27th U.S. National Toboggan Championships...

Updated with more photos: Wingnuts, Spudrunner, Bolt slide away winners at 2017 Toboggan Nationals

Sun, 02/19/2017 - 12:45am

    CAMDEN — The 27th annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships had another great day of winter weather for racing on Sunday, beginning with second runs for the 4-person teams, followed by the finals for all the classes: 2-person, 3-person and 4-person.

    The second runs for 4-person teams were completed by 11 a.m., earlier than in previous years, and it’s likely that the impending bad weather had those and other teams with long drives south heading out of town prematurely.

    A third of the 3-person teams and a handful of 2-person teams that qualified for the finals were also no-shows Sunday morning, which made quicker work for the committee to finish those runs as well. A timing issue during the second runs of the 3-person finals prompted race officials to make a tough decision and run the 3-person finals a second time, with the goal to ensure that all teams had a fair chance to complete with accurate times.

    Once the 2- and 3-person final were wrapped up, it was on to the 4-person teams, and in the end, the races were complete by 3:50 p.m. and the awards handed out about 15 minutes later. And by 5:15 p.m., the snow had started to fall, the vendors had packed up and moved out, the tent supplier was taking down their rental tents and the parking lot was nearly emptied of the day’s parked cars.

    With Super Bowl 2018 scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 4, the 2018 (28th) annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships will be held the weekend of Feb. 9-11.

    Below are the results for the 2017 Toboggan Nationals, followed by 2017 Camden Winterfest results.

    2 - PERSON
    Place - Bib #, Team Name - 1st Run, 2nd Run, Total Time

    1st - #52, Two Wingnuts - 9.32, 9.33, 18.65
    • Rob Stevens, Woolwich, Maine
    • Jim Jefferson, Searsmont, Maine
    2nd - #15, Spud Runner 2 - 9.36, 9.33, 18.69
    • Ethan Birmingham, Mars Hill, Maine
    • Fred Whited, Bridgewater, Maine
    3rd - #16, Yahtzee - 9.38, 9.38, 18.76
    • Bob Birmingham, Durham, Maine
    • Chandler Birmingham, Durham, Maine

    3 - PERSON
    Place - Bib #, Team Name - 1st Run, 2nd Run, Total Time

    1st - #110 Spudrunner 3 - 9.24, 9.26, 18.50
    • Fred Whited, Bridgewater, Maine
    • Ethan Birmingham, Mars Hill, Maine
    • Wade McCrum, Mars Hill, Maine
    2nd - #102 Three Big Kahoonas - 9.31, 9.32, 18.63
    • Bruce Richards, Searsmont
    • Edwin Greenrose, Warren, Me
    • Chris Lepow, Waldo, Maine
    • Greg Sheldon (alternate), Sherborn, Mass.
    3rd - #138 Bolt 3 - 9.31, 9.33, 18.64
    • Bob LaFlamme, Brookfield, Mass.
    • Dan Smith, Burlington, Mass.
    • Allen Hoy, Cleveland, Ohio

    4 - PERSON
    Place - Bib #, Team Name - 1st Run, 2nd Run, Total Time

    1st - #211 Bolt 1 - 9.3, 9.23, 18.53
    • Peter Soule, Medway, Mass.
    • Allen Hoy, Cleveland, Ohio
    • Dan Smith, Burlington, Mass.
    • Keith Price, Cranston, R.I.
    2nd - #245 Sled Man Walking - 9.28, 9.26, 18.54
    • Joseph Drenski, Gorham, Maine
    • Mark Emburg, Westbrook, Maine
    • Jason Lincoln, Hope, Maine
    • Kim Lincoln, Hope, Maine
    3rd - #291 Bolt 5 - 9.34, 9.23, 18.57
    • Bob LaFlamme, Brookfield, Mass.
    • Allen Hoy, Cleveland, Ohio
    • Keith Price, Cranston, R.I.
    • Trey Shupert, Monkton, Md.

