USA Bobsled 2016 National Push Championships Held

Two-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Aja Evans took top honors in women’s bobsled, while 2010 Olympic gold medalist (as a push athlete) Justin Olsen and Olympic sprinter Ryan Bailey won in men’s bobsled.

Meyers Taylor won her eighth start title (five as a driver, three as a brakewoman).

“It’s great getting everyone back together on ice,” Meyers Taylor told USA Bobsled & Skeleton. “We train all summer for this, it’s what we live for. It’s so much fun to be back out there, to see everyone making improvements.”

Evans had hoped to make it to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, but an ACL injury kept her out of competition, but allowed her to focus on a second run as a bobsled brakewoman.

“The time off was good for me,” Evans said. “There’s a lot that goes into the sport and competing on a high level, so the time off gave me a lot of mental clarity and let my body heal up.”

In men’s bobsled, Justin Olsen continued to make strides as a pilot after moving up last year from the brakes, setting a new record from the pilot’s push bar.

“I felt pretty confident coming into today,” Olsen said. “I had a strong summer of training. I set a goal three months ago of getting 5.03, and while I didn’t get it, I still feel good about today.”

For the brakemen, newcomer Ryan Bailey threw down a time a combined tenth faster than the rest of the field to take the USA Bobsled title. While Bailey is no stranger to competition, the chance to make the US team is something he didn’t quite expect.

“My goal is to get to the Games, the Olympics are huge,” Bailey said. “To get a chance to compete in the Winter Olympics would be amazing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be possible, so getting this chance is mind blowing.”

USA Bobsled National Push Championships are a prerequisite for any athlete who wants to be on the national team this winter, although first year athletes are exempt. According to the 2016-2017 bobsled criteria, new athletes are waived from the requirement to compete in USA Bobsled National Push Championships their first year in the sport, allowing the coaching staff to continue recruiting leading up to trials.

The 2016 USA Bobsled National Championships will continue on Friday and Saturday (9/23/16 & 9/24/16) with combination pushes (pilot/brake).

Information provided by USA Bobsled & Skeleton was used in this article.

Results:

Women’s Pilots
Pos. Name Push 1 Push 2 Total
1 Elana Meyers Taylor 5.49 5.50 10.99
2 Jamie Greubel Poser 5.68 5.67 11.35
2 Brittany Reinbolt 5.69 5.66 11.35
4 Kristi Koplin 5.73 5.72 11.45
5 Kristen Hurley 5.79 5.79 11.58
6 Nicole Vogt 5.82 5.83 11.65
Men’s Pilots
Pos Name Push 1 Push 2 Total
1 Justin Olsen 5.04 5.09 10.13
2 Dustin Greenwood 5.23 5.22 10.45
3 Nick Cunningham 5.22 5.26 10.48
4 Codie Bascue 5.29 5.30 10.59
5 Geoff Gadbois 5.44 5.43 10.87
6 Hunter Church 5.44 5.44 10.88
Women’s Push Athletes
Pos. Name Push 1 Push 2 Total
1 Aja Evans 5.45 5.47 10.92
2 Kehri Jones 5.47 5.48 10.95
3 Nikia Squire 5.52 5.54 11.06
4 Lauren Gibbs 5.53 5.55 11.08
5 Briauna Jones 5.54 5.55 11.09
6 Cherrelle Garrett 5.56 5.59 11.15
7 Lolo Jones 5.57 5.61 11.18
8 Terra Evans 5.60 5.60 11.20
9 Maureen Ajoku 5.71 5.72 11.43
10 Bonnie Kilis 5.80 5.76 11.56
11 Sable Otey 5.83 5.84 11.67
Men’s Push Athletes
Pos. Name Push 1 Push 2 Total
1 Ryan Bailey 5.00 5.05 10.05
2 Evan Weinstock 5.05 5.10 10.15
3 Carlo Valdes 5.08 5.08 10.16
4 Sam McGuffie 5.09 5.12 10.21
5 Austin Landis 5.10 5.13 10.23
6 James Reed 5.10 5.17 10.27
7 Nathan Gilsleider 5.12 5.16 10.28
8 Chris Kinney 5.13 5.17 10.30
9 Lou Moreira 5.13 5.18 10.31
10 Adrian Adams 5.15 5.18 10.33
11 Sam Michener 5.14 5.22 10.36
11 Casey Wickline 5.16 5.20 10.36
13 Hakeem Abdul-Saboor 5.16 5.22 10.38
14 Brent Fogt 5.19 5.21 10.40
15 Frank Del Duca 5.20 5.22 10.42
16 David Cremin 5.21 5.24 10.45
17 Nicholas Taylor 5.22 5.24 10.46
18 Dillon Schrodt 5.25 5.35 10.60
19 Deangelo Wilson 5.28 5.38 10.66
20 Miles Dunlap 5.30 5.42 10.72
21 Kristopher Enslen 5.37 5.41 10.78