Church, Williamson, Niederhofer and Volker win four-man bobsled trials in Park City

Photo credit: Molly Choma

PARK CITY, Utah (March 4, 2021)– Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) and his push crew of Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.), Boone Niederhofer (San Antonio, Texas) and Charlie Volker (Fair Haven, N.J.) dominated today to win the four-man bobsled team trials race in Park City. Athletes will now travel to Lake Placid, N.Y. to race again, and points will be tallied from all four competitions across both tracks.

“We’ve been working so hard,” Church said. “My guys and I have been doing dry loads in the sled out in snow storms because we aren’t always able to access the garage due to COVID procedures, and these guys trust the process and have kept grinding. It showed on the hill today. I’m so excited to win, and I really need to thank my guys for trusting in me and in the plan. I also have to shoutout Charlie (Volker), who is a rookie and really stepped up in a big way.”

Church, Williamson, Niederhofer and Volker powered the Hammer Strength branded sled off the block for the second-best push time of 4.90 seconds, and Church expertly guided the crew to the finish with the fastest downtime of 47.43 seconds. The team laid it all on the line in the second heat, pushing the quickest start time of 4.93 seconds for the fastest finish time of 47.58 seconds. Church, Williamson, Nieferhofer and Volker finished nearly half a second ahead of the field with a combined time of 1:35.01.

Geoff Gadbois (Milton, Vt.) teamed with Adrian Adams (Reidsville, N.C.), Nic Taylor (Hayward, Calif.) and Kris Horn (Pembroke, Mass.) for second place with a two-run total of 1:35.49. The crew pushed start times of 4.95 and 4.94 seconds for runs of 47.71 and 47.78 seconds, respectively. 

Frank Del Duca (Bethel, Me.) won yesterday’s two-man bobsled race with Blaine McConnell (Tacoma, Wash.). Del Duca and McConnell teamed with Chris Avery (San Diego, Calif.) and Dakota Lynch (Boise, Idaho) today to finish third with an aggregate time of 1:35.51. 

Codie Bascue (Whitehall, N.Y.), Hakeem Abdul Saboor (Powhatan, Va.), Carlo Valdes (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Kyle Wilcox (Tampa, Fla.) were leaders at the start today with the fastest push times of 4.89 and 4.93 seconds. Team Bascue finished fourth with a total time of 1:35.68. 

Tyler Hickey (Geneva, Ill.), Chris Walsh (Pittsboro, N.C.), Jamil Muhammed-Ray (Charlotte, N.C.) and David Simon (San Antonio, Texas) finished fifth in 1:36.05, followed by Sam Moeller (San Antonio, Texas), Gage Smith (Whitefish, Mont.), Manteo Mitchell (Shelby, N.C.) and Alex Mustard (Missoula, Mont.) in sixth with a 1:36.25.

Team trials continue with the women’s monobob competition at 2 p.m. MST, and the skeleton races at 5:30 p.m. MST. Please contact USABS Marketing & Communications Director Amanda Bird at 518-354-2250, or amanda.bird@usabs.com, with media inquiries.

 

Results

 

Four-man bobsled

1. Hunter Church, Josh Williamson, Boone Niederhofer and Charlie Volker 1:35.01 (47.43, 47.58);

2. Geoff Gadbois, Adrian Adams, Nic Taylor and Kris Horn 1:35.49 (47.71, 47.78);

3. Frank Del Duca, Blaine McConnell, Chris Avery and Dakota Lynch 1:35.51 (47.72, 47.79);

4. Codie Bascue, Hakeem Abdul Saboor, Carlo Valdes and Kyle Wilcox 1:35.68 (47.76, 47.92);

5. Tyler Hickey, Chris Walsh, Jamil Muhammed-Ray and David Simon 1:36.05 (47.91, 48.14);

6. Sam Moeller, Gage Smith, Manteo Mitchell and Alex Mustard 1:36.25 (48.19, 48.06);

 

About USA Bobsled & Skeleton

USA Bobsled & Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com.

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