup series.
