When the U.S. national team was chosen at the end of six race skeleton trials this past weekend, Utahns dominated.
The trials ended on Saturday at Lake Placid, N.Y. The tests determined the national team, which is actually divided into two sections.
The sections are athletes who will compete in the more-prestigious World Cup circuit, and team members who have the option of racing in the America's Cup or Europa Cup circuits.
All of the sliders named are part of the national team.
Athletes representing the United States in World Cup skeleton races will be, men: Lincoln DeWitt, Park City; Chris Soule, Trumbull, Conn.; Brady Canfield, a Kaysville resident from Red Lodge, Mont.; Jim Shea, Jr., Lake Placid, N.Y. On the women's side the World Cup team are Lea Ann Parsley, Gransville, Ohio; Colleen Rush, Park City; Tristan Gale, Ruidoso, N.M.; and Tricia Stumpf, Park City.
DeWitt, last season's World Cup champ, rebounded Sunday in the last of the test events, besting Shea's time by 0.08 of a second. It was his first win of the trials, and a major improvement over his showing on Saturday, when he came in fifth.
According to Julie Urbansky of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Parsley set the women's track record on Sunday at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, with a run of 58.94 seconds. Her overall time for two races was 1:58.12, nearly two seconds ahead of Gale's second-place finish.
Others named to the national team ? athletes who "have the option of sliding for the America's Cup or the Europa Cup," according to Urbansky ? are,:
Men: Zach Lund, Salt Lake City; Trevor Christie, Park City; Terry Holland, Pittsfield, Mass.; Brian McDonald, Kingston, N.Y.; Jim Torrico, Great Barrington, Mass.; Kevin Ellis, Dallas, Texas; Ralph Mirabelli, Rome, N.Y.; Orvie Garrett, Mt. Washington, Mass.; Harry Jackson, Lancaster, Pa., and Mike Cline, Kent, Wash.
Women, Janet Ivers, Park City; Babs Isak, Park City; Katie Koczynski, Nyack, N.Y.; Natasha Ellison, Albuquerque, NM; Noelle Pikus, Orem; Juleigh Walker, Westport, N.Y., and Fallon Vaughn, Dallas, Texas.
The World Cup team now travels to K?nigssee, Germany, for the start of the 2001-2002 World Cup races on Nov. 16.
E-mail: bau@desnews.com