Wasatch Luge Club’s Greiner, Farquharson, Erickson, Schomaker race onto podiums

LAKE PLACID, New York — Park City’s Matt Greiner of the Wasatch Luge Club won his second title as the Jr. National Champion on Saturday in Lake Placid, New York.

In a sport where races are often won and lost by thousandths of a second, the two-time Jr. World Championship medalist’s margin today was a dominant performance. The Park City, Utah native won with a two-run combined time of one minute, 44.156 seconds. Aidan Mueller (West Islip, N.Y.) was second with 1:46.205, followed by Logan Barnes (Milwaukee, Wisc.) in third with a time of 1:46.290. 

“(This was) my last Junior race. I think it went pretty well,” said Greiner to USA Luge, who missed all of training due to illness. “I was fighting a bit of a cold, but I made it up the start height today and put down two pretty clean runs, so I’m happy.”

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This was Greiner’s second Norton Junior National title. His last was in 2020. His father, Jeff, is the director and former athletic director of Park City’s Silver Summit Academy. Matt trains at the Utah Olympic Park, where his Wasatch Luge Club is sponsored in part by the Youth Sports Alliance.

At the Jr. National Championships, the women’s race was the closest of the day, with Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) taking gold in 1:32.570. Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) was second, just .077 away from Gordon, with a time of 1:32.647. Macey Schomaker (Park City, Utah) was third in 1:33.893. 

Schomaker, a Park City High School alumna, attends BYU. Her sisters are also athletes on the Wasatch Luge Club and her mom, Rhea, and dad, Kevin, are volunteer officials for USA Luge.

Then on Sunday, PCHS grad Ashley Farquharson, whose home track is also at the UOP, placed third along with her relay teammates in Sigulda, Latvia in the International Luge Federation’s World Cup. She followed that up with a fourth place finish in the women’s singles event.

Farquharson’s dad, Ben, owns and operates all the locations of Park City’s Clockwork Cafe.

Her Mixed Team Relay consisted of Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander, Tucker West and Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby. 

The German team edged out the Latvian team by .141 seconds, establishing a new track record along the way. Their finish time was 2:57.516. The Latvians crossed the finish line and took the silver medal in 2:57.657. The United States took the bronze in 2:58.522. 

Farquharson told USA Luge, “(This is a) really nice way to finish off the season. It’s always thrilling to be up on the podium. And after the most fourth places ever, (I’m) really excited to earn a medal.”