PARK CITY, Utah -- Becky Wilczak continued her torrid luge streak Wednesday at the Utah Winter Sports Park to win the Junior 2 women's division of the York International seeding race.
Wilczak, of River Forest, Ill., sledded her way through a trackgradually softened by radiant sunshine and warm temperatures to record the
two fastest times of the event for women to the age of 20.
With the victory, the 18-year-old won her fourth consecutive seeding competition. Two of them were senior-level races held here last weekend.
She also captured a junior qualifier back in December prior to this
victory.
Wilczak will get a chance to sweep all the seeding races Thursday in
the season finale in the Bell Atlantic Junior National Championships.
The winner clocked a two-heat total of 1 minute, 30.619 seconds.
Ashley Hayden of Westboro, Mass. was the silver medalist in 1:31.371.
Courtney Zablocki of Highlands Ranch, Colo. took the bronze in 1:31.577.
Jon Gray of No. Hyde Park, Vt., a junior team candidate, parlayed the
momentum of his bronze medal in the York International senior seeding race
Sunday to upset Junior National Team members Nick Sullivan and Andrew
McConnell in the Junior 2 men's category.
Gray raced the two runs down the 2002 Olympic track in an aggregate
time of 1:34.049. McConnell of Armonk, N.Y. was second in 1:34.146, while
Sullivan of Oakdale, Minn. took bronze in 1:34.853.
Vika Gatker of Lake Placid, N.Y. won the Junior 1 women's division
for lugers up to age 17 in 1:28.559. Colleen Adams of Waterville, Me.
clocked 1:28.608 for the silver medal. Kelly Potter, Coventry, Vt., was
third in 1:28.792.
The Junior 1 men's race went to Logan Gastio of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in
a time of 1:32.114. Joe McShinsky, Draper, grabbed the silver medal
in 1:32.771. Adam Rosen of New Rochelle, N.Y. picked up the bronze in
1:32.944.
The new doubles team of Sullivan and Brian Wohlleb of Bath, N.H. --
put together when Pete Motta injured an ankle and could no longer race with
Wohlleb -- upended Pat Anderson and Jon Laflam.
Sullivan and Wohlleb recorded 1:26.642 from the lower juniors start.
Anderson of Ironwood, Mich. and Laflam of Meriden, N.H. finished second in
1:26.861. The all-women's sled of Shelly Szkutak of Whitehall, N.Y. with
Jackie Driscoll of Rochester, N.H. claimed the bronze in 1:28.688.