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Bascue earns top spot as US sets men’s team

News file photo — Lou Reuter Driver Codie Bascue and crew members Blaine McConnell, Adrian Adams and brakeman Kristopher Horn push their sled to begin a run in a World Cup race on Dec. 14, 2019 in Lake Placid. All four athletes were among the 11 sliders selected to this winter’s national team that will begin competing in Europe next month.

LAKE PLACID — USA Bobsled announced the 11 athletes who have been named to the men’s national team. Athletes competed in a series of four selection races — two two-man races and two four-man races — to qualify for the team.

Codie Bascue, of Whitehall, won three of four selection races to earn his seat at the helm of USA-1. Geoff Gadbois of Milton, Vermont, finished trials as USA-2.

The pool of push athletes includes the following in alphabetical order: Hakeem Abdul-Saboor (Powhatan, Va.), Adrian Adams (Reidsville, N.C.), Kris Horn (Pembroke, Mass.), Blaine McConnell (Tacoma, Wash.), Boone Niederhofer (San Antonio, Texas), Carlo Valdes (Newport Beach, Calif.), Charlie Volker (Fairhaven, N.J.), Kyle Wilcox (Tampa, Fla.), and Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.). 

Abdul-Saboor and Valdes are 2018 Olympians who are returning for a run at 2022. Adams, Horn, McConnell, Wilcox, and Williamson are returning national team members, while this is the first national team berth for Niederhofer and Volker.

In order to minimize travel, reduce quarantine periods, and provide the safest environment possible, the U.S. team did not compete in Europe for the first half of the season. The team plans to send athletes to start the second half of the season in Winterberg, Germany.

USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com. Individuals interested in becoming a bobsled or skeleton athlete can visit www.usabobsledskeleton.com.

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