    FASTEST EXPERIMENTAL TEAM
    Place - Bib #, Team Name - 1st Run, 2nd Run, Total Time

    #420 Magic Carpet Ride - 9.24, 9.22, 18.46
    • Jeff Smith, Kennebunk, Maine
    • Eliot Freeman, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
    • Dan Gilbert, Hope, Maine
    • Dan Littlefield, Belfast, Maine

    FASTEST FEMALE TEAM (Determined by fastest qualifying run)

    # 231 - Chuting for Neverland, 9.35
    • Lora Ludwig of Thomaston, Maine
    • Jamie Ames of Hope, Maine
    • Karen McCormick of Rockport, Maine
    • Amy Gallagher of Camden, Maine

    FASTEST STUDENT TEAM (Determined by fastest qualifying run)

    # 135 - Deedles, 9.34 (Central Arroostook High School)
    • Kelsey Dominique (senior) of Blaine
    • Isabelle Wright (junior) of Mars Hill
    • Dayna McCrum (senior) of Mars Hill

    FASTEST COLLEGE TEAM (Determined by fastest qualifying run)

    # 304 - Toboggan Games: Mocking Dyer, 9.67 (Dartmouth College)
    • Ian Falik of Hanover, N.H.
    • Ben Ebenberg of Hanover, N.H.
    • Eric Flanagan of Hanover, N.H.
    • Blair Crichton of Hanover, N.H.

    OLDEST TEAM

    # 28 - Two Pounds - (Average age 74.5)
    • David Pound, 77, of Vista, Calif.
    • Skip Pound, 72, of Rockport, Maine

    BEST CRAFTED TOBOGGAN

    # 27 - Pennsylvania State Champions
    • Al Twombly of Chalfont, Pa.
    • Linda Carangia of Chalfont, Pa.

    BEST COSTUME

    1st - # 95 - Blizzard of Oz
    • Riley Robinson of Kittery, Mass.
    • Craig MacLeod of Carlisle, Mass.
    2nd - # 213 - Shear Madness
    • Sarah Maxcy of Warren, Maine
    •  Loretta Hooper of Warren, Maine
    • Carrie Overlock of Warren, Maine
    • Yvonne McLean of Nobleboro, Maine
    3rd - # 333 - When Penguins Fly
    • Peter Lord of Yarmouth, Maine
    • Kevin Leahy of Yarmouth, Maine
    • Tim Murphy of Yarmouth, Maine
    • Harro Oberink of Yarmouth, Maine

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The first round of events at this year's Camden Winterfest set an upbeat tone for the rest of the week. On Feb. 4 and 5, the 4th annual CamJam brought talent from all over the state to the Camden Snow Bowl.

    Day one, 14+/open class results:

    Snowboard:

    1. Arlen Riggs
    2. Matt Jones

    Ski:

    1. Max Fischer
    2. Calvin James
    3. True Crane

    Best Crash:

    Ian Cushing

    Day two, under-14 class, results:

    Snowboard:

    Boys:
    1. Jack Burnham
    2. Cameron Davis

    Girls:
    1. Greer Lafiura
    2. Ava Tobias
    3. London Nicolet

    Under 10:

    1. Jasper Hackett
    2. Carver Emory
    3. Will Laidlaw

    Over 10:

    1. Finn Emory
    2. Aiden Aviles
    3. Tanner Robinson

    The Maine State Snow Sculpting Competition also took place Feb. 4 and 5 on the Village Green.

    The final results:

    1. Dove/Peace – sculpted by The Drifters
    2. Love Hand Sign – sculpted by Family Pack
    3. Dragon – sculpted by Brown-Appel Artist Collective
    4. Dog – sculpted by Joe Ryan/Adventure Advertising

    Congratulations to The Drifters and good luck at Nationals.

    Note: Last year's winner of the Maine State Snow Sculpting Competition, Amanda Bolduc, Cathy Thompson and Paul Warren, traveled to Nationals in Lake Geneva, Wis., and placed third.